Understanding Substance Use Disorders and Care Approaches

<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">It’s </span><a href= "https://youth.gov/feature-article/national-substance-abuse-prevention-month#:~:text=This%20October%20marks%20the%20second,their%20lives%20to%20substance%20abuse." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">National Substance Abuse Prevention Month</span></a><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">, and Stephanie Zidek, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, and Naomi Fox, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CCRN, are joined on this episode of NPD Forecast by an expert on substance use disorders (SUDs)—Whitney Fear, RN, MSN, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C, a psychiatric nurse practitioner in Fargo, North Dakota. They discuss the crucial aspects of caring for people with SUDs and supporting nurses along the way, diving into the following topics:</span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style= "mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Suboxone’s role as a life-saving medication</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style= "mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Challenges NPD practitioners and nurses face when providing care for substance use disorder patients, including misperceptions and biases</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style= "mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">The evolution of high-risk drugs</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style= "mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Understanding the connections between substance use, trauma, and mental health</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style= "mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">The importance of safe injection sites in harm reduction</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style=