Theme: Models of Care Year: 2024
Background: The Connecting, Coaching and Changing Lives (CCC) program was conceived by the Drug and Alcohol Nurses of Australasia (DANA) Nurse Practitioner Sub-Committee as a mentoring and education program for both nurse practitioners new to alcohol and other drug treatment, and those encountering high numbers of individuals who use alcohol and other drugs in their daily practice. The program used peer support and mentoring to assist individuals transition from experienced registered nurse to nurse practitioner. The aims of the program were threefold: 1) to provide participants with the opportunity to gain confidence and competency in AOD treatment modalities and to connect with expert AOD nurse practitioners, 2) to address the needs of participants in the provision of evidence-based services to individuals who use alcohol and other drugs, and 3) to successfully transition and develop participants through mentoring, peer collaboration, support and professional development opportunities within a formal mentoring and peer-collaboration environment.
Description of model of care/intervention/program: The program comprised six interactive educational webinars (on alcohol, opioids, cannabis, benzodiazepines, amphetamine-type substances and treating hepatitis C in people who use drugs) facilitated by an experienced nurse practitioner, six peer support webinars conducted immediately after the educational webinars which gave participants the opportunity to discuss clinical scenarios and their own practice with the experienced nurse practitioner, and monthly small-group mentoring, where participants met with and experienced nurse practitioner mentor with content determined by participants. The program commenced in February 2022, with the final education session held ‘face-to-face’ at the DANA Annual Conference in Adelaide in August. A final ‘wrap up’ session was held with participants in October 2022. After each education session, participants were required to complete online quizzes, based on clinical scenarios discussed in the webinars, to provide immediate formative feedback on learning.
A focus on hepatitis C was included in the program due to the prevalence of this disease, particularly among people who use illicit and injected drugs.
Effectiveness: Feedback from participants in the pilot CCC program indicates that although clinical learnings geared towards complex presentations were welcome, the support provided by peers and mentors was highly valued by participants. Several of these relationships were reported to continue beyond the completion of the program, providing an informal ‘community of practice’ for participants to obtain clinical support and guidance. The inclusion of hepatitis C content did indicate a self-reported increase in the willingness and competence in diagnosing and managing hepatitis C in individuals who use alcohol and other drugs.
Conclusion and next steps: The 2024 program has been extended to include clinical nurse consultants and clinical nurse specialists who are either interested in transitioning to the nurse practitioner role or wish to learn about the management of AOD presentations in different healthcare settings.
Disclosure of Interest Statement:
DANA acknowledges Abbvie for their support and funding of the CCC program