An Innovative Behavioral Health Care Curriculum: The Integrated Advanced Practice Addictions Nursing Subspecialty

Introduction: There is a significant shortage of behavioral health providers trained in caring for patients with problematic substance use, particularly within integrated care settings. Method: An innovative addictions nursing subspecialty curriculum was designed by interdisciplinary faculty from psychiatric nursing, family nursing, counseling, and social work and informed by integrated care, addictions, and telehealth competencies. The subspecialty included prevention, treatment, and recovery approaches to care and encouraged enrollment of students from various health-related disciplines to enhance the students' experiences of integrated care for substance use treatment prior to completion of the program. Results: Subspecialty courses increased the number of advanced practice nurses in the behavioral health care workforce with enhanced knowledge of integrated telehealth substance use treatment. Discussion: Implementation of similar innovative curricula across health disciplines may significantly improve the care delivered to patients with problematic substance use in traditional medical settings. Public Significance Statement Through interdisciplinary collaboration between faculty from nursing, counseling, and social work, an innovative curriculum for training students enrolled in various health-related disciplines increased the number of advanced practice nurses with specialized training in providing substance use treatment in integrated care and telehealth settings.