“Looks Can be Deceiving”: An Innovative Way to Teach Nursing Students about Substance Use Disorder

Abstract

Information about substance use disorders (SUDs) is commonly taught in pre-licensure nursing programs. Nurses, regardless of their work settings, undoubtedly will encounter clients who deal with SUDs, and therefore it is imperative that nurse educators prepare their students for the care of these clients. But what if the person experiencing SUDs is not a client, but a colleague? This manuscript describes an innovative approach to teaching about SUDs to a class of Bachelor of Science in Nursing students that utilized a guest speaker who was a nurse in recovery from addiction. Student reflections showed that the learning activity increased their knowledge of addiction, as well as helping them to examine their own biases about people with addiction. This teaching strategy could be replicated by other nurse educators to ensure that future nurses are prepared to work alongside a colleague experiencing SUDs.