Courses for prescribers
Practice standard: Safe Prescribing of Opioids and Sedatives
Safe Prescribing of Opioids and Sedatives is a 12-minute self-paced online course for registrants. This course focuses on the College’s expectations when prescribing these higher-risk medications, including assessing patients appropriately, considering other medical conditions and medications, and taking steps to mitigate risk of harm.
By the end of this module, registrants will be able to:
- Assess patients appropriately before prescribing opioids or sedatives.
- Consider other medical conditions and medications when prescribing opioids or sedatives.
- Take steps to mitigate risk of harm.
- Develop a strategy for managing patients who are on long-term opioid treatment.
Registrants may claim upon completing the course.
Navigating Psychoactive Prescribing
Navigating Psychoactive Prescribing is a 25-minute self-paced online course for registrants. This course explains how to lower the risks of prescribing psychoactive medications, manage the treatment of chronic pain and substance use disorder, and navigate difficult conversations.
By the end of this course, registrants will be able to:
- Recognize the role of multimorbidity in chronic pain.
- Identify and mitigate opioid-induced chronic pain syndrome (OICP).
- Recognize that opioid use increases the risk of other medical conditions.
- Summarize the factors that increase the risk of complications or unintentional overdose.
- Assess how patients use their medication and take action to enhance safety.
- Write clear prescriptions according to an appropriate schedule.
- Implement treatment agreements.
- Prepare for uncomfortable conversations with patients about psychoactive medications.
Registrants may claim upon completing the course.
Prescribers Course
The Prescribers Course is a half-day, synchronous, interactive online workshop where participants will learn new approaches to navigating psychoactive prescribing, primarily through interview simulations in small groups, supported by sympathetic, experienced clinical teachers.
At the conclusion of the course, participants will be able to:
- Identify common clinical pitfalls in the prescribing of drugs of potential misuse/abuse to patients
- Develop a toolkit and strategies to assist in the management of chronic non-cancer pain with controlled medications
- Identify and apply clinical interviewing strategies that assist in the management of challenging cases in the office setting
- Develop and safely apply strategies to detect and manage potential misuse/abuse of controlled medications in clinical practice
- Implement changes to practice as a result of attending this course and reflecting on the implications of its content
This course is accredited by UBC CPD for CPFC Mainpro+® credits
Safe Practice Management Conference
Presented by The Foundation for Medical Excellence in collaboration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, this program is designed to assist clinicians in successfully managing the expectations of patients with complex care needs. The program includes four one-hour asynchronous presentations discussing approaches to appropriate prescribing, and a one-day virtual conference where subject matter experts will dive into the nuances of reconciling patient requests with prescribing best practices.
Objectives
- Build knowledge regarding the effective treatment of complex medical conditions
- Understand tools for assessing risk in prescribing a variety of medications overvalued by patients
- Practise interview skills for this challenging group of patients
- Develop awareness of personal factors that influence effectiveness and impact practitioner well-being
This program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada for up to 9 Mainpro+ credits.