What motivates us to learn?
All of us have some natural motivation to learn. The primary motivation may be the desire to accomplish a specific task, resolve a particular problem or simply for enjoyment and intellectual simulation. These tasks or problems send us searching out books, “how to” guides and web search pages for answers.
Looking for these answers motivates us to learn, remember and apply what we have learned to given clinical situations. This is defined as self-directed learning. The student actively is involved in the learning process and makes decisions about what is learned, how it's learned, when the learning takes place, and how it is applied.
This series of on line lectures guides the self-directed learner to look at various topics in the field of drug addiction. It is assumed that these topics will be helpful in a clinical setting, but the student is also encouraged to “fill in the gaps” for themselves when a topic is presented or as individual clinical situations come up. The student is encouraged to share their newly found information with the other on-line learners or clinical colleagues. In this way, the topics of interest become “stickier” to our brains, and more easily remembered and recalled when a pertinent clinical situation arises.
The topics covered in this course are outlined below:
Lecture 1
Introduction and Epidemiology
What is substance addiction? How are the drugs that are involve in addiction similar? What causes addiction? What are downfalls and benefits of addicting substances to the individual?
Lecture 2
Definition of Addictions/Etiology
What is meant when we say addiction and how does it come about? The Public health model of drug addiction: introduction
Lecture 3
What are the Agents? Part I
Public Health Model: The Agent, the host and the environment, an overview of the “agents"
Lecture 4
What are the Agents? Part II
Public Health Model: The Agent, the host and the environment, an overview of the “agents" Continued from Part I
Lecture 5
Public Health Model: the Host
Introduction to Neurobiology, Genetics, Stress response
Lecture 6
(altenatively, possible medical topics such as QT, synergistic drugs, Hep C, HIV, etc)
The Environment
Public Health Model: "the environment"
Political systems
Lecture 7
Cause/Cure/Recovery?
Treatment Options/Harm Reduction
Lecture 8
Impact on Society - The Family
How does the addicted individual impact the family and significant others?
Group Discussion
Lecture 9
Pain or Abuse?
What are the current trends in pain treatment and how could substance abuse be involved?
Lecture 10
Prevention
What factors are important to keep addiction away from society in the future? What about other psychiatric illness and how does it interact with addiction?
Other housekeeping problems to be discussed:
It would be nice to qualify for CEUs or CMEs and this could be pursued in the future.
The developer of this course is Dr. Susan Moner, MD Assistant Clinical Professor Tufts Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. She is Board Certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Addiction Medicine 2009 and completed a fellowship in Addiction Medicine at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Why was this course created? What are the goals and objectives of this course?
This course was adapted from a course given to undergraduate students at Tufts University Experimental College 9/2009. It was altered to become clinically relevant for a more medically oriented audience.
Give information on why you should take this course, who should take this course, how the course is conducted, and ways to get the best outcome from taking the course.
Disclaimer: The information presented here is for educational purposes only and does not constitute treatment. Please see a personal treatment provider for individual care if needed.