Substance abuse education and training

Abstract

The existence and perpetuation of a fragmented service delivery system can often be traced back to the professional education and training experiences of the providers, program managers and policy makers. Isolated training programs, role confusion, and adherence to differing philosophies of the etiology and treatment of alcohol and other drug problems contribute to different philosophies of treatment and disparate priorities. Inconsistent training and educational experiences for health professionals and institutional resistance to including alcohol and drug topics in the mainstream educational programs are further contributors to a fragmented and often unresponsive service delivery system. Compounding these problems is the fact that care providers often don't represent the patients they serve, especially in low income, minority communities with limited or no access to health care. Similar to the concern about the general education system in this country and the recognition that today's students are tomorrow's leaders, today's health professions students are tomorrow's health care system. Any attempt to reform the health care system, must include attending to the quality of training and education available to current and future providers.