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Bethany Fortier, M.P.H., assistant clinical professor in the Department of Health, Wellness and Occupational Studies, and Devon Sherwood, Pharm.D., BCPP, assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy, recently co-presented at the Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Their presentation, titled, “Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment: An Interprofessional Approach to Integrated Substance Use Prevention and Care,” highlighted the Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program “Training for Maine’s Future Health Profession Leaders,” at UNE.

SBIRT is an evidence-based practice used to identify, reduce and prevent problematic use and abuse of and dependence on alcohol and illicit drugs.

It is used across the various health disciplines in the Westbrook College of Health Professions, College of Osteopathic Medicine and the College of Pharmacy.

Fortier and Sherwood described the elements of SBIRT and how to approach it from an interprofessional perspective based on experiences at UNE.

Participants learned introductory aspects of UNE’s methods, including training in leadership and motivational interviewing.

Participants also had an opportunity to discuss and explore possibilities for integrating SBIRT into their own settings.

The conference provided Fortier and Sherwood an opportunity to learn about and apply strategies to engage patients as partners in developing new models of interprofessional health care education. It also helped them explore sustainable interprofessional curricula, bridging the classroom and clinical practice.

SBIRT is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Support for travel to the conference came from WCHP Dean’s Office, College of Pharmacy, the SBIRT grant and the Office of Research and Scholarship.