Drugs Impairment & Recognition Training
For Health Care Professionals

Introduction and Need for Training:
It is well known that drug use and abuse is rampant in not only the United States, but many other countries. Drug use and abuse affects all facets of life, including the professionals of our health care system. Daily, health care workers must deal with people who are abusing drugs, and who are impaired by a variety of drugs. These drugs may be in the form of licit medicinal drugs, or illicit street drugs. Although there are some drugs that can be easily recognized (heroin overdose, for example), many can not, especially the newer “designer drugs”. Impairment and overdose of these drugs present a unique problem for all health care providers, especially emergency medical service professionals.

There are many signs and symptoms associated with drug impairment (and abuse) that are not easily recognized by heath care professionals. This can present a myriad of problems, not only for the emergency professionals on the street, but also for the staff in hospitals, clinics and trauma centers, substance abuse facilities, and behavioral health facilities.

Objectives of this Training Program
The four and eight hour courses of instruction are designed to provide health care professionals with the tools to recognize clinical and psychophysical symptomology associated with drug impairment, and potential treatments for these problems. Although health care professionals use clinical signs and symptoms in the field, and in the hospital, most do not recognize certain signs as being associated with drug impairment and/or overdose. By learning the drug symptomology, and the methods to detect those signs and symptoms, health care professionals will gain a better understanding of drug impairment/overdose indicators, and be better able to recognize these. Drugs of abuse, an overview of signs and symptoms associated with drug use, abuse and impairment will be covered. The eight-hour course is more comprehensive ,including advanced training in eye signs, vital signs indicators and drugs and related paraphernalia.

Specifically, straightforward diagnostic exams not commonly used in the field, hospitals, and clinics will assist the health care professional in being better able to determine if impairment due to drugs is involved, and possibly which category of drugs may be implicated. These courses are taught only by Nationally Certified Drug Recognition Expert Instructors, who are also health care professionals.

OEMS Continuing Education credits are pending for the EMT Basic, EMT-I, and Paramedic levels..