Assumption University Assumption University DOUGLAS, Massachusetts, United States
Session Description: Individuals with opioid use disorder are at increased risk of overdose death compared to the general population and the rates of opioid overdose death continue to rise. This means that the likelihood that a clinician will experience a client overdose death are high. However, the research on death of a patient has been primarily geared toward health practitioners such as doctors and nurses, and the experience of individuals who prescribed opioids to their patients. Less is known about the experience of clinicians’ who were actively engaged in treatment with a patient who died due to drug overdose. This session will explore the experience of clinicians who have lost a patient to opioid overdose, with particular focus on perceptions of preparedness, experience of the loss, support received, meaning making, and its influence on their longevity in the field. While studies have pointed to the impact of overdose death and patient loss across a multitude of circumstances and relationships, there is a gap in the research related to how clinicians’ experiences. This session will seek to aid clinicians, leaders, and agencies in conceptualizing support for opioid overdose death, developing responsive strategies to the needs of clinicians, and developing informal communities of support.
Learning Objectives:
After this activity participants should be able to
Identify the reponses and challenges faced by clinicians after the loss of a client to opioid overdose
Describe responses of service delivery systems to client overdose death and the influence on clinicians' experiences of grief.
Identify areas of support that clincians would benefit from including responsinsive strategies to meet clinician needs, and innovative pathways to establish infomal supports.
