This free, 1-hour, online training course was developed in response to the impact of the opioid crisis on first responders across the country. It addresses the mental and physical stressors faced by firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, and police when responding to opioid overdose calls. This course also provides evidence-based coping strategies, resources, and exercises to help mitigate the impacts of these stressful events.

The course is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (CAPCE). Course participants complete a final exam to obtain continuing education credit.

After completing this course, you will be able to do the following:

• Describe the opioid crisis, including its extent and how it affects the critical work that first responders do;
• Describe mental health and substance use issues and mental and substance use disorders that are more common among first responders than the general public;
• Recognize the warning signs of mental and substance use disorders in yourself and your peers;
• Help reduce stigma, or negative and incorrect ideas about mental and substance use disorders—including the nature of opioid use and misuse, opioid use disorder, and addiction, and the needs of first responders;
• Identify and use stress management and healthy coping strategies; and
• Share evidence-based practices and resources for self-care and positive responses to work stress.

For additional trainings, including those specifically designed for first responders, visit the Online DTAC Training Courses web page.

Take the Course

Guests can take the course to receive a certificate of completion without registering. Guests must complete the training course in one session to obtain the certificate of completion. The course cannot be restarted.

To receive continuing education units (CEUs) from CAPCE, contact the SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC) at dtac@iqsolutions.com or 800–308–3515 for an account prior to completing this course. You will need to provide your name, address, email address, and National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) or professional license number, expiration date, and state in which your license is valid. You will receive a confirmation email with your login information and a link to the course once you are registered.

Learn More About CAPCE CEUs

First Response: Working on the Front Lines of the Opioid Crisis Training Course is accredited by CAPCE for 1 credit hour.

Course Reviewer

Kendall K. Hall (M.D., St. Louis University School of Medicine, and M.S., Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety, Northwestern University) is a Principal Associate, Health and Environment at Abt Associates, where she manages national projects in patient safety and healthcare quality improvement. She previously served as a Managing Director at IMPAQ International, where she led the work of IMPAQ’s Quality Improvement and Patient Safety content area and served as project director and senior advisor on related projects. She served as Project Director for the National Content Developer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Partnership for Patients initiative, which aimed to reduce all-cause patient harm and reduce readmissions for hospitalized patients. She also served as a senior technical advisor on two programs: CMS’s Strategic Innovation Engine and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) TeamSTEPPS (Team Strategies & Tools to Enhance Performance & Patient Safety). Dr. Hall also served as a Medical Officer in the AHRQ Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. Dr. Hall is board certified in emergency medicine.

Contact

For questions about the online course, or all other disaster technical assistance inquiries, contact SAMHSA DTAC at 800–308–3515 or dtac@samhsa.hhs.gov.