UCC - providers clinical support system - universities (UCC-PCSS-U) - in 1995, universidad central DEL caribe premiered its graduate program in substance abuse counseling was initiated, offering a…

UCC - providers clinical support system - universities (UCC-PCSS-U) - in 1995, universidad central DEL caribe premiered its graduate program in substance abuse counseling was initiated, offering a post-baccalaureate certificate in substance abuse counseling and the master of health sciences in substance abuse counseling. UCC is a hispanic serving institution (HSI) located in bayamón that also created the first and only fellowship in addiction medicine for primary care physicians in puerto rico. During the past couple of years, the mental and behavioral health of people living in puerto rico has experienced a dramatic decline. The dramatic rise of suds and ouds in the puerto rican population will most likely continue to increase due to the shortage of adequately trained professionals that can collaborate in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment (MOUD/MAUD) of them. The purpose of the proposed UCC-PCSS-U program is to train graduate-level medical students to effectively prevent, identify, diagnose and treat mental and behavioral health conditions, specifically substance use disorders (SUD) and opioid use disorders (OUD). The UCC-PCSS-U program has 3 main goals: (1) increasing the number of graduate-level medical students completing the theorical and clinical requirements for the substance and opioid use disorders in medicine immersion program; (2) establishing a didactic and hands on experience in SUD/OUD prevention, MOUD, and recovery services framed in a long-term illness and recovery management model; (3) place graduate-level medical students in clinical rotation sites that provide robust mental health and SUD/OUD services in underserved community-based settings. Our proposed training program will integrate the recommended core curriculum topics for substance use disorders in early academic career healthcare education programs as outlined on samhsa's core curriculum elements on substance use. The UCC-PCSS-U program will impact medical students at UCC, who will participate in theoretical coursework and clinical rotations. After course completion, participants will demonstrate efficiency and efficacy in managing people with substance use disorders (SUD's) and opioid use disorders (OUD's). This three-year program will help medical students to create awareness about the SUD/OUD, and the importance of the treatment process and services to the community. This is an efficient public health education-oriented plan that will allow US to serve our underserved communities. Our medical students will increase awareness of mental health and substance abuse treatment, thus reducing barriers and stigma to treatment and prevention in SUD/OUD. The substance opioid use disorders in medicine immersion program clinical/theoretical framework will address SUD's/OUD's and how to manage them as complex chronic conditions, to avoid sequelae and premature death. This will be achieved by developing a training program that will merge the knowledge of an interdisciplinary team led by board-certified addiction medicine doctors, and composed of substance abuse counselors, clinical psychologists and other professionals. The proposed UCC-PCSS-U program will enroll 180 participants in the three-year period (Y1:50; Y2:60; Y3:70). After the initial implementation of the UCC-PCSS-U, we will conduct additional regional trainings/workshops that will impact students from other institutions and professionals from diverse disciplines.