Online Primary Care Physician (PCP) Training in Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral, and Treatment
Online Primary Care Physician (PCP) Training in Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral, and Treatment
This project seeks to develop a comprehensive, computer-based education program for primary
 care physicians that will improve their skills in structured substance abuse screening, brief
 interventions, and referral and treatment (SBIRT). The investigators will develop two online
 education programs based on virtual patient (VP) technology. One program will include five
 typical, interactive, problem-solving VPs and the second will include five identical VPs
 except that two VPs will have been "worked" by substance abuse experts and presented as case
 studies. The remaining three VPs will be "unworked" (typical VPs). The investigators
 hypothesize that both education programs will significantly improve educational outcomes,
 compared to no training, as measured by a validated survey tool. A secondary hypothesis is
 that physicians using the "worked" (guided learning) program will achieve similar educational
 results as those using the typical VP approach, but will require less training time.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Physician in primary care training program

 -  Faculty member in primary care training program

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Advanced medical training in substance abuse management