Alcohol and Health Content in Nursing Baccalaureate Degree Curricula

Globally, a paradigm shift has occurred in the field of alcohol and health from treatment of alcoholism to reducing at-risk drinking. The purpose of this study was to determine if schools of nursing include content reflective of the new paradigm in their Bachelor of Science in Nursing curricula. This was a cross-sectional electronic survey of schools of nursing to determine the mean number of alcohol-related content hours presented, the content offered, and the inclusion of strategies aimed at reduction of at-risk drinking such as screening and brief intervention. The schools (n = 66) reported a mean of 11.3 hours of alcohol-related content, with most of the content related to the treatment of alcohol dependence. Less than 10% required competency in screening and brief intervention. This gap in Bachelor of Science in Nursing curricula carries serious implications in that nurses may not have the knowledge and competencies needed to provide interventions to patients with at-risk alcohol use.