The Department of Fundamentals of Nursing, MCON, MAHE, Manipal organized a “Patient Communication in Substance Abuse Disorders” session on February 29, 2024, between 03:30 pm and 05:30 pm through the MS Teams virtual platform as part of the Student Collaboration activity series.

Dr. Tony Bewely, adjunct faculty at MCON and senior lecturer and program coordinator at Edgehill University, gave an overview of the speakers and sessions.  A member of EdgeHill University's service users group, Mr. Ad Gridley, talked about his own experience with cannabis usage and schizoaffective illnesses. He went on to discuss his experiences with hospitalization, family support, hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, and problems brought on by his addiction and disease. Final-year BSc students in mental health and disabilities, Ms Laicey and Ms Georgina discussed their interactions with substance-abusing individuals, including their intricate presentations, co-occurring medical conditions, and poor work performances.

Ms. Flavia Noronha, Lecturer, Department of Mental Health (Psychiatric) Nursing, discussed the different communication techniques needed while interacting with patients who are abusing substances. She provided a brief introduction to drug misuse in the Indian setting as well as the duties of nurses in addressing patient issues, including the engagement of family members in the decision-making process. Two MCON BSc Nursing students, Ms. Mable and Mr. Dhruv, shared experiences treating patients with drug addiction disorders and the kind of communication that works best in these situations.

Students and presenters from both colleges conversed as they examined all the caring concerns in various settings. Ms. Gemma Lightfoot and Ms. Aarushi Kaushal oversaw the Student Collaboration Series-11. 

Thirty-three participants actively participated in the session (18 from MCON and 15 from Edgehill University).

This initiative contributed to the SDGs as listed below.

SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing

SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals