title: Alcohol education and training in pre-registration nursing: a national survey to determine curriculum content in the United Kingdom (UK).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcohol-related harm impacts significantly on the health of the population. Nurses are often among the first health professionals that many patients with alcohol-related problems come into contact with and have been identified as playing a key role but may be ill-prepared to respond. Future nurses need to have the skills, knowledge and clinical confidence to respond to patients suffering from alcohol-related harm. A pre-registration curriculum that ensures a nursing workforce fit for practice in responding to alcohol-related harm is necessary.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the level of alcohol education and training content in the pre-registration curriculum for nursing in the United Kingdom (UK). To establish whether there are variations in the pre-registration curriculum content across the UK.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive study.
  
  
  METHODS
  All 68 UK Higher Education Institutions offering a total of 111 pre-registration courses for nurses were invited to participate in the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty nine completed questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 26%. The largest number of identified responders were from England (n=15), with 3 from Scotland and 1 each from Wales and Northern Ireland. Nine Universities chose not to identify themselves.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online semi-structured questionnaire survey was used to collect the study data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Teaching of alcohol and alcohol related harm was mainly delivered during the second year of a pre-registration nursing programme provided mainly to adult and mental health students. Overall, the majority of alcohol related content that is provided within the responding pre-registration nursing courses relates to biophysiology, aetiology, and pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the need for a greater and more relevant focus of alcohol education to pre-registration nursing students of all fields of practice incorporating an integrated approach across all years of study.
authors.affiliation: School of Health in Social Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, The Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK. Aisha.Holloway@edu.ac.uk
authors.forename: Aisha S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Holloway
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Webster
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards*; D004506:Education, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D013338:Students, Nursing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom