Education

Behavioral Health Simulations

Saginaw Valley State University hosts interprofessional training to equip future healthcare providers with critical practice tools that increase confidence, competence and readiness to practice including scaffolded components of didactic, virtual, and in-person simulation.  Students from SVSU's Family Nurse Practitioner Program, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Post-Graduate Certificate Program, Social Work, Occupational Therapy, and students from Ferris State University's College of Pharmacy work together with a unique group of standardized patients from our community.  Students gain skills in evidence-based screening tools and techniques, exposure to Motivational Interviewing techniques used in brief interventions, and a broader understanding of the continuum of behavioral health resources for treatment referrals.  

Telehealth Simulations

Students participate in an unfolding simulations that spans a variety of telehealth scenarios.  Students are provided with the latest in telehealth technology to utilize for the simulation.  The goal of this simulation is to increase the student's confidence and competence in the use of telehealth technology in rural practice and expose the student to the plethora of technology-based resources available to them in rural practice.

Specialty Workshops

Workshops are held periodically throughout the academic year to provide supplementary education in a broad range of treatment options for behavioral health.  Learning opportunities include the use of telehealth technology and technology-based treatment modalities including virtual reality.  Students also have the opportunity to pursue National Association for Detoxification Acupuncture Certification.

Project ECHO for Substance Use Disorders  

SVSU’s Mental Health SUD ECHO is a collaborative effort aimed at enhancing the knowledge of Providers treating patients with a SUD.  Through a series of didactic presentations and case presentations, our interdisciplinary HUB team uses their expertise to further the knowledge of those attending the session.

Project ECHO for Perinatal Substance Use Disorder

With support from a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Partnership for Success 2020 grant, SVSU has started a perinatal substance use disorder-focused Project ECHO.  This Project ECHO will provide continuing education to help healthcare providers to gain critical information and access to perinatal substance use disorder experts in prevention, evidence-based substance use screening, intervention and treatment with the goal of reducing substance use disorder among women of child-bearing age, pregnant women and neonatal abstinence syndrome among their infants.