An education programme for professionals who specialize in substance misuse in St Petersburg, Russia: part 1

This paper provides an account of a joint project of education and training of doctors and nurses in St Petersburg, funded by the Know How Fund Health Sector Small Partnership Scheme (Russia). Contextual material on drug and alcohol misuse in Russia is introduced prior to a focus on the drug and alcohol misuse issues in St Petersburg. Reference is made to historical and contemporary material on alcohol and drug misuse, and attention is drawn to the reliability of statistical data. The main aims of the project and the work carried out are outlined. Firstly, to bring together medical and nursing colleagues, enabling a recognition of the overlap in training and educational needs of both professional groups, and the learning that can occur from understanding each others roles and responsibilities. Secondly, that the theory and practice of different approaches to care and treatment can be incorporated into already established curricula used to educate both nurses and doctors. Colleagues in St Petersburg have requested the support and guidance of UK practitioners and nurse educationalists to facilitate these changes in perspectives. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the influence of the project in anticipation of a forthcoming paper that will detail evaluation processes that the provision has undergone and examine the findings in more detail.