Center for Addiction Prevention & Support

Background

In 2020, Power of Putnam, Inc. (PoP), in collaboration with (what came to be known as) the Tennessee Tech Center for Addiction Prevention and Support (CAPS), received an Opioid Resource Grant from the AmerisourceBergen Foundation to launch a community-wide awareness campaign to reduce diversion and ensure safe disposal of medications being prescribed initially for use by animals. In 2021, in addition to offering the course in Tennessee, we received approval to offer the course for Continuing Education (CE) credit in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia. In 2022, we were able to secure approval for 1.5 hours of CE credit from the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSA) through the Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE), which allowed us to offer the course nationwide! However, in 2023, the course was approved through RACE for 2 hours of CE credit, as we added a new module focusing on signs and symptoms of internal diversion as well as self-care.

PoP and CAPS are using their unique resources to develop and launch this awareness campaign to address the diversion of controlled substances by pet owners in Tennessee and all eight neighboring states. Over the past decade, our region has been hit especially hard by the opioid epidemic. Not only have prescription medicines been diverted from human medical practices, but also evidence suggests that it has been diverted from veterinary practices as well. Fighting this opioid epidemic requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. We are offering this course to create greater awareness of the diversion of veterinary medicine.

 

About Us

PoP is a coalition of community agencies and individuals who are concerned about the issue of substance abuse in Putnam County, TN. It seeks to unite the community in the implementation of research based environmental prevention strategies to prevent and lessen the progression of substance abuse. Founded in 2003 by citizens of Putnam County, PoP has engaged in countless substance abuse education and prevention strategies. In 2009, it became incorporated as a non-profit and obtained 501c3 status.

PoP has been on the forefront of local, regional and statewide efforts to reduce opiate misuse since 2012.  Many of PoP’s strategies have been recognized as best practices. These include ongoing CME trainings for all prescribers on the fundamentals of addiction, full community coverage of permanent dropbox locations and availability of in home secured med boxes, development of a medical subcoalition to promote responsible prescribing practices, Narcan deployment in every law enforcement vehicle and an active recovery destigmatization project called “Your Life Matters”   However, we feel there are populations in our area that are underserved by our existing programs. Therefore, we are extending our education and prevention initiatives, specifically to veterinarians, veterinary technicians, pet owners, pharmacies and others who prescribe and handle animal-controlled substance prescriptions. 

TN Tech is a public, state university founded in 1915 with over 10,000 students, nearly 91% of whom are from Tennessee and, among Tennesseans, approximately 40% are from counties in the Upper-Cumberland area. CAPS was formally started in the spring of 2024. Prior to the creation of the Center, TN Tech's substance misuse prevention outreach occurred largely through the TN Tech Addiction Prevention and Support Coalition, which was started in 2022. CAPS focuses on substance abuse prevention outreach campaigns on the TTU campus, within the Putnam County community, and throughout the region. Additionally, it provides young adults in active recovery from substance abuse with a recovery community.

Additional information about PoP and the CAPS can be found here:

Power of Putnam CENTER FOR ADDICTION PREVENTION

About the Course

Controlled Substance Diversion in Veterinary Medicine is a 2-hour continuing education course. The purposes of the course are to provide veterinarians, veterinarian technicians, and veterinary nurses with (1) a description of what is currently known about the abuse of controlled pet medicines and strategies people use for obtaining such prescribed pet medicines for their own consumption;  (2) an overview of reporting requirements for prescriptions of controlled substances for animals; (3) education in understanding and identifying drug abuse and addiction, (4) focused training on the opioid epidemic, opioid overdose symptoms, and opioid overdose reversal, and (5) training on identifying signs and symptoms of potential substance misuse as well as strategies for self-care for veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Upon completion of the course, participants will be provided with a Certificate of Completion, information about receiving an opioid overdose reversal kit, an electronic resource kit for veterinary practices, and access to a variety of information related to the content of the course.

The course is completely online and free-of-charge. It consists of seven modules, six brief quizzes, and an exit survey. The modules are as follows: 

Module One: Introduction & Overview of Abuse & Misuse of Controlled Substances of Prescribed to Animals (Dr. Meggan Graves & Mr. Bill Gibson)

Quiz #1

Module Two: Video Lecture: Research on Prescription Diversion in Veterinary Medicine (Dr. Steven Seiler)

Quiz #2

Module Three: Overview of Prescription Reporting Requirements for Veterinarians & Ethical Challenges (Dr. Steven Seiler)

Quiz #3

Module Four: Understanding Drug Abuse & Addiction (Dr. Mark Loftis)

Quiz #4

Module Five: Opioid Epidemic, Overdoses, & Overdose Reversal (Ms. Suzanne Angel)

Quiz #5

Module Six: Substance Misuse Signs & Symptoms in a Veterinary Setting & Self-Care Strategies for Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians (Dr. Thomas C. Favale)

Quiz #6

Module Seven: Conclusion (Dr. Meggan Graves & Mr. Bill Gibson)

Exit Survey

The course was created by faculty at Tennessee Tech University and the Director of Power of Putnam, and it is available for CE credit to veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary nurses nationwide! It has been approved for CE credit by the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSA) through the Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE)!

Our Speakers

Ms. Suzanne Angel, RN, Tennessee Regional Overdose Prevention Specialists

Dr. Thomas C. Favale, Jr., DVM, LMSW, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Mr. Bill Gibson, CPS I, Executive Director, Power of Putnam

Dr. Meggan Graves, DVM, Assistant Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee – Knoxville 

Dr. Mark Loftis, Ph.D., LPC-MHSP, Professor, Department of Counseling & Psychology, Tennessee Tech University

Dr. Steven Seiler, PhD, MSW, CPS I, Professor, Department of Sociology & Political Science / Director, Center for Addiction Prevention & Support, Tennessee Tech University

Registering for the Course

To register for the Controlled Substance Diversion in Veterinary Medicine (2-hour) continuing education course, please complete this form:

Registration Form

We are anticipating a very high volume of registrations. Therefore, please allow up to one week to process your registration form. Once processed, you will receive an email from d2lsupport@ttueprd.brightspace.com with the course website and login information. 

 

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The course will close on December 31, 2025.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email the Project Coordinator, Dr. Ciana Bowhay (cbowhay@tntech.edu) or Project Directors, Bill Gibson (bill@powerofputnam.org) or Steven Seiler (sseiler@tntech.edu).