MIT's On-Campus Student Drug Testing Program
- 1. MIT Medical and MIT’s Office of Community Development and Substance Abuse (CDSA) partnered to create an on-campus drug testing program for at-risk students trying to stay clean and sober. The program launched in February 2017 and has been a success. The students enrolled in the pilot program maintained their sobriety and reported positive experiences, and the program will continue as needed. Abstract Before February 2017, the Committee on Discipline, working in partnership with CDSA and MIT Medical’s Mental Health and Counseling Service required some recovering students who were deemed at high risk of relapsing to participate in a drug-testing programaspartofamorecomprehensivesanctionandintervention to support students struggling to stay clean and sober. Background MIT’s On-Campus Student Drug Testing Program Createanon-campusstudentdrugtestingprogramthatwouldbe in place for students at the beginning of the 2017 spring semester. Goal • Both students involved in the process maintained sobriety and their student status. • Both students reported positive reengagement with MIT during the semester. • All departments involved agreed that the process was easy to use and track. • The students’ overall rating was positive. One of the students did report that they felt the lab’s adherence to procedures was too strict, but understood the need to “follow the rules.” • 32 specimens were collected for testing. • There was one positive result that was determined to be a false positive. • One specimen was questioned when the donor name was illegible. Results Given the success of the pilot program, MIT Medical will continue to conduct additional specimen collections at the request of CDSA. Next steps Students were referred to the Addiction Treatment Center of New England (ATCNE) in Brighton, the only facility in the area that could conduct the type of drug testing needed. However, ATCNE was far from campus and would not bill MIT for the services it provided. That meant students needed to pay up front, out of pocket ($55 per test) and wait for MIT to reimburse them. Both distance and payment issues created significant barriers for participating students and made an already stressful process even more difficult. Timeline Senior Associate Dean for Residential Education Judith McGuire Robinson contacted MIT Medical Director Cecilia Stuopis to discuss the possibility of conducting drug testing at MIT Medical. JULY 2016 • Medical directors, chiefs, and laboratory staff met to discuss regulatory implications, feasibility, and workflow. • Program was reviewed by MIT’s Office of the General Council. • MIT Medical assessed laboratory needs and workflow. • MIT Medical created a workflow created that would allow the facility to maintain student confidentiality while sending results to CDSA. • MIT Medical created follow-up workflows that could determine whether a positive result was accurate or a false positive. SEPTEMBER 2016 • MIT Medical began training additional staff for specimen collection. Trainings included an online course and in-person or webcam instruction. • MIT Medical finalized requisition, consent form, and protocols. DECEMBER 2016 Pilot program concluded. JUNE 2017 MIT Medical recruited male volunteers to increase male personnel needed to observe specimen collection for male students. (Note: There was an adequate number of female observers due to the makeup of the laboratory staff.) JANUARY 2017 • MIT Medical conducted mock collections on 2/1/17 and 2/2/17. • The program went live on 2/10/17. FEBRUARY 2017