Addiction Teaching and Training in the General Psychiatry Setting

Enhancing Addictions Education in Patient Care and Medical Knowledge Competencies for General Psychiatry Residents

“…For example, psychologists might teach about cognitive behavioral therapy for addictions as well as for pain, as suggested in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education recommendations [ 8 ]. While inpatient settings for medically supervised withdrawal have been common sites for required addictions rotations, programs should also consider alternative clinical venues that offer a longitudinal perspective on substance use disorders and recovery [ 9 ].…”

A call for increased addiction psychiatrist engagement in medical student education

“…Notably, even general psychiatry residency programs affiliated with academic institutions may struggle to find addiction psychiatry faculty to provide clinical supervision 6 . In response, suggestions have been made for how to enhance psychiatry residency education and training in addiction psychiatry with limited resources 10 . Although there is no identified best practice, these strategies can also be flexibly applied to medical student education depending on the resources available at the particular medical school.…”

“…For medical schools without board‐certified addiction psychiatrists, collaboration with educational venues outside of the home academic medical center can prove beneficial. These can include community settings with an on‐site addiction psychiatrist such as residential treatment facilities, public sector or county health clinics, intensive outpatient or day programs, methadone clinics, and mandated treatment settings such as court‐ordered diversion programs 10 . For medical schools with addiction psychiatrists providing clinical care, medical students can be incorporated into outpatient clinics and hospital consultation services as well as inpatient psychiatric units where patients frequently have co‐occurring SUDs and other psychiatric disorders.…”

“…6 In response, suggestions have been made for how to enhance psychiatry residency education and training in addiction psychiatry with limited resources. 10 Although there is no identified best practice, these strategies can also be flexibly applied to medical student education depending on the resources available at the particular medical school.…”

“…Where students joining existing clinical services is not possible, another option might be experiential learning followed by an interactive debrief with an addiction psychiatrist, such as attending a mutual aid group meeting or visiting a local supportive living environment. This strategy can help expose students to people in recovery and debriefing with an addiction psychiatrist can help put patients' lived experiences into clinical context 7,10. It is essential for practicing addiction psychiatrists to expand the current approach to medical student education in addiction psychiatry.…”