Program Curriculum
The curriculum covers major advances in the field of clinical addiction medicine presented through didactic presentations, one-on-one teaching project mentoring with our faculty, small group skills practice sessions and case discussions, meetings with guests in recovery, and observations of AA meetings.
Addiction Science
- Epidemiology
- Neurobiology of addiction
- Genetics of addiction
- Pharmacology of drugs and alcohol
Clinical Practice
- Screening, assessment, and brief intervention
- Motivational interviewing
- Treatment methods (e.g., pharmacotherapy)
- Relapse prevention
- Pain management in patients with a substance use disorder
- Safe opioid prescribing
- Overdose education and naloxone distribution
Teaching Skills
- Incorporating addiction medicine into a residency curriculum
- Effective teaching techniques (e.g., teaching the reluctant learner)
- Giving feedback to learners
Research Exposure
- Review of clinically relevant addiction medicine research
- Exploration of career opportunities in addiction medicine research
- Critical appraisal of articles on addiction medicine
Faculty Mentoring
- Review goals and approaches for effective mentoring
- Practice mentoring techniques
- Support chief resident in their development of a Substance Use Teaching Project
Program Evaluation
Participants are expected to complete a series of evaluation instruments to help us gauge the effectiveness of the program. For Chief Residents this process includes a baseline survey as part of the application; a pre- and post-test and a post-training survey while at the training; four bi-monthly logs about teaching addiction medicine; a six month follow-up; and a brief final survey at around 11 months following the training. Faculty Mentors and Junior Faculty complete variations on a subset of these. Responses are confidential, and data are aggregated across participants.