Health Professionals Substance Abuse Education Act
 

H.R. 1789, a bill to educate health professionals concerning substance use disorders and addiction, was introduced by Rep. Patrick Kennedy [D-RI] this past April and recently referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Passage of this bill would make funds available for educating health professionals to screen, identify and treat persons presenting to their care that have substance use disorders.

 

Addiction Medicine Fellowships

Addiction medicine and psychiatry fellowships through ASAM available at Emory University, University of Florida, and New York University.
The Addiction Technology Transfer Center
The Addiction Technology Transfer Center offers educational resources for health professional students for distance education opportunities. A variety of courses are available and ATTC is available regionally around the country.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM): Addiction Medicine (531)
The Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Medicine offer this elective in substance abuse to fourth year students. Students will participate in clinical care in both inpatient and outpatient settings and will be responsible for working up and presenting patients to attending physicians. Inpatient experience will be with the Substance Abuse Consultation and Referral Service (SACRS) at Montefiore Medical Center, which consults on hospitalized patients with substance abuse disorders and provides guidance on the management of acute issues, such as withdrawal. Outpatient experiences will include observation and participation in relevant settings. Applications are available on the AECOM registrar web page.
Betty Ford Program for Medical Students
This one week program is conducted 5 times each summer at the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, CA. Each session contains about 15 students and runs from Monday to Friday. The students are assigned to either inpatient treatment, professionals in residence treatment, or family treatment. I was assigned to the family program and spent the bulk of the week with clients in this program. In addition, I sat in a staff meetings and attended seminars specifically for the students. The week was an incredible experience. A large amount of time was spent learning about the family aspects of the disease of addiction and interacting with the clients. The clients and staff were extremely accepting of the medical students and excited to talk about the medical care that their families had received surrounding addiction. Betty Ford Center provides scholarship to all students that are accepted and houses students at a local hotel. They also work to achieve regional diversity of the students. My session included students from California, Arizona, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. I highly recommend this experience to any medical student interested in substance abuse. The Betty Ford Center has similar programs for other health professions throughout the year.
Caron Foundation Summer Institute on Addiction Treatment

This five day shadowing program gives interested health professional students the opportunity to learn about the Caron Foundation's multifaceted residential addiction treatment facility. Students initially spend mornings shadowing Dr. Joseph Troncale, Caron's Medical Director, afternoons immersed in the didactic and group sessions, and evenings dining with Caron's residents and evening staff. Additionally, students spend one full day observing Caron's adolescent treatment center, and another full day shadowing an adult Caron client. Students stay either on Caron's campus, or are transported to and from a close-by bed and breakfast. I recommend this training experience to students interested in learning more about high-cost and intensive addiction rehabilitation care in a residential facility, who would enjoy one-on-one connections with Caron's faculty, staff and clientele, and who enjoy the seclusion and tranquility of rural Wernersville, Pennsylvania.

Columbia University School of Nursing

Columbia University School of Nursing offers a sub-specialization in working with substance abusing clients in its psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner program.
 

The Hanley Center

Hanley Center is one of the first treatment facilities in the country to develop a program designed to address the specific recovery care needs of the older adult. Offers professional and community education.

The Harm Reduction Training Institute (HRT)

The Harm Reduction Training Institute (HRTI) is a national training center focused exclusively on harm reduction. Its staff and consultants are skilled trainers with extensive experience in the field. The purpose of HRTI is to increase understanding of the harm reduction philosophy; build the skills necessary to implement harm reduction strategies; strengthen harm reduction leadership across a diversity of disciplines and communities; and develop an awareness of the attitudes that contribute to discrimination against drug users and other marginalized groups. HRTI will collaborate with any organizations or groups committed to these aims.
Hazelden Treatment Facility
Hazelden is one of the leading drug and alcohol addiction treatment facilities and offers educational opportunities, including professional in residence programs that are open to health professionals in training.
International Nurses Society on Addictions
The International Nurses Society on Addictions offers educational publications and products.
Michigan Association of Mental Health Boards
Michigan Association of Mental Health Boards offers cost-effective, substance abuse treatment and prevention training to prepare the field to deliver the highest quality of services to Michigan's residents.
NYU School of Nursing
New York University School of Nursing offers a special components of substance related disorders within its master's and post-master's psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner program.
Nursing World
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a Minority Fellowship Program for Nursing, Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Work, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry pre- and post-doctoral students. I have been a SAMHSA at the American Nurses Association Minority Fellow for two years and have learned tremendously from the experience. If you are accepted for a fellowship you can expect to participate in and publish research related to mental health issues related to SAMHSA's priorities. The fellowship has been a very positive experience for me. Visit the link above to learn more about the SAMHSA at the ANA Minority Fellowship Program.
PLNDP - Physicians and Lawyers for National Drug Policy
The Physicians and Lawyers for National Drug Policy invites you to join as a PLNDP Associate to promote a shift in national illicit drug policy toward treatment and prevention.
Project Mainstream
An association of multidisciplinary health care professionals in the field of substance abuse dedicated to improving research and education about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Project Mainstream is a multi-disciplinary educational initiative on substance abuse training and education.
Seattle University School of Nursing
Seattle University School of Nursing offers a specialization of psychiatric/mental health nursing with an addictions focus in the graduate master's and post master's psychiatric/mental health nursing program.
University of California, Irvine
Students in the program at University of California, Irvine, have the opportunity to participate in a series of workshops on the neurobiology of substance abuse and to conduct laboratory research under the guidance of faculty mentors.
 
University of California, San Diego
Scaife Medical Scholarship Program in Addiction Studies UCSD Summer Clinical Institute In Addiction Studies Center for Addiction Research Training and Application (formerly Addiction Training Center) University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry Held on the UCSD campus in beautiful La Jolla, the program consists of a three and a half day symposium and half day visit to Dr. Shuckitt's cutting-edge inpatient Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program at the VA San Diego. The symposium attracts world-class addiction speakers and researchers from across the country, including Dr. Marc Shuckitt , Dr. Carlton Erickson, Dr. David Deitch , among many others. Students accepted into the Scaife Scholarship Program have scheduled lunches with many of these prominent experts, which allows the students to ask more relevant and focused questions in a casual setting. Non-local students are placed in dormitory housing within walking distance from the symposium site, with the La Jolla City Town Center and Pacific Ocean not a far drive away. I recommend this scholarship experience to anyone who enjoys learning in a conference environment, wants direct and personal interaction with addiction experts, and enjoys San Diego's great summers.
University of Washington
University of Washington offers both a master and post-master's certification program for nurses who want to work with populations where there is an interface between psychiatric and substance abuse disorders.