At the 2021 ACAAM Annual Meeting held virtually, Claudia Moore, then a fellow at the University of Nebraska (and now faculty in the Addiction Medicine fellowship program), presented a case report titled, "PEth Testing and Liver Transplant Evaluations," which she created along with Alëna Balasanova, MD, and VaKara Meyer Karre, MD.

The case, which is still in progress, is of a critically ill adult man on the liver transplant list with a significantly elevated PEth and an adamant history, confirmed by family and consistent through his hospital stay, of only distant minimal alcohol use. Dr. Moore's presentation explored the background of the case, the patient's history, the results of laboratory testing, and the follow-up provided.

REACH Application Deadline is June 30

ACAAM is a proud partner in REACH (REACH: Recognizing and Eliminating disparities in Addiction through Culturally informed Healthcare), which is supported by a federal grant to the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Minority candidates for 2023-24 Addiction Medicine fellowships are encouraged to apply for the REACH Scholar program, which provides funding as well as additional training, mentorship and scholarly activity.

Upcoming Events: May and June

Addiction Medicine Fellowship Recruitment Fair
Wednesday, May 11, 7:30 pm EDT

Anticipation is building for the ACAAM Addiction Medicine Fellowship Recruitment Fair. The virtual 90-minute event will get under way with a welcome from ACAAM President Jeanette Tetrault, MD. Following a presentation on addiction medicine training by ACAAM Vice President for Medical and Academic Affairs Timothy Brennan, MD, MPH, the remainder of the fair will be a learning and networking opportunity where participants can visit fellowships at individual breakout “tables.” Residency programs across the nation have been invited to have their residents attend. Thank you to the program directors in the ACAAM Pipeline Task Group for helping plan the event. 

Virtual Addiction Medicine Fellowship Graduation
Thursday, June 9, 6:00 pm EDT

Two national leaders in addiction research will return to give the opening remarks for the 2022 Virtual Addiction Medicine Fellowship Graduation. Nora Volkow, MD, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, will join George Koob, PhD, Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in celebrating the Class of 2022, along with family, friends, faculty and others. Drs. Volkow and Koob, who have both been instrumental in advancing Addiction Medicine, also spoke at last year’s virtual graduation. Following their remarks, this year’s graduates will be recognized in a virtual procession of individual slides as ACAAM leaders announce their names.

Brendan Sullivan, DO presented "Improving Rates of HIV/Hepatitis C Screening and Naloxone Co-prescription” during the June 2021 ACAAM Annual Meeting’s Fellows Lightning Round session. Dr. Sullivan is a 2021 graduate of the addiction medicine fellowship program at St. Joseph Mercy in Ann Arbor, MI.

Dr. Sullivan's presentation explored the second cycle of an ongoing quality improvement project conducted by St. Joseph Mercy's Addiction Medicine clinic to increase Hepatitis C/HIV screening and naloxone prescription rates. For this intervention, a medical assistant called the clinic's new patients and asked three screening questions for naloxone, Hepatitis C, and HIV. If the patient screens positive for any of the questions, the provider can then discuss screening with the patient and place the necessary orders. 

Addiction Medicine Advocacy Conference - March 7–8
ACAAM will once again serve as a national partner in the virtual 2022 Hill Day in conjunction with the Addiction Medicine Advocacy Conference on March 7-8.

FEBRUARY 2022 – After hearing from addiction medicine fellow members of ACAAM, the organization discovered the need to provide a safe space for the fellowship community to build their network, share solutions, and refresh their passion for addiction medicine.

To meet members’ needs, ACAAM hosted a unique, virtual networking event exclusively for addiction medicine fellows. This experience was held on an interactive platform that allowed fellows from all over the country to meet and connect with one another for the first time.

During the June 2021 Annual Meeting’s Fellows Lightning Round session, Marc Kimball, MD presented “Naloxone Co-Prescribing Across a Large Health System.” Dr. Kimball is a 2021 graduate of the addiction medicine fellowship program jointly run by Maine Medical Center and the US Veterans Affairs Health System.

Dr. Kimball’s presentation looked at the co-prescribing of naloxone across MaineHealth’s different sites and found that only about 6% of eligible patients had naloxone on their medication list. Using this information, the Naloxone Committee developed initiatives to help increase the number of patients being co-prescribed naloxone. Some of these initiatives included providing on-site naloxone training, developing online educational modules, and implementing a Best Practice Advisory (BPA).

Fellow only virtual event will focus on resilience, professionalism, and boundary issues

COME TOGETHER: An Addiction Medicine Fellow Only Networking Event

DATE:
February 17, 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PT

LEarn more AND REGISTER:

Click here to learn more and reserve your spot.

COME TOGETHER: An Addiction Medicine Fellow Only Networking Event

ACAAM invites all addiction medicine fellows who are members to an exclusive and unique virtual event. Connect with peers across the country to share training experiences, stories, and resources. Enjoy a keynote speaker and small group conversations using an interactive virtual event platform. The event is free to ACAAM members.

WHEN:
February 17, 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PT

WHAT:
This virtual session will focus on resilience, professionalism, and boundary issues led by Charlene Dewey, MD MEd FACP, Vanderbilt University Center for Professional Health

ACAAM would like to thank the more than 70 addiction medicine physicians who provided volunteer service to the organization in 2021. From service on the Board of Directors, Committees, an Task Forces, to serving as a leader of our new Recruitment Fair and other programs, these leaders served in a variety of ways and provided significant support to ACAAM as it continued its efforts to meet its mission.

As the year comes to a close, thank you for your ongoing efforts and continued support of the organization. And if you are an ACAAM member who would like to get involved in the organization, please feel free to share your interest with ACAAM staff by emailing [email protected].

At its December 2021 meeting, the ACAAM Board of Directors honored outgoing Board members who have spent significant time and provided tremendous effort to ensure the organization has been successful over the last decade plus.

These Board members were devoted stewards of both the American Board of Addiction Medicine and the several iterations of the organization that is today known as ACAAM. Their dedication and wisdom will be missed, but will not be lost, as they will be regularly called upon for advice and involvement.

At its December meeting, ACAAM’s Board of Directors approved a slate of new officers for the organization, who officially take office on January 1, 2022, and serve in the roles through December 31, 2023.

The new officers include:

ACAAM has an opportunity for members to share their interest in joining the organization’s Anti-Racism/Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee for 2022.

This opportunity will allow you to work with several accomplished and returning committee members to develop, implement, integrate, and support strategies and activities to achieve priority goals related to anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion and to create an equitable and welcoming environment within ACAAM.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) will be hosting the 2022 Addiction Medicine Advocacy Conference on March 7-8, 2022. This is a two-day virtual advocacy event. On the first day, attendees will receive training from expert advocacy professionals on issues important to the practice of addiction medicine and hear from key policymakers. Then, attendees will participate in carefully planned virtual Capitol Hill meetings to advance an ambitious policy agenda designed to support addiction treatment professionals as they treat patients and save lives.

ACAAM is honored to be a national advocacy partner for this Conference – along with the American College of Medical Toxicology, and the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine. We look forward to advancing addiction medicine together!

Update... 

The deadline has now passed for applications to the Boston Children’s Hospital Virtual Rotation for addiction medicine fellows.

In early November, ACAAM launched a brand-new member benefit—an online Career Center where employers can recruit qualified candidates and job seekers can find their next addiction medicine job opportunity!

For Employers
We encourage you to take advantage of this new member benefit and post your open positions on the ACAAM Career Center. If you are an ACAAM member, a posting for up to 90 days is only $100 (nonmembers pay $450). And for additional visibility, you can upgrade your posting to a featured listing for only $150 extra.

During the June 2021 Annual Meeting’s Fellows Lightning Round session, Shawn Cohen, MD, presented “Simplifying Buprenorphine Microinduction in the Outpatient Setting.” Dr. Cohen is a second-year fellow in the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine.

Dr. Cohen’s presentation defined microinduction, described how his team explains it to partners and patients, and provided a few resources that may be used to aid its explanation. These resources include a Tweetorial that can be found in the presentation slides.

Even as the recruitment season for the 2022 academic year continues, Addiction Medicine fellowships are beginning to look toward the next application cycle. Two closely related themes top the agenda: getting the word out to potential candidates and improving the process for applicants and fellowships alike.

At the latest ACAAM Virtual Town Hall on November 18, program directors, faculty, and coordinators gathered to begin discussing next steps. The meeting came exactly one month after the offer period for 2022 positions opened for most fellowships participating in the Common Decision Date. The Common Date plan provided a 3-month window of “protected time” so applicants could fully explore their options and programs could complete interviews before offers started.

The MAHEC Addiction Medicine Fellowship is relatively new, but it’s already having an impact in rural North Carolina and beyond, according to a story on ABC-affiliate WLOS in Asheville (https://wlos.com/news/local/addiction-medicine-fellowship-program-aims-to-improve-access-to-care-in-rural-western-nc). The story features current fellow and family physician Kendrick White, MD. The MAHEC fellowship and many others are still taking applications for July 2022 fellowship positions – Read More.

How ACAAM Established a Weekly, Fellowship-Run, Conflict-of-Interest-Free Addiction Medicine Curriculum

The ACAAM National Addiction Medicine Didactic Curriculum is a weekly, fellowship-run didactic experience for addiction medicine fellows and faculty. The curriculum sessions are now in their second year, having launched at the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year. Each week, dozens of addiction medicine fellowship program faculty and fellows convene for live Zoom sessions and to hear an expert speak on different addiction medicine topics. The topics are mapped to the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) addiction medicine exam blueprint as well as the ACGME medical competencies. In addition to faculty and fellows, sessions are open to all health care professionals and trainees interested in expanding their education about treating and assessing patients with substance use disorders.