Overview
The need for addiction medicine specialists has never been greater. Addiction is a major public health concern, impacting the health and economy of our society. Effective and evidence-based treatments for addictive disorders are available, yet most people who have an addiction do not have access to addiction specialty care.
The Addiction Medicine Fellowship at the University of Iowa (UI) Carver College of Medicine is an ACGME-accredited, one-year fellowship. The fellowship opened in July 2020 and is Iowa’s first addiction medicine fellowship program. The fellowship provides postgraduate subspecialty training in addiction medicine to physicians who have completed training in one of eight specialties (psychiatry, family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, anesthesia, or preventive medicine).
Fellows develop expertise in the management of acute and chronic addictive disorders across the lifespan, including detoxification, medication for addiction treatment, motivational enhancement therapy, management of co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions, harm reduction, and principles of counseling to optimize sustained recovery.
Training Program
The UI Addiction Medicine Fellowship is a one-year training program. Fellows receive comprehensive training in addiction medicine. Our fellowship training includes:
- Rotations in inpatient and outpatient settings
- Treating patients during acute and chronic stages of addiction
- Managing addiction in patients with co-occurring medical and/or psychiatric conditions
- Providing continuity care to a population of patients with addictive disorders
- Delivering addiction care via telemedicine
- Caring for a diverse population, including youth, pregnant women, adults, and senior citizens
- Experience in community-based settings and working with underserved and rural populations
- Developing skills to provide preventive services
- Practicing in a continuity addiction clinic for one year
- Conducting a scholarly project
The curriculum consists of 13 consecutive 4-week blocks. These include:
- Three blocks on inpatient rotations
- Psychiatry/Addiction Consults at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital
- Addiction Consults at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center
- Emergency Room/Toxicology/Crisis Stabilization at UI Health Care Medical Center
- Seven blocks on a longitudinal outpatient clinic rotation, including
- Addictive Disorders Clinic at the VA Coralville Clinic (ICVAHCS)
- Addiction Medicine Clinic Iowa River Landing (IRL) and UI Health Care Medical Center
- Pain Clinic (UI Health Care Medical Center)
- Community-based experiences (Iowa City and surrounding community)
- Three blocks on elective rotations
Weekly didactics (four hours/week) cover the breadth of addiction medicine topics. Topics are presented by faculty with a wide range of expertise in addiction clinical care, research, and policy. Fellows, faculty residents, substance use disorder (SUD) counselors/social workers, and students participate in didactics, in-person and/or via videoconferencing.
Upon completion, fellows are eligible for ABMS board certification in Addiction Medicine.
Training Sites
The primary training sites for the fellowship are University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center and the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, both located in Iowa City, Iowa, within a 3-mile radius of each other. Additional community-based training occurs at a variety of local programs that provide treatment and other services, including Prelude Behavioral Services, Cross Park Place, Fairweather Lodge, and the Abbe Center for Community Mental Health.