Join Us for Part 3 of the ACAAM Virtual Learning Series on April 18

Don't miss out on the final part of the ACAAM Virtual Learning Series, "How to Start Your Own Inpatient Addiction Medicine Consult Service," this Thursday, April 18, from 3–4 pm ET. Join presenters from UC Davis Health Department of Emergency Medicine for insights on navigating the intersection of opioid use disorder, pain management, upholding DEI values, and more.

This FREE session is geared toward faculty in established and emerging fellowship programs, although all are welcome. We look forward to seeing you virtually!

Register Today

Make Your Submissions by May 1 for AMERSA's 2024 Annual Conference

AMERSA is now accepting submissions for abstracts, workshops, and conference awards until Wednesday, May 1. Whether you have research to share, an innovative workshop idea, or are seeking a conference award to join AMERSA in Chicago, now is the time to submit! 

Mark your calendars for AMERSA's 48th Annual Conference, taking place November 14–16 in Chicago, IL. This year's event will feature oral abstract sessions, live poster sessions, and interactive skills-based workshops. 

ACAAM Hosts Virtual Event for Anyone Interested in Addiction Medicine Fellowship Opportunities

Calling all medical students, residents, physicians, or anyone interested in learning more about addition medicine fellowship opportunities and the field as a potential career path! Join us for ACAAM's virtual Specialty Showcase on May 7 at 3 pm ET.

Exclusive Offer:

Register now and gain 2 months of complimentary access to the following ACAAM didactic sessions:

Explore ACAAM's 2023 Highlights: Growth in Membership and Engagement

• Membership Updates
• Networking and Engagement 
• Education, Programs, & Products
• Workforce and Academic Development
• Financial Outlook

Join us in celebrating these milestones and envisioning a future of excellence and equity in academic addiction medicine! Learn more about ACAAM's mission.

ACAAM by the Numbers

2024 ACAAM Award Recipients: James F. Callahan, DPA, and Richard Saitz, MD MPH FACP DFASM

Congratulations to the 2024 ACAAM Award Recipients, recognizing exemplary achievements in academic addiction medicine! Our appreciation goes out to James F. Callahan, DPA, for being selected as the recipient of the 2024 Kevin B. Kunz Award. Additionally, we extend our tribute to the late Richard Saitz, MD MPH FACP DFASAM, for being selected as the recipient of the 2024 Keeper of the Flame Award.

Mark your calendars for June 5 and join us at the Annual Addiction Medicine Fellow Virtual Graduation and ACAAM Awards Recognition Event. Let's come together to celebrate these remarkable individuals who have made significant contributions to our field. 

ACAAM Award Recipients

Join us on January 17 for Part 2 of the ACAAM Early Career Education Series About Disseminating Your Research

Part 2 of the ACAAM Early Career Education Series is coming up on Wednesday, January 17, from 3-4 pm ET. Join us for a presentation on "Dissemination of Your Work and Research Through Manuscripts and Conference Submissions." This is the second part of a three-part series for fellows, recent program graduates, and junior faculty.

The final session will be held on February 15 at 3 pm ET. 

Explore the Full List of ACAAM's Volunteer Community

In a year of gratitude, we want to thank our 2023 ACAAM Member Volunteers for their unwavering dedication to advancing addiction medicine. We are also thrilled to welcome new faces and names—Committee and Advisory Group Volunteers—who bring unique perspectives to our community.

Click below to view the full list of volunteers and see who's driving the future of addiction medicine.

View the List of ACAAM Volunteers

Register for Part 2 of the ACAAM Virtual Learning Series on January 11

Join us for the second part of our ACAAM Virtual Learning Series, "Leveraging ACGME Requirements to Create a Community-Based Addiction Medicine Rotation to Educate and Mentor Internists in Harm Reduction," on Thursday, January 11, from 3-4 pm ET. This FREE session is the second part of a three-part series geared toward faculty in established and emerging fellowship programs, although all are welcome.

The final session will be held on April 18 at 3 pm ET. 

Explore the ACAAM Virtual Learning Series and ACAAM Early Career Education Series

We are excited to announce two new series for ACAAM members that will provide valuable education and professional development – the ACAAM Virtual Learning Series and the ACAAM Early Career Education Series. Both series are free to attend, and registration links will be emailed to ACAAM members in advance of each session. Be sure to mark your calendars to join us!

ACAAM Virtual Learning Series

The ACAAM Virtual Learning Series is a three-part series offering content to ACAAM members covering topics related to teaching, education, curriculum development, leadership and administrative development, as well as competencies (including cultural humility, healthcare equity, AR-DEI, and lifelong learning).

Jeanette Tetrault, MD, Awarded AMERSA's John P. McGovern Award

We are excited to announce that ACAAM President Jeanette Tetrault, MD, was awarded the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance use and Addiction (AMERSA) John P. McGovern Award for Excellence in Medical Education!

The AMERSA John P. McGovern Award is given to an individual who has made important contributions to substance use education and research. Previous recipients of this award include Ricky N. Bluthenthal, PhD; Marc N. Gourevitch, MD, MPH; and Julia H. Arnsten, MD, MPH, among others.

Gail D’Onofrio, MD, MS, Receives the AWAEM Legacy Award for Her Outstanding Work in the Field

Please join us in congratulating ACAAM Board Member Gail D’Onofrio, MD, MS, for being the inaugural winner of the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM) Gloria Kuhn Legacy Award!

The AWAEM Legacy Award is given to a woman faculty member who has made outstanding contributions through clinical work, teaching, mentorship, role modeling, or administration. It is awarded to those who contribute significantly to the field of Emergency Medicine, which makes Dr. D'Onofrio the perfect recipient.

ACAAM's Specialty Showcase and Virtual Convenings

In May, ACAAM hosted its first Specialty Showcase and three Virtual Convenings for member segments.

Specialty Showcase – May 9

As a part of ACAAM’s commitment to growing the pipeline of future fellows, earlier this month, we held our first Specialty Showcase event, which was an opportunity for residents, medical students, and others who were interested in learning more about addiction medicine fellowships to get the basics and ask their questions. More than 100 registered for the event, with approximately 45 participating live, and the event recording has been shared with all registrants.

At the 2021 ACAAM Annual Meeting, David Tracy, MD, presented "Nicotine Patch Prescription Fulfillment Rate for Emergency Department Patients" during the Fellows Lightning Round session. Dr. Tracy is a 2021 graduate of MetroHealth's addiction medicine fellowship program.

Dr. Tracy's presentation reviewed a study he conducted with Charles Emerman, MD, and Jon Siff, MD, that evaluated fill rates for prescription nicotine patches (NRT-P) from the Emergency Department. The study was conducted because prior work has demonstrated that many Emergency Department patients fail to fill their NRT-P prescriptions.

Jordana Laks, MD MPH, and Morgan Younkin, MD MPH, then-fellows from the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center, presented "Outpatient Benzodiazepine Taper in a Low Barrier Setting" at the 2021 ACAAM Annual Meeting.

Drs. Laks and Younkin's presentation explored the development of an outpatient extended-duration benzodiazepine taper protocol for patients with benzodiazepine use disorder in a low barrier addiction treatment bridge clinic. The need for a benzodiazepine taper protocol was demonstrated by clinical experience with a small number of individualized benzodiazepine tapers in this setting as well as a literature review supporting the benefits of extended duration tapers. The developed protocol includes patient eligibility criteria, a standardized stabilization phase, taper duration of 4-6 weeks, and recommended monitoring.

Jeremiah Fairbanks, DO presented “Safe Station Initiative” during the June 2021 Annual Meeting’s Fellows Lightning Round session. Dr. Fairbanks is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Addiction Medicine fellowship program.

Dr. Fairbanks' presentation explored the Safe Station initiative, which strives to provide culturally sensitive low threshold substance use disorder treatment in underserved and predominantly African American neighborhoods. The initiative connects first responders with community-based peer recovery services to provide immediate service to individuals seeking help for addiction and substance abuse.

With Addiction Medicine about to begin a new application season, some 180 fellowship representatives and potential candidates turned out to meet one another on May 11 for the second ACAAM virtual Addiction Medicine Recruitment Fair.

On hand were ACAAM President Jeanette Tetrault, MD, and ACAAM Vice President for Medical and Academic Affairs Timothy Brennan, MD, MPH, who gave an informative overview of addiction medicine training. Attendees were then free to network for the remainder of the event, with potential applicants visiting fellowships at individual virtual breakout “tables.”

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.

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.