SY13-1-3 * INTERNATIONAL ADDICTION MEDICINE: EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING EFFORTS

Abstract

Promoting training in Addiction Medicine worldwide has resulted in a number of efforts, two of which will be the topic of this presentation. A. The international meeting on International Addiction Medicine Training (Nijmegen) has the following aims: – Sharing knowledge and experience in the field across various educational stages; – Sharing ideas about the undergraduate and postgraduate curricula concerning knowledge, skills and competencies; – Determine whether and where international standardization is possible. Highlights and recommendations will be reported. B. A parallel effort has been the drafting of an International Textbook. The Education and Training section has nine chapters. A number of conclusions emerge from this Section. The initiatives described are uniformly recent ones and are at various stages of development. Until recently, there was little international awareness of each other's national efforts and it is hoped that the Section will promote more international collaboration and support and may even be a catalyst for long distance learning. We still lack a clear picture of undergraduate education at various medical schools as in many countries each design its own. This is important because almost every medical doctor will be confronted with addicted patients. A well designed curriculum will presumably help to destigmatize addicted patients but will also bring to the fore that addiction medicine can be an interesting field for future doctors.