Training psychiatric residents in addiction

Abstract

Substance abuse is an undertreated and endemic condition among psychiatric patients. Despite this, psychiatrists historically have been poorly trained in the recognition and treatment of addictive disorders. Over the past 20 years, however, concerted efforts have led to improved substance abuse education for medical students, psychiatry residents, fellows in substance abuse, and teaching faculty. The urgency of recent changes in the health care system combined with trends in clinical research demands improved medical education on the outpatient management of substance abuse disorders. This paper reviews substance abuse training in psychiatric residency education, and our intended readers are faculty members responsible for teaching addiction psychiatry and residents interested in learning about the subject. In the Introduction, education of psychiatrists in addiction is briefly reviewed, and the relevant issues and societal pressures are identified. In the second section, topics and suggested educational strategies are presented for teaching psychiatric residents about the pathology and treatments associated with substance abuse. In the final section, some obstacles to addiction psychiatry training are addressed and conclusions are presented.