Medical Student
Focus on your clerkship rotations and observe how substance use disorders affect patients throughout each setting. You may consider:
- Electives in addiction medicine: Seek out electives in addiction medicine at your home or away institution.
- Volunteering: Partner with community public health or harm reduction programs for volunteer opportunities.
- Shadowing: Shadow physicians working in inpatient or outpatient substance use treatment facilities or detoxification units.
Residency Application
Elements to consider in an emergency medicine residency program include:
- Is there an addiction medicine fellowship training program at the institution?
- Are there addiction medicine-trained faculty?
- Is there an addiction medicine curriculum or rotation?
- What types of addiction-focused programs are available through the emergency department (ED)?
- Is medication for addiction treatment (MAT) routinely being prescribed from the ED?
- What kind of community partnerships for substance use treatment exist in the area?
Insider Advice
"To be a competitive candidate, applicants would ideally demonstrate enthusiasm for the specialty. Fortunately, as addiction medicine is still an emerging field, there are often numerous opportunities in residency to help improve and standardize the care of patients who use drugs at your institution, with formal quality improvement or research projects a bonus."
-Daniel Colby, MD
