FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

February 24, 2003 

Contact: Becky Stein, MPA, Executive Director, 913-262-6161

Prompted by the release of the "Strategic Plan for Interdisciplinary Faculty Development: Arming the Nation’s Health Professional Workforce for a New Approach to Substance Use Disorders," a document primarily supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the AAAP reiterates its advocacy of requiring information about addictions at all levels of medical education. There is no doubt that critical needs exist to improve the education of primary health care providers regarding mental health, including substance abuse; however, the AAAP has concerns regarding two specific recommendations in the "Strategic Plan" document.

Recommendation #5 calls for the creation of a HRSA interdisciplinary faculty development fellowship specialist training program in substance use disorders. Although AAAP supports this concept, the operational definitions appear to overlook existing manpower resources in the field that could serve as the core of such a training program, relying instead on educators drawn primarily from alumni of Project MAINSTREAM. AAAP believes that specialists in addiction psychiatry are crucial to improving medical education in substance abuse and suggests the PGY-5 addiction psychiatry residencies in 43 medical schools across the United States as one source for superlative faculty.

Recommendation #9 calls for the convening of representatives of licensure, certification and accreditation bodies to consider how certification requirements can better address substance use disorders (SUDs). However, the document does not make reference to the experience gained by addiction psychiatry in achieving subspecialty status; psychiatry is the only medical specialty with an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) approved subspecialty in addictions. AAAP has, within its membership, many of the resources to provide advice and consultation to others interested in increasing attention to SUDs within their profession. These skills include identifying core competencies, developing criteria and questions for examinations and offering review courses to prepare for the examinations.

AAAP offers its resources in collaboration with HRSA to improve substance abuse education of health professionals. AAAP believes that a first step can be made by utilizing the expertise of members of the Academy and other national professional substance abuse medical organizations. In addition, AAAP recommends collaboration with SAMHSA, as was done in the above referenced cooperative agreement, as a way to maximize the limited resources of both agencies.

To review policy statements and the letters sent to HRSA and CSAT regarding the Strategic Plan for Interdisciplinary Faculty Development, please visit AAAP’s Web site at www.aaap.org/policies/policy.html.

AAAP is a professional membership organization with approximately 1,000 members in the United States and around the world. The membership consists of psychiatrists who work with addiction in their practices, faculty at academic institutions, non-psychiatrist professionals who are making a contribution to the field of addiction psychiatry, residents and medical students. AAAP publishes The American Journal on Addictions, a leading clinical journal in the field of addictions, and the AAAP News, its newsletter. Other activities include sponsorship of an Annual Scientific Meeting and Symposium and addiction psychiatry review courses.

Click here for the letter sent to HRSA.

Click here for the letter sent to CSAT.

American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry