Addiction Medicine: Closing the Gap between Science and Practice

 Graduating from a medical school in the
U.S. or Canada approved by the Liaison
Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
or the Committee on Accreditation of
Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) or
from a school of osteopathic medicine
approved by the American Osteopathic
Association (AOA);* 66

 Being an ABMS board-certified physician
or having completed a residency training
program† in any medical specialty, plus 50
hours of addiction medicine educational
course work (continuing medical
education/CME);^67

 Completing at least 1,920 hours in teaching,
research, administration and clinical care
related to prevention and treatment for
individuals who are at risk for or have
addiction, or completing a one-year ABAM
Foundation-accredited addiction medicine
residency training program;^68

 Passing a five and a half-hour computer-
based examination;^69 and

 Holding a valid and unrestricted license to
practice medicine in the United States, its
territories or Canada.^70

Physicians must maintain their certification
through ABAM’s Maintenance of Certification
(MOC) program of continuing education and
periodic examinations.^71

• If applicants are graduates of medical schools

outside the U.S. or Canada, they must have a
currently valid standard certificate from the
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical
Graduates (ECFMG) or have passed the Medical
Council of Canada Evaluating Examination
(MCCEE).
† Residency programs must be accredited by one of

the following: the Accreditation Council for Graduate
Medical Education (ACGME), the Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Professional
Corporation of Physicians of Quebec or residency
programs accepted by any member board of the
American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) as
qualifying to sit for that member board’s certification
examination.

Though not yet a member board of the ABMS,

ABAM is working to gain recognition of

addiction medicine as a medical specialty.^72

Addiction Psychiatry. The American Board of

Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. offers optional

certification in addiction psychiatry. Addiction

psychiatrists are trained to identify and treat co-

occurring addiction and psychiatric disorders in

individuals seeking treatment for either

condition, and in therapies tailored to specific

subgroups of patients with addiction.^73

Addiction psychiatry is recognized by the

ABMS.^74 Candidates for certification are board-

certified psychiatrists who have completed a

one-year fellowship in addiction psychiatry.^75

Physician Assistants. Physician assistants are

licensed to assist physicians in the practice of

medicine, enabling them to perform many of the

same duties that physicians perform, including

medical assessments and prescribing

medication.^76 The precise scope of their practice

varies according to the regulations of each state.

All states license and regulate physician

assistants and require graduation from an

accredited physician assistant’s program and

passing of the Physician Assistant National

Certifying Examination (PANCE) administered

by the National Commission on Certification of

Physician Assistants (NCCPA).^77 States defer to

the national accreditation agency and

professional board for content requirements. All

physician assistants must complete two years of

college course work in basic and behavioral

sciences and earn a degree from a program‡

accredited by the Accreditation Review

Commission on Education for the Physician

Assistant (ARC-PA).^78 Most programs (more

than 80 percent) award a master’s degree.^79

‡ Physician assistant programs are approximately 27

months long.