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Family Medicine

Addiction Medicine

This program will provide exposure to a full spectrum of care, developing the resident’s clinical knowledge, evidence-based skills and attitudes for comprehensive care in Addiction Medicine, and leadership in the field within the community. This training program will introduce residents to the breadth of addictions medicine, from harm reduction to inpatient recovery treatment, and from community providers to hospital-based services. A unique strength of this training program is the opportunity to gain experience treating the concurrent psychiatric disorders that so often accompany substance use disorders. Substantial experiences in all the above areas will allow residents to develop knowledge and skill in managing substance use disorders and common comorbid conditions in community and hospital-based settings.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Time available: One 12-month position

Learning experiences available:

  • Medical Detox (inpatient)
  • Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic (outpatient)
  • Hospital Consult Service (inpatient)
  • Opioid Agonist Clinic (outpatient)
  • Residential Treatment, including Concurrent Mood/Anxiety/Trauma Disorders (inpatient)
  • Street Outreach- Addictions & Primary Care (outpatient)
  • Acute Psychiatry, including substance-induced psychosis (inpatient)
  • Pain Management (inpatient & outpatient)
  • Selective block with relevance for addictions medicine, e.g., infectious disease, public health, psychiatry, psychotherapy, hepatology, perinatal addiction medicine, pediatric/youth addiction medicine
  • Scholarship/advocacy/policy block

Mandatory longitudinal primary care experience (one half day a week): A mandatory primary care experience with a primary Family Medicine preceptor is expected during a second protected half-day. This experience will be for 12 months during the PGY3 program. Because an overarching goal of the program is to develop family physicians that have additional expertise in addiction medicine, this continuity experience is mandated to maintain the PGY3 resident’s competency and skills in the other areas of general family medicine during this training year.

Clinical Training Sites: The PGY-3 Addictions Medicine program is based out of McMaster’s Waterloo Regional Campus, in close collaboration with community addictions medicine providers in the Waterloo Region and surrounding areas, including Guelph and Hamilton, working in outpatient contexts (e.g., RAAM and OAT clinics),hospital-based services (e.g., detox, inpatient addictions consult service, acute psychiatry, and pain management center), and inpatient addictions and psychiatric treatment providers (Homewood Health Centre).

SAMPLE SCHEDULE

Sample schedule for 13 4-week blocks.
Learning experienceNumber of blocks
Medical Detox1
Opioid Agonist Clinic1
Residential Treatment: Addictions Medicine Program1
Hospital Consult Service + Perinatal Addictions #11
RAAM Clinic #11
Street Outreach1
Acute Psychiatry (including substance-induced psychosis)1
Research/Policy/Advocacy1
Hospital Consult Service + Perinatal Addictions #21
RAAM Clinic #21
Residential Treatment: Concurrent Disorders Program (mood, anxiety, trauma + substance use disorders)1
Pain Management1
Selective1

CONTACT US

Program Director: Dr. Joél Schmidt

For further program details please contact: fmpgy3@mcmaster.ca