What is the Program?

“Addiction Medicine is a discipline encompassing the study and practice of health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, care, and treatment of men and women from adolescence to old age, during health and all stages of illness in the substance use disorder community. Intrinsic to the discipline are scientific knowledge, the scientific method of problem solving, evidence-based decision making, a commitment to lifelong learning, and an attitude of caring that is derived from humanistic and professional values”-. It is a one-year clinical Fellowship with advanced training in Addiction Medicine. The Fellowship in Addiction Medicine will prepare primary physicians for clinical and academic careers in addiction medicine, with a particular focus on developing and enhancing evidence-based addiction, prevention, and treatment services for all patients, including those vulnerable to health disparities because of poverty, race, culture, age, gender, disability, or stigma. Through a combination of inpatient and outpatient care spanning diverse settings, Fellows will receive training in the knowledge and skills to become expert clinicians and leaders in the field of addiction medicine. The Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program intends to train caring, compassionate Fellows who are competent to provide the highest level of primary care for the community of substance use disorder, who are advocates for their patients in terms of social emotional and medical needs and who have the essential medical and scientific background to pursue careers in their chosen area of Addiction Medicine.

We aim to stimulate and develop:

• Excellence and responsibility in patient care

• Critical thinking and questioning

• Technical competence

• Sound medical judgment and professional integrity

• Commitment to self-directed and life-long learning

The Multidisciplinary Addiction Medicine Fellowship offers the first comprehensive one-year training opportunity in Puerto Rico to primary physicians on the subject of providing high-quality integrated care to people with substance abuse and dependence. In addition to Addiction Medicine training, this fellowship provides experience and skill-development, working within an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary team.

Our program provides an in-depth experience, with an emphasis on the care of people with addiction, along with elective experiences selected by each fellowship participant to meet his or her training needs. Our training and teaching are closely integrated with our Internal Medicine Residency Program. This program utilizes a longitudinal schedule to allow fellows to gain experience at several training sites over the course of the year.

 

What can be expected?

Fellows will develop robust outpatient Addiction Medicine skills in a continuity practice as well as a specialized addiction clinic, methadone maintenance program, and multiple community Addiction Medicine practices and obtain competences and skills to work with a multidisciplinary team.

 

Fellows will gain experience with:

The primary goal of the one year full-time fellowship is to prepare primary physicians for clinical and academic careers in Addiction Medicine. Fellows will benefit from working within an initiative at the forefront of Addiction Medicine.

The UCC School of Medicine Addiction Medicine Fellowship is a one-year, advanced Fellowship opportunity open to physicians who have completed any ACGME-accredited residency. The Fellowship is accredited by the Accredited Council of Graduate Medical Education.  It will provide state-of-the-art training in the treatment of patients with addiction, including detoxification, pharmacotherapy for addiction, abstinence-based recovery models, harm-reduction recovery models, motivational interviewing, 12-Step facilitation, consultation for medical and psychiatric hospital services, and psychosocial approaches to the treatment of patients with addiction. The program is tailored to the individual background and interests of the applicant. The goal is to train physicians in all aspects of treating patients with substance use disorders, behavioral addictions, and co-occurring psychiatric and medical disorders. It also hopes to promote future leaders in the field of Addiction Medicine.

Clinical rotations will include:

 Inpatient consultation on the Addiction Consult Team at the hospital.

• Outpatient addiction treatment in a community-based opioid treatment program.

• Urgent and transitional addiction treatment in the hospital outpatient clinic.

• Outpatient addiction treatment integrated into Primary Care at three community health centers.

• Diagnosis treatment in specialty outpatient clinics for adults and adolescents.

• Electives and longitudinal experiences will be further tailored to each fellow’s interests and guided by the interdisciplinary Addiction Medicine Fellowship faculty.

 

Requirements:

• Medical License– An unrestricted and currently valid license(s) to practice medicine in a State, the District of Columbia, a Territory, Commonwealth, or possession of the United States. If the applicant has licenses in multiple states, none of those licenses may be restricted, revoked, or suspended or currently under such notice.

• Medical Degree– Graduation is required from: a medical school in the United States which at the time of the applicant’s graduation was accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, or a school of osteopathic medicine approved by the American Osteopathic Association, or an accredited medical school in Canada, or from a medical school located outside the United States and Canada that is deemed satisfactory to the Board.

The following are required to apply for the Fellowship:

• Curriculum vitae

• Two letters of recommendation

• Evidence of USMLE’s report (official transcript)

• Permanent license (if applicable)

• Personal statement

• ECFMG certificate, if applicable

• Photo

• Puerto Rico Criminal background check (certificado buena conducta de la policía)

• Residency Program diplomas

• To fill and complete the application, available at the GMEC Office. Contact person: Dr. Frances García, Director and DIO. Email: garcia@uccaribe.edu or Dr. Luz N. Ramos Vargas, Program Coordinator