Should all medical doctors receive the same training in addiction medicine? Here’s what international experts think about core skills of and addiction specialist.
In a new article published by the Substance Abuse journal, we report on interviews with members of the International Society of Addiction Medicine who identified progression for the core skills and addiction medicine competencies at three educational levels: (i) undergraduate (ii), postgraduate and (iii) continued medical education (CME). The experts described broad ideas, such as knowledge/skills/attitudes towards addiction, for the undergraduate level. At the graduate level, they recommended knowledge of addiction treatment. Next, the experts also described specific recommendations, including the need to tailor the curriculum to national settings and different specialties. We still don’t know whether a global curriculum is needed. But a consensus on a core set of principles for progression of knowledge, attitude, and skills in addiction medicine to be developed at each educational level among medical graduates would likely have substantial value.
Why are the core skills important?
Our findings provide a consensus opinion on core skills for progression of knowledge, attitude, and competencies in addiction medicine. A panel of international scholars recommended that medical students and physicians should learn these skills throughout medical education. This is particularly important for the development of new addiction medicine curricula and enhancement of available courses. If applied, our findings would have profound effects on the quality of medical education. Better education can improve subsequent clinical care provided to people with substance use disorders worldwide.