Addiction training provision must meet training needs

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Closing the gap between training needs and training provision in addiction medicine

 

Substance use disorders pose a significant global social and economic burden. Although effective interventions exist, treatment coverage remains limited.

 

The lack of an adequately trained workforce is one of the prominent reasons.

Recent initiatives improved training nationally, but further efforts are required to build curricula that are internationally applicable. We therefore believe that the training needs of professionals in the area have not yet been explored in sufficient detail.

Addiction training provision must meet training needs

We propose that a peer-led survey to assess those needs, using a standardised structured tool, would help to overcome this deficiency.

The findings from such a survey could be used to develop a core set of competencies which is sufficiently flexible in its implementation to address the specific needs of the wide range of professionals working in addiction medicine worldwide.

Source: Arya, S., Delic, M., Ruiz, B., Klimas, J., Papanti, D., Stepanov, A., . . . Krupchanka, D. (2019). Closing the gap between training needs and training provision in addiction medicine. BJPsych International, 1-3. doi:10.1192/bji.2019.27

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