For planning purposes, the Program Requirements were written with a four-week block system in mind (yielding 12 rotation blocks plus 1 vacation/CME block), but that format is not mandatory. What is required is that programs offer a total of 2,080 hours, composed of:
Programs are given flexibility in how they structure their rotations to meet these requirements. In Scenario 1 (below), 12 block rotations are offered, while in Scenario 2, the hourly requirements are met by a mix of 10 block and longitudinal rotations. Programs may also use a calendar-month system, if they wish, so long as they meet the hourly requirements. Strictly speaking, the minimum number of rotations is five:
A program with a limited number of rotations, of course, would have to be carefully designed to provide the trainee with the competencies described in the ABAM Foundation‟s Compendium of Educational Objectives and Core Content of Addiction Medicine.