What's New
The ABAM Foundation Accredits Addiction Medicine Residency Programs
Accreditation for Addiction Medicine residency training is now being offered to those programs that meet the standards established by the ABAM Foundation.
Letters of Intent (LOI) are now being accepted from those interested in subsequently submitting a full application for ABAM Foundation accreditation. Recognition by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) will be pursued as part of this project, possibly in 2013.
To be ABAM Foundation-accredited, programs must be able to begin training with at least one (1) Addiction Medicine resident by July 1, 2011.
LOI packets (see LOI Template and LOI Information Package) will be accepted via email until midnight September 8. LOI packets should be sent to Richard D. Blondell, M.D, Chair of the ABAM Foundation Training and Accreditation Committee: blondell@buffalo.edu. In the email subject line, please write "ABAM Foundation LOI."
LOI packets must include the letter in the form of the LOI Template, and the LOI Information Package. The ABAM Foundation Training and Accreditation Committee (TAC) will review all Letters of Intent packets for indicators of capability and institutional commitment.
By September 30, up to 25 of those submitting LOIs will be invited to complete a full Program Accreditation Application Form (PAAF) for return by November 15. At least 10 of those submitting PAAFs are expected to be selected for ABAM Foundation accreditation. Notification of accreditation will be made from December 2010 through April 2011.
In collaboration with the ABAM Foundation, the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo will apply for grant monies to develop a national Addiction Medicine training infrastructure. If SUNY Buffalo receives the grant, up to five (5) of the accredited programs will receive up to $100,000 over two years, provided this does not replace institutional resources. Decisions on financial support (if it becomes available) may not be possible until after accreditation decisions are made, and after July 1, 2011.
Letter of Intent Template
Letter of Intent Information Package
Following the July 6 – 7, 2010 Addiction Medicine Residency Development retreat in Alexandria, VA, where nearly 50 participants came to a consensus on program guidelines and educational objectives for Addiction Medicine training, the ABAM Foundation Training and Accreditation Committee published the following consensus documents:
- Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Addiction Medicine
- Compendium of Educational Objectives for Addiction Medicine Residency Training
- Addiction Medicine Program Accreditation Application Form
In order to develop a 'standard curriculum' for training programs in the field of Addiction Medicine, The ABAM Foundation has drafted the Core Content, Core Competencies, and Scope of Practice forAddiction Medicine.
ABAM News Released October 27, 2009
ABAM continues to work intensely and deliberately to attain its goal ofsecuring a decision by the ABMS to establish a certification program in Addiction Medicine for physicians who choose to attain such certification.
ASAM and other entities which will be 'sponsoring organizations' for ABAM's application to the ABMS, will not be in any position to make any requests of the ABMS until our field has met the basic requirements for a certification program: that there be training (generally, training that is accredited under the auspices of the ACGME) up and running in Addiction Medicine.
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Inviting comment
ABAM News Released October 26, 2009
We invite you to comment on the core content, core competencies, and scope of practice for Addiction Medicine. To comment please email us: email@abam.net
Pathways to ABMS Recognition
ABAM News Released October 26, 2009 (revised April 20, 2010)
The ABAM Directors have determined that the core knowledge, skills and scope of practice of Addiction Medicine represent a specialty that is best served by one of two pathways to ABMS board certification: 1. The creation of a new ABMS Conjoint Board (a body established under the joint sponsorship of not less than two ABMS Primary Boards); or, 2. An alternate pathway through an independent specialty board, the American Board of Addiction Medicine. For the alternate pathway, physicians would first complete the requirements for certification by one of the ABMS member Boards, and become certified by an ABMS member Board. Applicants for ABAM certification would then complete an ACGME-accredited Addiction Medicine residency and take the ABAM certification examination. ABAM diplomates would thus be "double-Boarded": in their initial specialty, and in Addiction Medicine.
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