Dispelling the Myths About Addiction Strategies to Increase Understanding and Strengthen Research (1997) / Chapter Skim
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6 Education and Training
6 Education and Training
Pages 95-114
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From page 95... ...
. This chapter focuses mainly on the educational and training opportunities in secondary schools, undergraduate institutions, and graduate and professional schools, as well as issues specific to research training and support during the early career years.
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However, the decision-making process starts much earlier; unless teenagers are already interested in scientific or medical careers, they are unlikely to take the undergraduate courses that could expose them to information about addiction or prepare them for graduate or professional school programs that train addiction researchers. Some undergraduate students will seek particular graduate programs because they have already decided that they want to learn more about addiction or pursue a career in addiction research.
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From page 97... ...
Strategies are needed to enhance the educational curricula in drug addiction so that students learn about the genetic and biological bases for addiction and how they interact with psychosocial and behavioral factors in the development of addiction, efforts to overcome it, and relapse. There is also the complementary need to improve the expertise of faculty, so that well-qualified professionals who are capable of developing the necessary curricula are available to teach students about addicted individuals and addiction research.
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, combines adult literacy efforts with science literacy and health information. The effort will target low-reading-level adults in literacy programs and community-based substance abuse and mental health education programs.
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. GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION Curricula Graduate School Programs Graduate schools offer relatively few courses in substance abuse, a situation that has not changed over the last two decades.
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The lack of drug addiction research curricula at the undergraduate and graduate school level may discourage students who are interested in the field. Medical School Programs The lack of rigorous instruction on drug abuse and addiction is a particular problem in medical schools.
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sponsors a faculty development program, begun in 1989, which funds programs in 34 schools of medicine, nursing, social work, and psychology (IOM, 1995~. Only two medical schools have curricula and programs on drug addiction that are cited by those in the field as models: Harvard Medical School and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (see Boxes 6.3 and 6.4~.
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Student Feedback: In the fall of 1993, two medical students who saw gaps in their substance abuse training proposed a project to correct the problem. The result was a collaboration by 38 medical students and 16 faculty on the Source Book on Substance Abuse and Addiction (Friedman et al., 1995~.
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a persistent perception problem- is addiction a disease or simply bad behavior? Clinical Research Fellowship in Substance Abuse: A highlight of the substance abuse program is the clinical research fellowship program, run by the Department of Psychiatry and Veterans Affairs Medical Center's Treatment Research Center.
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The goal of the changes was to better equip medical students with the necessary skills and knowledge to prevent addiction and identify, intervene with, and manage addicted individuals. Evaluation of the institute's modification of curricula at four medical schools (Duke University, University of North Carolina, Bowman Gray at Wake Forest University, and East Carolina University)
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The institute works with university medical centers; community hospitals and treatment facilities; Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) ; state and local public health and mental health agencies; federal agencies, such as the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, NIDA, and NIAAA; and professional organizations including medical, dental, nursing, social work, clinical psychology, pharmacy, and drug abuse professionals.
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] should review curricula in medical schools and in psychology, social work, and nursing departments for the adequacy of drug addiction courses and should require basic competence in these areas for certification and recertification on medical specialty board examinations and in other relevant i- · ~ a~sc~p fines; · Deans, administrators, and professional societies should undertake systematic evaluation of existing curricula to assess how they encourage or discourage training in addiction research and develop curricula tailored to different levels of schooling and specialty.
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Although there is empirical literature concerning the importance of mentoring on shaping careers, relatively little of this research has been conducted in the fields of medicine or addiction research. A study of psychiatry faculty at 116 medical schools found that M.D.s listed faculty and other mentors as most influential in their decision to obtain research training; those trained in Ph.D.
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These and other awards should be further encouraged and reviewed to ensure that they are attracting the most capable mentors and that the awards are closely coupled with the mentored career development awards for biomedical and behavioral scientists. For example, NIDA and NIAAA in the past jointly sponsored a Career Teacher Training Program which was cut from the budget during the Reagan years and placed career teachers in nearly 60 medical schools (Pokorny and Solomon, 1983~.
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Ways to overcome Me unique difficulties In designing and conducting addiction research are best learned from good mentor~ng relationships, where students learn by example how to work with, manage, test, and treat some extremely difficult patients. Mentors In a clinical setting can help develop suitable and testable hypotheses, critique papers, assure that adequate research time is available for collecting pilot data, and assist with grant applications.
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courses in drug addiction. For example, the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse
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Thus, ways to develop and enhance teachers and mentors with expertise in addiction research would be very useful long-term strategies. Finally, increased attention to addiction in medical specialty board examinations and other professional certification programs is needed to foster a greater understanding of addiction by professionals leading eventually to integration of the diagnosis and treatment of addiction into general medical and primary health care settings.
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1994. Substance abuse training in APA-accredited doctoral programs in clinical psychology: A survey.
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1996d. Young Investigator Award Program in Biomedical/Substance Abuse Research.
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