Email us at addictionmedicinefellowship@bwh.harvard.edu.
The Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program is a one-year, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited program open to physicians who have completed any ACGME-accredited residency program. Our mission is to train the next generation of leaders in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery of individuals with substance use disorders and related medical and psychiatric co-morbidities. The program prepares fellows for a variety of academic and clinical opportunities in the field of addiction medicine. Fellows completing the program will qualify to sit for the addiction medicine board exam from the American Board of Preventive Medicine.
We provide fellows with an opportunity to gain skills in the treatment of patients with substance use disorders who have co-morbid psychiatric disorders as well as serious medical complications related to their substance use. Fellows will gain experience by working with addiction specialists who are primary care physicians, medical toxicologists, psychiatrists, infectious disease specialists, and pain specialists during both inpatient and outpatient rotations. In addition, fellows will be encouraged to work with our diverse group of faculty members to participate in scholarly projects, present at national conferences, and engage in quality improvement efforts.
We provide cutting-edge training in the treatment of substance use disorders that span the entire spectrum of treatment levels and populations, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The year will be divided into rotations that are two weeks in duration. The training sites include:
At our training sites, fellows have the opportunity to gain substantial training in the following areas.
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Program and Site |
Description |
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Inpatient addiction consultation team—BWH |
As one of the nation’s earliest inpatient addiction consultation services, fellows function as part of a larger psychiatry consultation-liaison service to provide expert consultation to medical and surgical teams across the hospital’s inpatient units, assisting in the diagnosis and management of substance use disorders and their medical and psychiatric complications. Fellows work alongside addiction medicine and addiction psychiatry fellows from Boston Medical Center, Mass General Brigham, and Boston Children’s Hospital. |
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Primary care-based addiction treatment at the Phyllis Jen Center for Primary Care—BWH |
The Phyllis Jen Center for Primary Care (PJC) substance use disorder (SUDs) team offers scheduled, urgent and walk in appointments for any patient with a SUD who has a PJC primary care provider (PCP). Patients are seen by addiction medicine physicians who are also PCPs in the practice or an addiction psychiatrist. The team also includes recovery coaches, nurses, and social workers. Similar to the Bridge clinic, this serves as one of the main training sites for internal medicine residents and medicine clerkship students interested in SUDs. |
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Rapid-access clinic—BWH |
The Eliza Dushku Palandjian and Peter Palandjian Bridge Clinic is a low-barrier, low-threshold clinic that uses the harm-reduction model to provide immediate access to evidence-based addiction treatment. Staffed by primary care physicians, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, nurses, and recovery coaches with expertise in treating substance use disorders, the clinic serves as a training site for medicine and psychiatry residents as well as medical students. |
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Inpatient addiction recovery program—BWFH |
During this rotation, fellows provide inpatient addiction consultation in one of only two ASAM Level 4 medically supervised withdrawal (detoxification) units in Massachusetts. The program serves individuals with alcohol use disorders that are severe enough to require 24/7 monitoring. |
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Outpatient addiction recovery program—BWFH |
The program is part of a comprehensive specialty outpatient addiction treatment clinic staffed by addiction psychiatrists and therapists with expertise in managing the full range of substance use disorders and co-morbid psychiatric disorders. The clinic provides individual and group treatments. |
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Toxicology consultations—BWFH |
During the inpatient addiction recovery rotation, fellows spend one day a week covering the Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital Emergency Department’s inpatient toxicology consultation. Fellows work closely with medical toxicologists to assess and manage acute toxidromes. |
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Methadone maintenance treatment—HPTC |
High Point Treatment Center in Brockton, MA, is a comprehensive treatment program that provides inpatient, outpatient, residential, and community bases services. Fellows gain experience in managing individuals receiving methadone maintenance treatment. |
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Inpatient section 35 unit—HPTC |
HPTC is one of several Massachusetts sites that provides involuntary addiction treatment under the Section 35 Civil Commitment law (only when other treatment options have already been exhausted). During this rotation, fellows learn to provide evidence-based, compassionate, and patient-centered care. |
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Pain and addiction treatment—BWH and BWFH |
At the BWH Phyllis Jen Center for Primary Care and the BWFH Pain Management Center, fellows learn about chronic pain management as well as treatment for known or suspected co-morbid opioid use disorder. |
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Adolescent addiction treatment—BCH |
At Boston Children’s Hospital’s Adolescent Substance Use & Addiction Program, fellows learn evidence-based treatment options for adolescents with substance use disorders. |
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Correctional addiction treatment |
This is a unique opportunity for the fellows to spend time in various correctional facilities to provide treatment for substance use disorders in prison (MCI-Framingham, a medium security prison for females) and jail (Suffolk County Jail). |
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Electives |
Fellows have a wide range of options for elective rotations to gain additional exposure. Options for electives include, but are not limited to: |
All fellows are required to participate in a year-long continuity clinic, typically either at the BWH Eliza Dushku Palandjian and Peter Palandjian Bridge Clinic or the BWH Phyllis Jen Center for Primary Care.
The academic year starts with a two-week orientation to welcome fellows to the program and give them the opportunity to meet faculty members and peers in the department. Site visits to community programs and off-site locations are also scheduled during this time.
During the fellowship, fellows will meet with the program leadership weekly; attend weekly didactics and monthly journal clubs; participate in the Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) case conferences run by the Boston Medical Center; present a CARE case conference; participate in the national didactic webinar series organized by the American College of Academic Addiction Medicine; and attend a monthly Motivational Interviewing Learning Group session to obtain feedback on their motivational interviewing practice.
Our didactic curriculum covers a wide range of topics, including:
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We accept applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and by email at addictionmedicinefellowship@bwh.harvard.edu.
We strongly advise that applicants begin the application process for the full licensure in Massachusetts by January 1 of their potential training year, if they anticipate moving to the state. If there are documents from previous positions or schools where you have trained that you think may be difficult to obtain, we suggest that you begin the process of obtaining them as soon as possible. Information on how to obtain the waiver can be found at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website.
In your application, please submit:
Any other documents as required by ERAS
Applications will be reviewed upon submission with interviews given on a rolling basis. Applications sent before August 1 will receive priority. Interviews will take place in the fall.
Applicants must have completed or plan to complete an ACGME-accredited anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, preventive medicine, or psychiatry residency prior to the start of fellowship. A full Massachusetts medical license is required before starting the fellowship as well as a physician waiver to prescribe buprenorphine.
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