With so many physician specialties available, medical students and new doctors alike have diverse options to choose from. For example, you can pursue cardiology, geriatrics, or oncology to name a few. Beyond these specialties, there are countless others that are not quite as well known. One such specialty is addiction medicine. But, what is addiction medicine? Sure, it may be obvious that this specialty involves treating addiction, but what does that mean for the physicians who choose this career path? The American Board of Preventative Medicine (ABPM) defines addiction medicine as follows.
Addiction Medicine is concerned with the prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery of persons with the disease of addiction, of those with substance-related health conditions, and of people who show unhealthy use of substances including nicotine, alcohol, prescription medications and other licit and illicit drugs. Physicians in this subspecialty also help family members whose health and functioning are affected by a loved one’s substance use or addiction.
Although this certainly does encompass the job responsibilities of addiction medicine physicians, it may be helpful to dive deeper into the question, what is addiction medicine?
What is Addiction Medicine?
Job Responsibilities
As mentioned in the ABPM’s definition of addiction medicine, specialists work to prevent, evaluate, diagnose, and treat individuals suffering from addiction. However, what exactly does this mean? Well, according to the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM), addiction medicine specialist work in clinical medicine, public health, educational, and research settings. This means that beyond variety in the day to day job responsibilities of addiction medicine physicians, there is also a large variety in the work environment.
In regards to the day to day responsibilities, Dr. Louis E. Baxter, an addiction medicine specialist, describes his typical workday. On average, Dr. Baxter sees between 12-15 patients per day, some new and some follow-ups. For new patients, the first step is a comprehensive evaluation. In this evaluation, Dr. Baxter determines whether or not the patients meet the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder. Next, he develops a specialized treatment and monitoring plan for each individual patient. Ultimately, addiction is a highly individual problem. For this reason, addiction treatment is unique to each patient but can include referral to counseling and random urine drug testing.
Qualifications
Addiction medicine physicians are, first and foremost, physicians. While psychiatrists can be addiction specialists, addiction medicine is a unique term to refer to physicians specializing in addiction. Addiction medicine is a subspecialty meaning that physicians typically have another primary specialty. However, regardless of primary specialty, all addiction medicine physicians are certified in addiction medicine by the ABPM, ABAM, or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Before physicians are able to enroll in the addiction medicine certification exam, they must complete some training. For the ABPM certification, this means completing an accredited addiction medicine fellowship or documenting their time in practice. The time in practice route requires physicians to complete a minimum of 1,920 hours practicing addiction medicine as a subspecialty. Ultimately, becoming certified in addiction medicine is not easy but is certainly well worth it.
Career Outlook
Although there are many things to consider when exploring potential specialties, career outlook is certainly on the list. This can include salary information, job prospects, and employment trends related to healthcare. According to Glassdoor.com, addiction medicine physicians earn an average annual base pay of $215,255. The average annual base pay for all physicians is $189,892. When considered in combination with the fact that overall employment for physicians is expected to grow faster than the national average, this is clearly a desirable specialty. After all, there are many great addiction medicine jobs available!
What is addiction medicine? Well, in short, addiction medicine is a great physician specialty. Do you have any experience or insight in the field of addiction medicine? We’d love to hear about it! Let us know in the comments below.
