Addiction and Chronic Pain: Training Addiction Psychiatrists

• Published in: Academic psychiatry Vol. 40; no. 3; pp. 489 - 493
• Main Authors: Edens, Ellen Lockard, Gafni, Inbal, Encandela, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.06.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Addictions; Chronic pain; Chronic Pain - epidemiology; Chronic Pain - therapy; Comorbidity; Curriculum; Curriculum development; Directors; Drug overdose; Education; Educational Resources; Faculty, Medical; Fellowships; Fellowships and Scholarships - methods; Focus Groups; Graduate Medical Education; Humans; In Brief Report; Medical Education; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Multidisciplinary teams; Narcotics; Pain; Pain Management; Psychiatrists; Psychiatry; Psychiatry - education; Public health; Scholarships & fellowships; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - therapy; United States > US; Fellowship training; Pain; Addiction; Curriculum development
• ISSN: 1042-9670; 1545-7230
• DOI: 10.1007/s40596-015-0412-z

Objective Addiction psychiatrists are increasingly asked to address chronic pain in patients with addiction. Because of historic “divisions of labor” between physicians who manage pain and addiction psychiatrists who manage addiction, limited guidance exists for preparing addiction psychiatry trainees to address this comorbidity. Methods A 1-h focus group composed of five geographically well-distributed addiction psychiatry fellowship directors/faculty was conducted to explore existing curricula, identify themes, and build consensus regarding educational goals for addiction psychiatry fellows in the area of chronic pain management. Results Discussion resulted in five broad categories of themes involving perceptions of the importance of chronic pain training for addiction psychiatrists; barriers to curriculum development (one notably being that the addiction psychiatrist’s role in managing chronic pain is poorly articulated); facilitators to such development; and potential curricular content and roles of addiction psychiatrists in relation to chronic pain training. Conclusion Educators in addiction psychiatry should clarify their role in the management of chronic pain and prioritize training in this area.