Addiction Medicine Fellowship - The UC Davis Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program is committed to increasing the number of addiction medicine physicians trained to serve in medically underserved and rural communities. Our program responds to the national shortage of addiction specialists by equipping physicians with the skills to provide high-quality, evidence-based care in diverse clinical settings that integrate substance use disorder (SUD) treatment with primary care and mental health services. With HRSA’s support, expanding our program and adding a rural training experience will further our ability to achieve these shared goals. Fellows train in?a broad range of clinical environments?that address the unique needs of the communities served. Rotations include: • A high-volume team-based inpatient addiction medicine consult service at our region’s safety-net hospital, providing specialized care to an underserved and high acuity patient population with complex substance use disorders. • An?opioid treatment program (OTP), where fellows gain expertise in medication for addiction treatment for opioid use disorder, including both methadone and buprenorphine, while serving an especially vulnerable patient population. • Interdisciplinary outpatient clinic experiences, where fellows work alongside addiction psychiatrists, primary care providers, and behavioral health specialists to manage co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. • Specialized experiences treating uniquely underserved populations,?including the unhoused, adolescents, and pregnant patients with substance use disorders. • A new Rural Track featuring training in Mendocino County, where fellows spend a month caring for patients across inpatient, outpatient, street medicine, and other community-based settings. The program places a strong emphasis on?interprofessional collaboration, preparing fellows to work alongside primary care providers, behavioral health specialists, substance use navigators, pharmacists, and social service agencies. Additionally, fellows receive focused education on?social determinants of health (SDoH), the legal and social systems that impact addiction care, harm reduction strategies, and stigma reduction efforts. The program also integrates addiction training into medical education to encourage more physicians to enter the field. Through HRSA support, we will?expand the addiction medicine workforce, strengthen partnerships with community-based and rural training sites, and improve access to SUD treatment in high-need areas. To assess program impact, we?track fellowship completion rates, workforce retention in underserved settings, and quality improvement projects to increase access to care. Our?robust performance evaluation system?uses data-driven quality improvement methods to enhance training effectiveness and ensure alignment with national addiction treatment priorities. By expanding and strengthening addiction medicine training at UC Davis, this program will develop highly skilled physicians who are committed to addressing the opioid epidemic and broader substance use disorder crisis in underserved communities.
