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Inspiring Physicians to Become Addiction Medicine Specialists
In 2016, during his second year of family care residency, Michael Baca-Atlas, MD, FASAM, discovered his passion for addiction treatment. Currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in Family Medicine and Psychiatry at UNC School of Family Medicine, he initially did not have a strong interest or knowledge base in addiction medicine. However, witnessing the inadequate care for patients with substance use disorders firsthand prompted a shift in focus. Now dedicated to enhancing addiction treatment, Dr. Baca-Atlas brings his expertise to the forefront of family medicine and psychiatry.
“As a physician, I first encountered substance use disorder while working in the hospital, where we treated people mostly with alcohol use disorders. Staff made stigmatizing comments about their patients,” he said. “Patients were leaving with no treatment plans to transition to outpatient care. We were literally ‘treating and streeting’ folks in and out of the hospital. Lots of people came back for readmissions to the hospital. I started asking questions like, ‘Why is this happening?’ and ‘Can we do better?’”
Dr. Baca Atlas recognized the profound interconnectedness of physical health, mental health, and substance use, and the importance of addressing each of these facets to provide comprehensive patient care. When he learned about the field of addiction medicine, he realized a new avenue to integrate holistic approaches into his practice.
In 2018, Dr. Baca-Atlas became the first fellow participating in the inaugural year of the University of North Carolina’s new addiction medicine fellowship program. During his fellowship, he learned about ASAM and applied for the Ruth Fox Scholarship. Physicians-in-training who receive this scholarship are able to attend ASAM’s Annual Conference and receive a complimentary three-year ASAM membership, as well as exclusive discounts on ASAM education and published texts.
The scholarship proved invaluable for Dr. Baca-Atlas, who still remembers how he and other Ruth Fox scholars were positively recognized.
“I thought that the Ruth Fox Scholarship was a brilliant way to get people excited about addiction medicine and provide scholars with VIP access into ASAM,” he said. “I was very fortunate that I was selected during the first year of my fellowship.”
During his first Annual Conference, Dr. Baca-Atlas remembers speaking with Past ASAM President Paul Earley, MD, DFASAM.
“The fact he spent 30 to 40 minutes with me I thought was really impactful,” Dr. Baca-Atlas said. “It was the first conference I had attended, and it felt like everyone was very welcoming. I really liked the culture of ASAM --the multidisciplinary aspect of it. You are able to connect with a whole host of people with different perspectives together in one place.”
Looking back, Dr. Baca-Atlas said he believes the Ruth Fox Scholarship played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of his career.
“If I hadn’t received the scholarship, I probably wouldn’t have gone to the conference,” he said. “Maybe I would have found ASAM later, but I think the best way I can describe it is that it accelerated my introduction into addiction medicine and the society at large. It provided me with the opportunity to be part of this community of addiction medicine professionals.”
Since his first ASAM Annual Conference, Dr. Baca-Atlas has only missed one. “It's a fun place to get together with people,” he said. “I really like the way the conference is structured. The sessions are high quality and there’s so much you can learn.
“Also, I think the biggest benefit of attending conference is the opportunity to network and connect with so many amazing professionals who've been doing this work longer than I've been alive. For me, that has been exciting.”
Reaching a New Level
Today, Dr. Baca-Atlas stays busy in the world of addiction medicine. He is the medical director of UNC REACH Enhanced Primary Care, a clinic that serves patients with serious mental illness, and also focuses on patients with SUDs who are pregnant or post-partum. He’s also the associate medical director of UNC’s Tobacco Treatment Program and the Project Director for a UNC Family Medicine HRSA residency training grant in behavioral health.
“The addiction medicine program has really grown and taken off in the last five or six years,” he said. “I’m grateful to be a part of all of that. I also teach psychiatry residents, family medicine residents, and medical students. It's an absolute blast,” he said.
He focuses on education in his spare time, serving as a senior medical editor for a podcasting company called Hippo Education. He is a host and contributor to the Primary Care RAP (i.e., Reviews and Perspectives) podcast.
Dr. Baca-Atlas is also involved with ASAM at the state level. He is the president-elect of the North Carolina chapter of ASAM (NCSAM) and will become its president in July 2024.
Although treating addiction can sometimes be challenging and emotionally taxing, Dr. Baca-Atlas said it’s worth it knowing he’s able to help patients restore their lives and their relationship with the medical community.
“I feel fortunate to be in a space where, if people have had negative experiences in health care and in their lives, we can try to mitigate that and improve those experiences,” he said.
The most rewarding aspect of treating addiction, Dr. Baca-Atlas said, is the profound level of trust his patients place in him, which he finds very humbling.
“I am most inspired when someone feels comfortable enough to share the challenging parts of their life with me,” he said. “It’s something that has historically been stigmatized and uncomfortable. The number of people who’ve told me, ‘I’ve never shared this with anybody…’ It’s gratifying to know that we can create an environment that is conducive for people to be vulnerable and share what's going on. That to me is the most exciting thing about treating substance use disorders.
“I tell everyone that I have the best job in the world,” he added. “Addiction medicine is an exciting field. In the news you may only hear about overdoses and death and those challenges are important to highlight. But there’s a missing narrative -- people are excelling and succeeding when they get into evidence-based treatment. There is a need to share these stories to the community at large.
This year, Dr. Baca-Atlas is taking his involvement in the Annual Conference up a notch. He is slated to present a session with his roommate from medical school, Thomas Robertson, MD, internal medicine specialist at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, director of ultrasound education for the AHN Internal Medicine Residency Program, and co-director of the RIVER Post-Incarceration Clinic at the AHN Center for Inclusion Health.
“I'm not aware of anyone who has ever talked about ultrasound at this addiction medicine conference,” Dr. Baca-Atlas said. “We are going to be examining practice-based cases to highlight the value of point-of-care ultrasound for clinicians who work in addiction medicine. The session will be fun and informative and give people ideas about how they can incorporate ultrasound, particularly point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), as part of their practice. I’m really looking forward to it.”