Results and Winning Slides from ASAM Educational

On May 21, the finals of the Third Annual ASAM Educational were held.  The event, which is co-sponsored by the Connecticut Chapter of American Society of Addiction Medicine (CTSAM) and the Connecticut State Medical Society (CSMS), is a competition open to residents and fellows in the Connecticut region and including Massachusetts.   This year's competition asked participants to study and answer the question, “How does addiction impact your patients in your clinical setting?”  

The finalists included Jacob “Gus” Crothers, MD for “Addiction in Family Medicine”; Kenneth Morford, MD, Anthony Brinn, PsyD, and Sarah Utzschneider, APRN for “An Interprofessional Approach to Substance Abuse in Primary Care”; and Rajiv Radhakrishnan, MBBS, MD and Samuel T. Wilkinson, MD for “Psychiatric Aspects of Substance Use Disorders in Medical Practice.” 

Other entries included “A Healthcare Reform Success Story: Improving Integrated Addiction Screening and Clinical Care in a Residency Training Program/FQHC” by Bhavish Aubeelauck, MD and Nabiha Nuruzzuman, BA; “Provider Problems with Patients and Pot” by Margret Rush, MD; “What’s Attacking Me?” by Adina Bowe, MD; and “Addiction: Nature vs. Nurture” by Gavrosh Faylayev, MD.

 “An Interprofessional Approach to Substance Abuse in Primary Care” by Dr. Kenneth Morford, MD, Dr. Anthony Brinn, PsyD, and Sarah Utzschneider, APRN won the $1,000 prize for first place.  Dr. Morford, Dr. Brinn, and NP Utzschneider, residents in the VA Center of Excellence in Primary Care Education (C.O.E.), spoke about their experience leading patient-centered, interprofessional teams that provide coordinated longitudinal care.  Dr. Morford and NP Utzschneider are primary care providers who have worked together and Dr. Brinn joined them for this project.  All have a strong interest in addiction medicine and were invited to become ASAM members.  

Their presentation started by laying the groundwork with explanations of the philosophy behind the C.O.E. program and then examined three cases from the clinic of patients who were experiencing co-occurring addiction issues.  They then proceeded to explain how a clinician must develop “an honest, nonjudgmental relationship with patients” and demonstrated several ways that the C.O.E. helps clinicians to connect with patients in order to increase the chances that treatment will be successful.  

This integrated model of treatment improves care by recognizing that patients need clear and consistent care from their primary care provider “in a way that thoroughly considers biological, social, behavioral, and psychological components of their presenting complaint” by integrating psychological, addiction, and other treatments into a cohesive whole.  

About the award program:

The Annual ASAM Educational was started in 2012 by Dr. Sam Silverman, a member of the CTSAM Executive Committee. Dr. Silverman was inspired by the Hartford Hospital/Institute of Living 1st year psychiatric residents who did their one month Addiction Psychiatry rotation at Rushford Center where he is the site director. Rushford is also now a site for the ABAM Fellowship in Addiction Medicine.  During the Addiction Psychiatry rotation, the residents present at Grand Rounds using a slide presentation illustrating addiction and its interface with psychiatry. 

Dr. Silverman brought the awards program to the CTSAM Executive Committee (he was treasurer and is currently the president) who then expanded the concept to all the residents and fellows in every specialty in training in the region.  The Connecticut State Medical Society became involved and helped organize the program through their Committee on Addiction Medicine.  In 2012, there were two entrants; in 2013, there were three; this year there were seven entrants.  

Dr. Silverman has had other chapters express interest in the idea and hopes that this competition will raise awareness of ASAM, its mission, and addiction medicine in general. As a part of their presentation, each slideshow of 10 slides needed to refer to the ASAM Definition of Addiction.  Finalists present their slideshow to ASAM and CMSM members.  The winning presentation receives $1000, second place receives $500, and third place receives $250.

If you are interested in starting a contest like this, contact Dr. Silverman at Samuel.Silverman@hhchealth.org or Marie Philopena at MPhilope@StFrancisCare.org.