Addiction Medicine

Addiction Medicine Consult Team (AMCT)
at St. Paul’s Hospital

What we do

The Addictions Medicine Consult Team (AMCT) is a referral-based consultative service for inpatients at St. Paul’s Hospital. AMCT can provide:

  • Assessment of substance use disorder severity, stage of change, and facilitation of addiction treatment.
  • Prescription of medications to manage cravings.
  • Motivational interviewing to enable meaningful discussions with the patient about their future plans for recovery and relapse prevention.
  • Helping patients manage withdrawal and treating pain so attending physicians and other staff can address the reason for admission.

Referring patients to AMCT

Attending physicians can refer to our service for expert advice on treating substance use, including:

  • Opiate withdrawal, maintenance, and replacement therapies.
  • Problematic tobacco or alcohol use.
  • Stimulant use.
  • Improving patient insight and readiness to change.

Contact AMCT through Sunrise Clinical Manager (SCM) or St. Paul’s switchboard.

Who we are

AMCT Physicians

  • Dr. Seonaid Nolan MBBCh, FRCPC, dip ABAM
    • Division Lead, Inter-Department Division of Addiction Medicine, PHC
    • Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC
  • Dr. Rupi Brar MD, CCFP(AM) CISAM
    • Interim Medical Director, Regional Addiction Program – VCH                             
    • Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC
    • Addiction Medicine Consult Team, PHC
  • Dr. Mark McLean MD, MSc, FRCPC, CIASM, dip ABAM
    • Clinical Leader, Addiction Services, PHC
    • Clinical Instructor, UBC
  • Dr. Christy Sutherland MD, CCFP, CISAM, dip ABAM
    • Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC
  • Dr. Annabel Mead, MBBS, FAChAM, dip ABAM
  • Dr. Julia MacIsaac, MD, FRCPC, dip ABAM
  • Dr. Sharon Vipler, MD, CCFP, dip ABAM
  • Dr. Andrea Ryan, MD, CCFP

AMCT Social workers

  • Andrew Cahill, MSW
  • Jacqueline Sauer, MSW

Addiction Medicine Fellowships

Clinical fellowship

The multidisciplinary St. Paul’s Hospital Goldcorp Addiction Medicine Fellowship strives for excellence in clinical training, scholarship, research and advocacy. Each year, the program accepts six medical trainees, one individual in nursing, and one individual in social work. Medical trainees can come from any background, typically Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, and Family Medicine.

The program is accredited by the American Board of Addiction Medicine and includes specialty training in out-patient and in-patient addiction management as well as related concurrent disorders training. With prior approval, fellows and residents from other programs may undertake dedicated training within the Addiction Medicine Fellowship that can be put towards future accreditation in the St. Paul’s Hospital Goldcorp Addiction Medicine Fellowship.

The fellowship has been made possible by a $3 million donation to the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation / the UBC Division of AIDS by Goldcorp Inc. in 2012. The fellowship is offered in partnership by St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation, St. Paul’s Hospital, the Urban Health Research Initiative of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and the University of British Columbia Division of AIDS.

For program details and to apply, visit the fellowship website.

Research fellowship

The Canada Addiction Medicine Research Fellowship trains four addiction medicine physicians each year to develop the skills required for a career in addiction research. The one-year program provides $50,000 research fellowships for physicians who are involved in the care of alcohol- and drug-addicted patients. Training is flexible and part-time, allows trainees to pursue independent activities (including clinical care) and includes:

  • Addiction research immersion training (with opportunities available in a variety of NIDA-funded addiction research programs)
  • Longitudinal research methods training
  • Mentored publication development
  • Funding proposal development
  • Career development activities

The program is a US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded research training fellowship in partnership with St. Paul’s Hospital, the University of British Columbia, and the Urban Health Research Initiative of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

For program details and to apply, visit the fellowship website.

Learning opportunities

Medical students & resident physicians

Medical students and resident physicians can apply for a Clinical Elective as part of their clinical education and training. Trainees are paired with a clinician to gain hands-on experience in addiction treatment and care. The elective is available through both internal medicine and family practice training streams. Preference is given to trainees based at the University of British Columbia.

Residents

  • UBC internal medicine residents, please sign up via One45.
  • UBC family practice residents, please contact Margaret Dergez (MDergez@providencehealth.bc.ca).
  • Non-UBC residents, please refer to the UBC Faculty of Medicine Postgraduate Medical Education website and contact Margaret Dergez (MDergez@providencehealth.bc.ca).

Medical students

Enhanced Skills Training in Addiction Medicine (Physicians)

The Urban Health Research Initiative at St. Paul’s Hospital and the Goldcorp Fellowship in Addiction Medicine are pleased to offer enhanced postgraduate training of three to six months duration for physicians interested in developing additional clinical skills in addiction medicine. The program provides hands-on learning opportunities across the range of inpatient and outpatient addiction medicine venues. In addition to strong clinical skills training, opportunities to develop research and leadership skills will also be prioritized.

For more information and to apply, please visit the UBC Department of Family Practice website.

 

Coming soon in Addiction Medicine

Rapid Access Addiction Clinic

Online addiction medicine certificate program

 

Last updated Fri, Nov 20, 2020

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