The article, “The Creation of an Addiction Nursing Fellowship Program for Registered Nurses: A Unique Approach to Enhancing the Addiction-Treatment Workforce,” has been published in SAj in Volume 44 Issue 1-2.
In this commentary, the authors state that in 2020, Boston Medical Center and the Grayken Center for Addiction launched an addiction nursing fellowship to enhance registered nurses’ knowledge and skills related to the care of patients with substance use disorders and to improve patient experience and outcomes. This paper describes the development and essential components of this innovative fellowship, that to their knowledge, is the first of its kind in the United States, with the goal of facilitating replication in other hospital settings.
In the AUTHORS’ OWN WORDS, they relate the importance of their work:
“Substance use disorder is widespread across the lifespan, underscoring the need for nurses in all disciplines and settings to have the expertise and skills to help to manage the global burden of substance use disorder. To address this, all nurses must have the education and clinical training necessary to care for individuals with substance use disorder. Nurses with education on addiction and possessing well-developed clinical skills in the management of patients with SUD can play a major role in improving the care of this marginalized patient population and reducing negative attitudes toward them. Thus, there is a clear need to establish additional addiction nursing fellowships across the country. This description of BMC’s addiction nursing fellowship may provide a useful model for replication.”