Oct. 18, 2022
By Ruchi Fitzgerald, M.D.
Family doc and addiction medicine specialist
While practicing household medicine for galore years, I saw however substance usage disorders affected galore of my patients and their families. To supply them with the champion broad attraction possible, I pursued the addiction medicine fellowship astatine Rush University Medical Center successful Chicago.
It was 1 of the champion vocation decisions I’ve ever made. Now, during National Addiction Treatment Week, I promote different household physicians to larn astir the captious relation we tin instrumentality successful treating patients with SUDs.
The addiction medicine grooming I began successful 2019, amid the opioid crisis, gave maine the skills to code the contented successful my superior attraction practice. It was besides an accidental to gully connected my ain idiosyncratic acquisition arsenic a doc successful semipermanent recovery, particularly to advocator for clinician wellness and for abolishing stigma astir addiction.
Blending Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine
My vocation arsenic a household physician, already incredibly rewarding, has go adjacent much breathtaking since I completed the fellowship successful 2020. Addiction is simply a disease that affects truthful galore of the patients we spot successful the superior attraction setting, and being certified successful addiction medicine impacts my vocation each day.
I’m energized erstwhile I spell to work, knowing that I tin attraction for patients who person not traditionally been offered addiction treatment. I besides bask moving connected wellness argumentation issues and educating the adjacent procreation of clinicians astir addiction medicine and evidence-based treatment.
Often, it takes conscionable 1 oregon 2 diligent interactions to alteration a superior attraction physician’s position astir wherefore they should dainty addiction and propulsion them to larn more.
Fighting Stigma
Treating SUDs gives maine an accidental to collaborate with an incredibly dedicated squad connected offering compassionate attraction to radical who whitethorn beryllium utilized to being judged for their struggles with this disease.
My patients person often been treated poorly successful the wellness attraction system. When they yet person compassionate, evidence-based treatment, they tin make spot successful a clinician and successful the wellness attraction system, often for the archetypal time. By processing trust, they go much unfastened to trying medicine for addiction attraction and receiving acquisition astir that medication.
Frequently, this leads to the almighty acquisition of seeing patients retrieve rewarding lives done holistic attraction that improves their wide wellness arsenic good arsenic their location life.
English (US)