Addiction Psychiatry Grandfathering?

[ScatmanCrothers]

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Hi all,

I am having trouble finding specifics of the grandfathering process related to addiction psychiatry. For background, I am currently a PGY-3 psychiatry resident hoping to practice in addiction psychiatry once I finish. I know there was a grandfathering process available a while ago when the fellowship first became official, but is this still an option? Will I have to do an addiction psychiatry fellowship if I want to gain board certification in addiction psychiatry? Or is it still possible for me to grandfather in if I work at an addiction center as an attending for a couple years after I finish residency? I know it is possible to work in addiction psychiatry without the fellowship/board certification in addiction psychiatry, but I am hoping to one day practice in southern California, which I know is a very competitive area, so ideally I would like to be as qualified on paper as possible. And I would prefer to not do the actual fellowship unless I absolutely have to. Thanks for any advice!

 

[splik]

You may be thinking of addiction medicine. Addiction psychiatry hasn't allowed grandfathering BC for many years and you have to do addiction psychiatry fellowship. addiction medicine boards allow grandfathering until 2025, so anyone graduating before 2022 will be able to do the addiction medicine boards if they get enough addiction experience post-residency. It may be just possible for those graduating in 2023 but it would be more difficult as less time to get the requisite experience.

 

[comp1]

You can almost certainly get a job pretty much anywhere without addiction psych (or medicine) subspecialty board certification...

 

[Trismegistus4]

People are going to hate me for this, but you're using the term "grandfathering" incorrectly. When a new rule is implemented, and everyone who enters the game after that point is going to be held to the old rule, but the rule also includes a provision that people who were already in the game before the new rule was implemented are allowed to continue to play by the old rules, that provision is known as a "grandfather clause."

You're referring to the practice pathway, which is one way to become board certified in addiction medicine. There's nothing grandfathered about it. It's one of the officially offered and sanctioned ways. When the practice pathway is closed, and no new diplomates can become board-certified that way, but diplomates who already became certified that way are allowed to continue their certification rather than having to go back and do a fellowship--that is the grandfathering.

You may be thinking of addiction medicine. Addiction psychiatry hasn't allowed grandfathering BC for many years and you have to do addiction psychiatry fellowship. addiction medicine boards allow grandfathering until 2025, so anyone graduating before 2022 will be able to do the addiction medicine boards if they get enough addiction experience post-residency. It may be just possible for those graduating in 2023 but it would be more difficult as less time to get the requisite experience.

Haven't they extended the deadline a few times? Also, there was a thread on the subject around here a year or two ago, in which people were saying they've become more strict in the type of practice setting they're willing to count as experience, with people submitting their hours, only to be told something like "sorry, practicing on a dual-diagnosis unit within a multi-unit psych hospital doesn't count; it has to be a dedicated rehab facility."

You can almost certainly get a job pretty much anywhere without addiction psych (or medicine) subspecialty board certification...

True, but what frustrates me about this is that my organization pays slightly more for each board certification you have. If I happened to have done a fellowship, or could do the practice pathway, or were grandfathered into another subspecialty (there used to be a practice pathway for forensics too,) I'd get paid $5k more per year simply for having it, even if my practice were exactly the same.

 

[futuredo32]

My former PD did the practice pathway and got credit for smoking cessation counseling. Marijuana cessation counseling. Is it state dependent?

 

[TexasPhysician]

My former PD did the practice pathway and got credit for smoking cessation counseling. Marijuana cessation counseling. Is it state dependent?

No

 

[dl2dp2]

You can almost certainly get a job pretty much anywhere without addiction psych (or medicine) subspecialty board certification...

For now. I think this particular board will be useful moving forward. Even now any large facility that offers a job that focuses mainly on addiction (i.e. inpatient addiction treatment facility) or dual diagnosis prefers someone with the board.

 

[Taddy Mason]

For now. I think this particular board will be useful moving forward. Even now any large facility that offers a job that focuses mainly on addiction (i.e. inpatient addiction treatment facility) or dual diagnosis prefers someone with the board.

I’ll be applying to addiction fellowships this year after waffling back and forth as to the utility of doing one, as this has consistently been the advice I’ve gotten from addiction psych attendings (both boarded through fellowship and practice pathway) and younger to mid-career non-addiction attendings. The sources where I consistently hear it doesn’t matter/isn’t worth it tends to be SDN, older/late career attendings, and mid-career attendings who have 0 interest or background in addiction work.