Addiction Medicine Fellowship

Clinical Training

Core Rotations

Substance Treatment and Recovery Service (STARS)
Located at UPMC Presbyterian-Montefiore Hospital, STARS provides inpatient addiction medicine consultations. Fellows gain expertise in evidence-based addiction care, withdrawal management (including complex cases related to local adulterants), and medication treatment for SUD. Working with a multidisciplinary team of physicians, social workers, and peer specialists, fellows progressively assume increasing responsibility and teach other learners.

Perinatal Addiction at Magee-Womens Hospital (MWH)
Through the Perinatal Addiction Consultation and Education Services (PACES) and the Pregnancy and Women’s Recovery Center (PWRC), fellows care for pregnant and postpartum individuals with SUD. Training includes inpatient consultations, rapid methadone titrations and buprenorphine initiation during pregnancy, and management of the mother–baby dyad after delivery. PWRC serves as the longitudinal clinic for the Perinatal Fellow and is a Pennsylvania Center of Excellence for Opioid Use Disorder.

Internal Medicine-Recovery Engagement Program (IM-REP)
Serving as the longitudinal clinic for fellows (except for the Perinatal fellow), IM-REP is an integrated primary care and addiction treatment program within the Division of General Internal Medicine. Fellows manage their own patient panels while engaging in innovative care models, including harm reduction services, contingency management, xylazine wound care, and palliative–addiction specialty services.

Opioid Treatment Program (OTP)
During non-consult months (rotations other than STARS), fellows will spend a half day per week at an OTP to gain experience with methadone management including initial assessments, follow-up visits and annual reviews, and evaluations for dose changes.

Community Rotation
Fellows gain firsthand experience in community-based care, including correctional health settings, street medicine teams, residential rehabilitation centers, and syringe service programs, broadening their understanding of addiction care delivery across diverse environments.

Withdrawal Management
Training encompasses ambulatory, residential, and inpatient withdrawal management. Fellows rotate through the Center for Psychiatric and Chemical Dependency Services (CPCDS), POWER (PA Organization for Women in Early Recovery), and UPMC Mercy and McKeesport inpatient units to develop expertise across all levels of care.

Center for Treatment of Addictive Disorders (CTAD), VA Pittsburgh
General and Palliative Track fellows train at CTAD, managing Veterans with SUD in inpatient, outpatient, and residential settings. Experiences include addiction consults, buprenorphine for chronic pain, residential groups, outpatient methadone management, and contingency management.

Toxicology
Fellows rotate with UPMC’s toxicology service, gaining additional training in complex withdrawal (alcohol, benzodiazepines), inpatient MOUD initiation at community hospitals, and low-barrier buprenorphine management via the UPMC Toxicology Telemedicine Bridge Clinic.

Pain Management
Through rotations with UPMC Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, fellows develop skills in multimodal pain management, addressing biopsychosocial factors through pharmacologic, interventional, and behavioral approaches.

Elective and Supplemental Experiences
Fellows tailor their training with electives in academic or community-based sites such as the Pittsburgh Area Center for Treatment (PACT) for HIV care, Endovascular Infections Service, dual-diagnosis programs, correctional and post-incarceration initiatives, and Second Avenue Commons, serving unhoused individuals with SUDs. Fellows may also elect to extend their time at certain core rotations or participate in other rotations specific to other Track fellows (e.g., rural sites, AYA-specific rotations, etc.)