The current status of psychiatric education in alcoholism and drug abuse

The authors conducted a survey of psychiatric education in alcoholism and drug abuse in the United States. Ninety-seven percent of 106 undergraduate training programs and 91% of 169 residency programs offered curriculum units in this field. Most of these programs also provided supervised clinical care. Areas of reported faculty dissatisfaction included problems with attitude and interest of psychiatric faculty and with the amount of curriculum time allotted. The authors conclude that although the amount of curriculum time devoted to training in alcoholism and drug abuse is growing, further investment in developing faculty and fellowships is warranted to increase the quality of teaching commitment.