• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
IRETA

IRETA

Institute for Research, Education & Training in Addictions

  • myIRETA
  • Contact Us
  • Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Our Organization
      • IRETA Staff
      • IRETA Board of Directors
      • Annual Reports & Financials
      • Partners and Clients
      • Staff Publications
      • Employment Opportunities
    • Addiction and Recovery
  • Consulting
    • IRETA Consulting
    • Performance Evaluation
    • Program Assistance
    • Healthcare Organizations
    • Addiction Treatment Providers
    • Criminal Justice System
  • Education & Training
    • Education & Training
    • Scaife Medical Student Fellowship in Substance Use Disorders
  • Webinars
  • Blog
  • Resource Library
Home / Addiction / IRETA Continues to Provide Intensive Learning Experience on Substance Use Disorders for Medical and Pharmacy Students

IRETA Continues to Provide Intensive Learning Experience on Substance Use Disorders for Medical and Pharmacy Students

Written by Marla Kauffman | August 12, 2022

For 23 years, IRETA has hosted medical students for the Scaife Medical Student Fellowship in Substance Use Disorders. The program has been held virtually since 2020, due to COVID-19. This year’s program continued online. For three weeks in both June and July, small cohorts of medical and pharmacy students logged in from across the country for an intensive learning experience about substance use, addiction, and addiction treatment.

Throughout the past three years, we have been pleased to include pharmacy students from the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy in the fellowship. This year, we had three pharmacy students as part of the June cohort. Like medical doctors, pharmacists play a unique role in substance use prevention, education, and assistance. 

Over the course of the program, cohorts attended virtual talks on a wide variety of topics including:

  • Substance use in adolescents
  • Brief motivational interviewing
  • Personal stories of addiction and recovery
  • Special populations and addiction treatment
  • Harm reduction strategies 

Students were also able to participate in virtual site visits at Pittsburgh-based facilities. Some of the sites they got to see were:

  • Pregnancy Recovery Center at Magee Womens Hospital 
  • Center for Inclusion Health at Allegheny General Hospital 
  • POWER (Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery)
  • Salvation Army: Harbor Light
  • Gateway Rehab

After completing the program, each student chose a topic related to substance use or its treatment and created a presentation to present to their peers, fellowship faculty, and IRETA staff.

Both sessions of the Scaife fellowship were a success. Next year, we hope to host students through a hybrid curriculum, both virtually and in-person for a portion of the program.
 We want to thank the Scaife Family Foundation for their generous support that makes the program possible, as well as all of our fantastic faculty who were willing to adapt to a virtual program.

Filed Under: Addiction, Evidence-Based and Best Practices, IRETA and Our Services, News, Pittsburgh Tagged With: addiction medicine, addiction treatment, medical student, medical student fellowship

Footer

IRETA

The Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions (IRETA) is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit located in Pittsburgh, PA. Our mission is to help people respond effectively to substance use and related problems.

Contact

611 William Penn Place
Suite 301
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

P: 412-258-8565
F: 412-391-2528

LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube

Copyright © 2025 IRETA