Skip to Main Content

Addiction Medicine APP Fellowship (SUSTAIN)

The HRSA-funded Substance Use Skills Training to Advance INtegrated care (SUSTAIN) training program provides a 12-month post-graduate clinical fellowship in Addiction Medicine for one Physician Assistant (PA) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) each year. The fellow trains under the supervision of Yale Program in Addiction Medicine faculty and alongside physician fellows as part of the Yale Addiction Medicine Fellowship. In addition, SUSTAIN offers an advanced practice provider faculty development program, training two APP faculty members annually.

What will I do as an APP Addiction Medicine Fellow?

  • Rotate at the hospital-based Yale Addiction Medicine Consult Service as well as several other Yale-affiliated and community-based outpatient training sites;
  • Participate in a robust Addiction Medicine didactic curriculum, in partnership with the Yale Addiction Psychiatry fellowship program, focusing on the biopsychosocial assessment and treatment of patients with addiction; and
  • Work with and receive mentorship from core faculty in the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine who are internationally recognized for clinical care, medical education, and health policy.

What training will I receive as part of the program?

  • APP fellows rotate through a variety of multi-disciplinary, team-based inpatient and outpatient training experiences. Training sites include Yale New Haven Hospital, the APT Foundation, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, and Fair Haven Community Health Care.
  • Fellows will participate in core didactics, teaching activities, and have opportunities to engage in clinical research, medical education, or quality improvement projects.

More questions? Visit our FAQs page for more information.

Didactics

Weekly courses held in conjunction with the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program cover a range of topics including:

  • Screening, diagnosis, and evaluation of substance use disorders
  • Medications for opioid, alcohol, and tobacco use disorders
  • Harm Reduction
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Psychosocial interventions, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Neurobiology of Addiction
  • Co-occurring disorders
  • Pain and Addiction
  • Special populations
  • Quality improvement
  • Journal Club
  • Clinical Case Conferences

Other Lectures or Seminars Available

  • Addiction Medicine Grand Rounds (twice monthly)
  • Addiction Medicine Faculty Fellows Research Forum (monthly)
  • American Academy of Academic Addiction Medicine (ACAAM) lectures

Clinical Experiences

Yale Addiction Medicine Consult Service at YNHH Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH)
Provide inpatient Addiction Medicine consult services from assessment to discharge planning with a multidisciplinary team including an attending physician board-certified in Addiction Medicine, an advanced practice provider, a counselor, health professions students, and residents at both campuses of YNHH.

The APT Foundation
Provide longitudinal outpatient care, including assessing and treating patients with opioid, alcohol, and other substance use disorders and their associated co-morbidities with evidence-based approaches, including pharmacotherapy and counseling strategies. Fellows will primarily care for patients in the Central Medical Unita primary care clinic embedded within an addiction treatment program, as well as rotate at other sites within the APT Foundation.

Addiction Recovery Clinic at Cornell Scott Hill Health Center
Provide longitudinal outpatient care, including initiating and maintaining pharmacotherapy for patients with opioid, alcohol and other substance use disorders, in a specialty addiction treatment clinic embedded within an academic primary care medical practice while providing oversight to health professions students and primary care internal medicine residents.

Fair Haven Community Health Care
Coordinate with primary care providers and school-based health center staff to conduct in-person and telemedicine substance use assessments and follow-up visits, including initiation and maintenance of medications for substance use disorders, with adolescents 12-21 years old.

Transitions Clinic
Work with an interprofessional team of providers and learners stemming from the Schools of Law, Public Health, and Nursing, to treat patients with substance use disorders and a history of involvement with the criminal legal system.

VA Opioid Reassessment Clinic
Provide intake assessments and follow-up care to patients (typically veterans) who are experiencing issues related to safety, efficacy, or misuse of long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain.

Elective Rotation
Fellows will also have a two-week elective rotation tailored to their interests.

Teaching & Scholarship

Teaching Opportunities

Fellows participate in clinical and didactic teaching initiatives across the Yale Schools of Medicine and Nursing and Yale New Haven Health (YNHH) at the undergraduate and graduate medical education levels.

Scholarship

All fellows complete a scholarly project in the field of research, education, quality improvement or advocacy supported by one-on-one mentorship from a Program in Addiction Medicine faculty member.

Eligibility and the Application Process

Applicants must be from one of the following health professions and meet the following criteria by the time they matriculate:

Physician Assistants (PA):

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN):

Applying

We recruit eligible candidates for one fellowship position annually. To apply, please submit a complete application via Qualtrics. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Applications must include:

  • Three letters of recommendation (at least two from a supervisor or manager that may include a preceptor, professor, or training program director)
  • Personal statement
  • Updated resume

Complete applications will be considered on a rolling basis. The hard deadline for applying each year is December 20th.

The application deadline for the 2024-25 fellowship has passed. We are currently recruiting for the 2025-26 fellowship class. Access the application here.

SUSTAIN Faculty Development Program

Two advanced practice provider (APP) faculty members each year to participate in a 12-month faculty development program designed to deliver enhanced training in addiction medicine and behavioral health. Participants work full-time in a clinical addiction treatment setting, are paired with an addiction medicine faculty mentor, and have the opportunity to:

  • Meet quarterly or more with their mentor to create and implement a faculty development plan that suits their interests.
  • Engage with a menu of elective training activities on topics ranging from behavioral health counseling to medications for addiction treatment.
  • Participate in clinical immersion experiences at several outpatient and inpatient sites to further their clinical expertise and exposure.

Faculty interested in joining the 2025-26 cohort are encouraged to contact SUSTAIN to express their interest.

2024-25 Cohort

  • Amy Bopp, PA-C
  • Lorianne Meus, APRN

2023-24 Cohort

  • Benjamin Mahoney, APRN
  • Lauryn Tetreault, PA-C