Enticing You to Write a Book Review
Victor O. Kolade, MD (AIAMC Roles: Member
of Board of Directors & Programming Committee)
Years ago Rick Mathis, PhD, a health
policy doyen* at the Ochs Center in Chattanooga, published a series of book
reviews in the journal Health Affairs as his contribution to the scholarly
activity in our department. I got my chance to emulate Rick when I was given a
copy of Michael Stein’s The Addict: One Patient, One Doctor, One Year at
the end of a NIDA-sponsored conference hosted by the Boston University Medical
Center. As I had airport/plane time with no other plans, I read the book and sought
to publish a book review of my own.
The book was interesting and rather
seamless; the author fulfilled his self-chosen mission to describe a year in
the life of an addict who presents for buprenorphine treatment, taking care to
protect the identity of the patient(s) that were referenced in his narrative. I
looked for a journal whose audience could benefit from reading a brief re-tell
of this story. I asked and got permission from Family Medicine to submit
my write-up to them. Fortunately, this journal has guidelines for preparing
book reviews; I followed it and the editor’s revision guidance. In the published book review (2011), I walked readers through
Stein’s experiences as he worked with a 29-year old college grad who in 16
years had never met a drug she didn’t like!
Looking Back – It was More than Just
a Book Review.
What has happened professionally since
I read and reviewed The Addict in 2011? I have:
· Shared the review (and the
instruction template) with a few mentees,
· Become certified to prescribe
buprenorphine and have done so on occasion, and
· Screened and certified a number of patients
with opioid use disorder for medical cannabis use in accordance with
Pennsylvania or New York laws.
Why do I deem the content of The Addict relevant,
years after its publication?
Effective 2022, addiction medicine is regarded by the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) as core internal medicine (IM) content
for IM residency education. This book may be a discussion starter for
resident-faculty book clubs - or assigned reading for addiction medicine
rotations.
Does this tempt you to do a book
review yourself? If
you recently read/reviewed a book, please contact us so that we can consider
publishing it on our blog!! kimberly@aiamc.org
Dr. Kolade
is Interim Co-Chief for Quality, Wellness & Research, Sayre Internal
Medicine; Clinical Professor of Medicine & Regional Clerkship Director for
Internal Medicine, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.
*(the most respected or prominent
person in a particular field)