The KU School of Medicine-Wichita Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program, the only one in Kansas, will provide education and supervised clinical experience in the treatment of patients with addiction, including detoxification, pharmacotherapy for addiction, abstinence-based recovery models, consultation for medical and psychiatric hospital services, and psychosocial approaches to treatment. The new program, set to launch in 2025, will provide 12 months full-time (or 24 months part-time) progressively supervised clinical experience for physicians from any primary medical specialty.

After a comprehensive review of KU’s application detailing the fellowship program’s curriculum and clinical teaching plan, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education granted initial accreditation to the fellowship program — a crucial step in the development of the program.

Ashley Haynes, M.D., clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, will be the new program director. She is currently an addiction medicine physician at Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, treating patients in the residential unit, hospital inpatient units and in an outpatient clinic.

“After the fellows graduate, they will become experts in the management of the most complex substance use disorders and challenging withdrawal scenarios,” explained Haynes. “They will be poised to act as leaders in the field, capable of leading opioid treatment programs or residential recovery treatment programs where addiction specialty is often required or preferred. In addition, they will be prepared to educate their peers and provide excellence and guidance in complicated situations, through consultation in both formal and informal outpatient and inpatient situations.”

Recruitment has begun for the 2025-26 academic year, and it is anticipated that the fellowship program will officially start in July with one-to-two fellows.

There are 106 ACGME-accredited addiction medicine fellowship programs in 44 states.

Fellowship inquiries can be addressed to Shelly Small, fellowship program coordinator, at ssmall2@kumc.edu.