OVERVIEW & ELIGIBILITY

Nursing Fellows are accepted into the program each year from a range of clinical and academic backgrounds. The program runs from July 2 to June 30 the following year (one year) and all Fellows must be available for the first two weeks of July to attend a virtual, online, academic block. To maximize practical clinical learning opportunities, a six-month full-time or one-year part-time commitment to clinical rotations is recommended. In circumstances where the Fellow may be unable to meet the recommended clinical hours due to work/life obligations, availability and/or funding, the program offers flexible hours and scheduling to support nurses to meet the minimum requirement of 500 hours.

Fellowship Overview

Addiction Nursing Fellowship (ANF) program applicants with a focus on clinical practice, education, nursing research, and/or leadership are accepted annually and participate in the following activities over the course of their fellowship year:

Learning activities:

• Two week academic block at the beginning of the program, academic presentations from interdisciplinary leaders in the field of addiction care and people with lived and living experience.
• Academic half-days scheduled throughout the year focusing on providing care for specialized populations, building research, advocacy and academic skills.
• Motivational Interviewing certification training.
• Clinical placements across a variety of settings, including: bed-based recovery or treatment, withdrawal management, concurrent disorders, acute addiction medicine consult teams, corrections, perinatal care, primary care, youth care, chronic pain, iOAT clinics, nurse prescribing and more.
• Fellows are encouraged to develop their teaching, leadership and presentation skills through providing education to site staff as they move through their clinical rotations. Fellows will also provide scheduled education sessions for other learners and nursing students during RAAC and AMCT placements.
• Monthly journal clubs via Zoom, each Fellow is responsible for presenting one journal article with their assigned interdisciplinary partner, supported by a Research Fellow.
• Fellows are supported to develop and present an evidence-based oral presentation based on an area of interest for “What’s New in Addiction Nursing,” a public BCCSU education series, each Fellow will be supported to develop and present an evidence-based oral presentation based on their area of interest.
• Fellows are encouraged to develop their teaching, leadership and presentation skills through providing education to site staff as they move through their clinical rotations. Fellows will also provide scheduled education sessions for other learners and nursing students during RAAC and AMCT placements.
• Attend a relevant research conference virtually or in person that is relevant to academic or clinical interests.
• Each Fellowship project: Fellows are supported to conducts a research, quality improvement, leadership and/or advocacy project aligning that aligns with their initiatives prioritized by their funding health authorities’ initiatives and their learning interests.
• Fellows share their research or quality improvement project results in oral or poster presentation format at the annual BCCSU Research Conference in May 2023.
• Prior to the ANF program, Fellows are required to compete: The BCCSU Provincial Opioid Addiction Treatment Support Program (POATSP); Addiction Care and Treatment Online Course (ACTOC); fellows must complete the (Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS 2 CORE) Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans prior to commencing fellowship projects and Indigenous Cultural Safety training.

Eligibility

• The BCCSU Addiction Nursing Fellowship accepts applications from registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses who are licensed to practice in BC through the BC College of Nurses and Midwives. Nurse practitioners can must apply for the Addiction Nurse Practitioner Fellowship. Successful out of province applicants must apply for practicing BC registration for the duration of their clinical placements at their own cost.
• The ANF program is currently able to accept funded candidates; funded spots are limited and program leadership works to find funding for successful candidates.
• All applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Directors to discuss eligibility and funding options.

FELLOWSHIP CORE ROTATIONS

Although many of the Fellowship core and elective clinical rotations are located in the Vancouver region, we support clinical placements across the North, Interior, Island, Fraser, Vancouver Coastal and First Nations Health Authorities. The program recommends all Fellows participate in the following core rotations and strives to ensure additional elective clinical placements are tailored to the Fellow’s individual learning goals, location and interests.

APPLY

Application Timeline for the 2025-2026 Addiction Nursing Fellowship:

• September 2, 2024: Application process opens
• December 30, 2024: Application deadline
• January 2025: Interview period
• February 24, 2025: Acceptance notification
• March 7, 2025: Deadline for acceptance of offer by applicant
• July 2, 2025: Fellowship begins

Please note: While the Fellowship is envisioned to begin July 2, 2025, there may be some flexibility with the start date, particularly for applicants who bring their own funding.

Application Details
Interested candidates must submit an electronic copy of the following documentation:

1. Three (3) letters - two letters of reference and one letter of support (pdf preferred):
• One letter of reference should speak to the applicant’s clinical expertise and experience
• One letter of reference should speak to the applicant’s character, leadership, advocacy, etc.
• One letter of support should be from the applicant’s manager or supervisor and outline employer/organizational support for the applicant to complete the Fellowship program
2. A 700-word letter of intent, in letter format (pdf preferred) describing:
• The applicant’s background and preparation for the Fellowship to date
• The applicant’s learning objectives and any specific areas of clinical interest or research interest
• Why the applicant is interested in a career in the field of addictions
• How the applicant envisions their fellowship experience will advance the system of substance use care
• Specific health authorities or programs where they are interested in completing their clinical placement and/or research or quality improvement activities
• Employer, operational and financial support that may be available, preference for 6-month full-time or 12-month part-time format, or other proposed schedule
3. A curriculum vitae

Please send an electronic copy of all application materials to [email protected].

Note: It is the applicant's responsibility ensure that their manager(s) and director(s) support their participation in the Addiction Nursing Fellowship.

Interviews

Interviews may be scheduled virtually or in-person, where possible, with candidates after the application deadline and take place from between December 2024 and January 2025. A representative from the applicants funding health authority or, employer may request to participate in conducting the interview panel.

General Inquiries
For further information about this Fellowship program, please contact us at [email protected]. For managers and supervisors, please feel free to reach out with questions pertaining to program funding and institutional support.

PROGRAM LEADERSHIP

Emma Garrod, RN, MSN, Co-Director, BCCSU Addiction Nursing Fellowship

Nicole Cowan, RN, BSN, Co-Director, BCCSU Addiction Nursing Fellowship

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

St. Paul’s Hospital at Providence Health Care is an acute care, academic, and research hospital located in downtown Vancouver. With over 500 acute care beds in use and home to many world-leading medical and surgical programs, the hospital serves both the local community and patients from across BC. Its downtown location brings many of Vancouver’s tourists and visitors to its doors. St. Paul’s also has a longstanding history of providing care to disadvantaged populations. For more information about St. Paul’s Hospital, please click here.

The BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) is a provincially networked resource with a mandate to develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based approaches to substance use and addiction. The BCCSU focuses on three strategic areas: research and evaluation, education and training, and clinical care guidance. With the support of the province of British Columbia, the BCCSU hosts the largest interdisciplinary addiction medicine training program in North America, building capacity in the healthcare system in BC to improve access to evidence-based care. Although physically located in Vancouver, the BCCSU is a provincially networked resource for researchers, educators, and care providers, as well as people who use substances, family advocates, support groups, and the recovery community.

The University of British Columbia (UBC), established in 1908, is one of Canada’s leading research universities, consistently ranked among the top 40 in the world. The university attracts 54,000 students from across Canada and 140 countries around the world to two major campuses. For more information about UBC, please click here.

St. Paul’s Foundation raises funds to support compassionate world-class care, research, and teaching at St. Paul’s Hospital. The BCCSU Addiction Medicine Fellowship is a partnership between St. Paul’s Foundation, St. Paul’s Hospital, the BC Centre on Substance Use, and the UBC Division of AIDS. The program was launched with a $3 million landmark donation to St. Paul’s Foundation, gifted by Goldcorp, Inc. The Foundation continues to secure additional funding to support the program. For more information, or to donate, please click here.

Vancouver Coastal Health is a regional health authority providing direct and contracted health services including primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care; home and community care; mental health services; population and preventive health; and addictions services in part of Greater Vancouver and the Coast Garibaldi area. For more information, please click here.