Weaver receives award from ASAM
Michael Weaver, MD, professor in the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, received the Annual Award from the American Society of Addiction Medicine at the ASAM annual conference in April, in Washington, DC.
The award recognized Weaver’s outstanding contributions to the growth and vitality of ASAM and for his thoughtful leadership in expanding the addiction medicine field. Weaver was named a Distinguished Fellow of the society in 2003.
ASAM has more than 7,000 members and is the largest professional society whose members focus on studying addiction and treating substance use disorders from a clinical standpoint. The society is also responsible for educating clinicians from all areas of medicine and advocating on behalf of studying addiction medicine.
Weaver’s passion has always been studying addiction medicine and helping those dealing with complex issues get better over time.
“It’s absolutely wonderful to help patients turn their lives around 180 degrees,” Weaver said. “You don’t get that opportunity in a lot of aspects of medicine. You get to see people hold a job, raise a family, and be proud of who they are and what they’ve accomplished.”
As honored as Weaver is to have received the award, he said he is also excited to share his knowledge with the next group of physicians who are interested in studying addiction medicine.
“I want other folks to be able to learn not only from me but others as well,” Weaver said. “As an educator, I think it’s important to take those we are teaching and elevate them to our status and above.”