Alëna Balasanova, MD, received the American Medical Association Foundation Award for Health Education recognizing her leadership in addiction psychiatry in November.
This national award was established to recognize the professional and public health education accomplishments of practicing physicians.
Dr. Balasanova said she was shocked to be chosen for the honor.
“The AMA is our nation’s oldest, largest, and most influential medical organization,” she aid. “To be recognized amongst 240,000 of my peers is an incredibly humbling experience — it motivates me to continue doing this very important work.”
Originally an Armenian refugee and now an American citizen, Dr. Balasanova said growing up disenfranchised has contributed to her passion for helping others who find themselves in difficult situations.
“It was a natural leap for me to make it my mission to advance care for this underserved population and to fight for the underdog, whether that’s through direct patient care, education and training, or my national advocacy efforts,” Dr. Balasanova said.
Since joining UNMC and Nebraska Medicine in 2016, Dr. Balasanova has changed the face of addiction psychiatry.
An assistant professor in the UNMC Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Balasanova has:
- Spearheaded the opening of the outpatient addiction psychiatric clinic;
- Developed the inpatient addiction psychiatry consultation-liaison service;
- Wrote the curriculum for clinical rotations for medical students, residents, and fellows in addiction medicine;
- Advanced the education and training of fellow clinicians by developing a virtual training office of addiction psychiatry materials for residency programs and as senior trainer for the state of Nebraska in the Opioid Response Network; and
- Created resolutions destigmatizing addiction language which were adopted by the Nebraska Medical Association and presented and adopted at the 2019 AMA Interim House of Delegates Meeting.
Dr. Balasanova said that at the premier academic health institution in the state, it is important that the most scientifically sound, evidence-based care possible is provided to patients suffering with substance use disorders (SUDs).
“Historically, patients with SUDs were considered to have failed willpower or poor morals and this has resulted in a treatment system that is built around sociocultural views rather than evidence-based science,” she said.
Through her years of service, Dr. Balasanova said she has seen how something as simple as the way SUDs are discussed can impact a patient’s success in dealing with their addiction.
“Language has always been an important part of my life. English is my second language, and I have learned how the power of words can be an incredible catalyst for change. A plethora of research tell us that using clinically inaccurate and judgmental terminology will actually negatively impact the care we provide our patients due to unconscious biases we all hold. By destigmatizing the language of addiction we advance the care of patients with SUDs,” she said.
“I am thrilled to see Dr. Balasanova recognized for her AMA Foundation Award for Health Education. Her addiction work is critical to train the future workforce for behavioral health in Nebraska,” said Howard Liu, M.D., chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry.
“As the chair of the Nebraska delegation to the AMA, I can attest to the impact that Alena has had our delegation, our county and state medical societies and the AMA,” said Kelly Caverzagie, MD, professor, internal medicine and associate dean for educational strategy at UNMC.
“She is very active in the AMA Young Physicians Section and atM etro Omaha Medical Socieety. She also is actively laying the groundwork to formally have the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry seated in the AMA House of Delegates. Without question, she has had a very positive impact on organized medicine,” he said.