Mark Publicker, MD, FASAM, ABAM Diplomate - Course Director

Course Director
Addiction Medicine Specialist, Private Practice;
Editor-in-Chief, American Society of Addiction Medicine Magazine

Mark Publicker, MD has practiced addiction medicine for more than three decades. He is the immediate-past president of the Northern New England Society of Addiction Medicine, past president of both the Virginia and Pennsylvania Societies of Addiction Medicine and is the editor-in-chief of the American Society of Addiction Medicine magazine. Dr. Publicker is also a fellow of the American Society of American Medicine and a diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine.

A nationally known educator and a passionate advocate for addiction treatment, Dr. Publicker has taught addiction medicine in China and helped develop a treatment program for drug-addicted boys for homeless boys in Turkey. In 2009. he was named “Caregiver of the Year” by the Maine Hospital Association and in 2014 Down East Magazine named him Maine’s “Top Doctor in Addiction Medicine.” Lunder-Dineen is fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Publicker for developing and disseminating evidence-based education about substance abuse and addiction.

Noah Nessin, MD, FAAFP

Chief Medical Officer.
Vice President of Medical Affairs, Penobscot Community Health Center

Dr. Nesin is a distinguished physician leader with a statewide reputation. He has been medical director of Health Access Network and a physician in the Lincoln community for almost 30 years. Dr. Nesin joined the PCHC Clinical Leadership team in March 2013 and works closely with other quality management leaders and providers to help them achieve high levels of measurable quality, and provider and patient satisfaction.

Dr. Nesin grew up Howland, Maine and has practiced as a board-certified family physician in the region for 28 years. He graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1983 and completed his family medicine residency in Duluth, Minn. in 1986.

After completing his residency, he operated his own private practice for 19 years, and then became a provider and medical director at Health Access Network in Lincoln, Maine for the following eight years. He also served for a year as interim chief medical officer for Maine Community Health Options, the co-op insurance plan formed under the Affordable Care Act.

Dr. Nesin has served on the board of Maine Primary Care Association, and currently serves on the board of the Hanley Center, as chair of Maine’s Academic Detailing Advisory Committee, on the Education Committee of the Finance Authority of Maine, and on the Steering Committee for Maine’s State Innovation Model grant initiative, in addition to his position on the Advisory Committee for Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine. Dr. Nesin also works closely with Maine Quality Counts, one of Lunder-Dineen’s frequent collaborators, on a number of initiatives.

Stephanie Nichols, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP, FCCP

Bio Pending

Dawn Williamson, RN, DNP, PMHCNS-BC, CARN-AP

Advanced Practice Nurse, Addictions Consultation
Emergency Department, Massachusetts General Hospital

Dawn Williamson is an Advanced Practice Nurse for Addictions Consultation in the Emergency Department at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Ms. Williamson responds to the treatment needs of both individuals and families with addiction and mental health issues in the emergency setting. As part of her responsibilities, she provides training and supervision of the clinical staff, develops and implements policies relating to patient care, and provides assistance with establishing treatment plans.

She received a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Regis College with a concentration in nursing leadership. She obtained a Master in Science in Adult Mental Health Nursing from Northeastern University and a BSN from the University of Massachusetts. Dawn is Board Certified as a Clinical Specialist in Adult Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. She is also a Certified Advanced Practice Addictions Registered Nurse. With thirty years of nursing experience she has practiced in both outpatient and hospital settings prior to coming to The Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Williamson has served as a preceptor to nurse practitioner students from the Institute of Health Professions, Vanderbilt University and Regis College of Nursing. She is one of two Advanced Practice Nurses appointed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to a medical review group informing the policy and development of the State Prescription Monitoring Program.

Dr. Williamson is a member of the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) and helped author position statements for the association on Medical Evaluation of Psychiatric Patients and on Substance Use and the Emergency Care Setting. She is also an active member of the International Nurses Society on Addictions. She has given numerous presentations on addiction and mental health treatment. She authored the chapter on alcohol intoxication and withdrawal states for Sheehy’s Manual of Emergency Care, as well as, the module on substance use disorders for Mosby’s eLearning course, Handling Psychiatric Emergencies.

Disclosure Summary of Relevant Financial Relationships

INELIGIBLE COMPANIES
Companies that are ineligible to be accredited in the ACCME System (ineligible companies) are those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Examples of such organizations include:

• Advertising, marketing, or communication firms whose clients are ineligible companies
• Bio-medical startups that have begun a governmental regulatory approval process
• Compounding pharmacies that manufacture proprietary compounds
• Device manufacturers or distributors                             
• Diagnostic labs that sell proprietary products
• Growers, distributors, manufacturers or sellers of medical foods and dietary supplements
• Manufacturers of health-related wearable products
• Pharmaceutical companies or distributors
• Pharmacy benefit managers
• Reagent manufacturers or sellers

For more information: https://accme.org/faq/what-accmes-definition-ineligible-company

MITIGATION STRATEGIES
Mass General Brigham has implemented a process to mitigate relevant financial relationships for this continuing education (CE) activity to help ensure content objectivity, independence, fair balance and ensure that the content is aligned with the interest of the public. 

The following planners have reported no relevant financial relationship with an ineligible company:

Mark Publicker, MD
Noah Nessin, MD
Stephanie Nichols, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP, FCCP
Dawn Williamson, RN, DNP, PMHCNS-BC, CARN-AP

The following authors/presenters have reported no relevant financial relationship with an ineligible company:

Mark Publicker, MD
Noah Nessin, MD
Dawn Williamson, RN, DNP, PMHCNS-BC, CARN-AP