COLLEGE OF INTEGRATIVE MEDICAL SCIENCES ***

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE PROGRAM

The INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE Program at CIMS is committed to nurturing a new generation of highly qualified physicians who will integrate the best of conventional medicine with the best of alternative therapies, and advise their patients on all treatment options.

Mission Statement of the Integrative Medicine Program

The mission of the Integrative Medicine Program at the College of Integrative Medical Sciences is to prepare integrative medicine practitioners to strive for excellence in their work. This is accomplished through vigorous medical education with emphasis on interfacing herbal and other treatment modalities with conventional health care disciplines. The program is committed to having graduates who are respected among their health care peers, dedicated to service in their community, and prepared for lifelong learning in the field.
Integrative Medicine is based on the best of mainstream and complementary therapies. This approach is committed to the practice of good medicine founded in good science, whether its origins are biomedical or complementary. At its most effective, this approach is inquiry-driven and open to new paradigms, neither rejecting mainstream medicine nor uncritically accepting alternative practices. Its content is highly integrative combining botanical therapeutic approaches with nutritional and physico-manipulative skills as well as basic surgery and medicine. In practice and research, these professionals and graduates with strong foundations in both the conventional and natural health sciences will continue to integrate scientific methodology with the wisdom and proven benefits of traditional ways, while calling forth the intangible, and often miraculous, healing power native to each individual and living system.

Program Aims

The program aims:

To create the optimal educational conditions whereby students are able to gain the competence and experience to effectively treat patients using conventional, herbal and other therapeutic modules.
To ensure that students are competent to provide safe, legal and ethical treatment for their patients.
To provide the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary for students to embark on and sustain a professional career in integrative medicine.
To support the development of integrative medicine as a specialized health care discipline and encourage continuing professional development and research.
To enable students to practice professionally and independently as Members of a National Institute of Integrative Medical Practitioners.

Program Objectives

By the end of the full program students will be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of biomedical sciences including normal structure and functioning in health, and causes, pathological processes, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management in illness.
Establish an effective therapeutic relationship, using appropriate communication and diagnostic skills and thorough case history taking, to examine a patient and accurately evaluate their state of health.
Demonstrate thorough knowledge and application of key areas of herbal medicine, including pharmacognosy, pharmacology and therapeutics, as well as basic clinical, surgical and other skills that enhance patient treatment and management.
Recognize medical emergencies and pathologies beyond their competence to treat, reviewing the range of referral options available and acting appropriately.
Effectively use both conventional and herbal medicines, having the skills to ensure accurate identification, dispensing and application in practice with understanding of potential interactions.
Develop an appropriate management and treatment plan including complementary and alternative prescription.
Understand the professional, legal, ethical and business requirements involved in both conventional and complementary practice and be able to fulfill the statutory requirements of an integrative practitioner.
Appreciate and contribute to the development of integrative medicine as a scientific area of study and research and maintain ongoing professional development including a reflective approach to practice.
Recognize the role of complementary and alternative medicine within medicine as a whole, and the contribution it can make as a specialist health care discipline.

Course Structure, Content and Duration

The integrative medicine program at CIMS is highly integrative combining botanical therapeutic approaches with nutritional and physico-manipulative modalities as well as basic surgery and emergency medicine in the treatment and management of disease and prevention of illnesses. The clinical experience builds on a solid knowledge and understanding of biomedical sciences including normal structure and functioning in health, causes of ill health, pathological processes, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management in illness. Courses in the integrative medicine program at CIMS include

(a) Basic Sciences,

(b) Botanical Medicine ,

(d) Clinical Education

Basic Sciences

Basic science courses emphasize anatomy and physiology, histology, biochemistry and microbiology as the foundation for further basic sciences and all clinical courses. Further courses include histology, pathology, pharmacology, immunology, infectious diseases, and embryology, neuroscience and research methods. These courses serve as a foundation for understanding of the human body and provide students with the necessary skills and courses that satisfy prerequisite requirements, including courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry and biophysics.

Botanical Medicine

The core curriculum in botanical medicine for naturopathic medical students covers fundamental plant identification and nomenclature, pharmacognosy, therapeutic actions, extraction principles, dosage considerations, contraindications, toxicology, herb-drug interactions, clinical applications and treatment regimens. Clinical therapeutics draw from traditional uses, naturopathic formulae and use, and from international scientific and clinical research, as well as advances in phytotherapy. Several of the materia medica courses are linked with a laboratory experience in the botanical medicine lab on campus. Completion of the required curriculum, along with the required clinical experience, prepares the student for effective and safe clinical utilization of preventive and therapeutic botanicals. A variety of botanical medicine elective and special topic courses shall be offered to students in the integrative medicine program and other programs, along with independent study options.

Nutrition & Exercise Science

The Nutrition and Exercise Science course within the integrative medicine program emphasizes the study of the physiological, biochemical, socioeconomic, political and psychological aspects of human nutrition and physical activity. The department prepares graduates to critically evaluate scientific literature and to incorporate current research and advances in nutrition and exercise science.

The nutrition program is unique in its emphasis on whole foods and multicultural, political, and ecological dimensions of diet and world food supply within the overall context of basic, clinical and community nutrition. These aspects of nutrition, blended with biochemistry and physiology, reflect the CIMS natural health sciences philosophy. The concept of food as medicine and the concept of diet as a critical component in healing are fundamental to both conventional and natural therapeutics, optimal health and whole-person healing.

Clinical Education

The Clinical Training Program is unique among medical schools and the first of its kind in Africa. The Program provides students with an integrative approach to medicine while encompassing orthodox and natural therapy philosophies and emphasizing the practical information necessary to establish a successful practice.
Clinical training is an integral part of the integrative medicine program. Introductory courses offered familiarize students with clinic requirements, protocols and associated paperwork. This course serves to facilitate the continuity between the preclinical and clinical education. Students meet with the staff and faculty from the clinic. The standards of practice and care for the clinic are discussed. Case management skills and charting skills are reviewed to prepare students for the clinic. Students learn how to become an effective part of the health care team in providing care to patients.

Students will take courses in a wide range of clinical disciplines including physical and clinical laboratory diagnosis, gastroenterology, dermatology, oncology, public health and environmental medicine. The curriculum emphasizes special disciplines including Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat (EENT), Neurology, Gynecology, Pediatrics and Cardiology. Further courses include Urology, Rheumatology and Endocrinology. Family medicine is reinforced with courses in minor surgical procedures, medical procedures, patient care and practice management.

The clinical training is modeled upon mentorship. The average faculty/student ratio will not exceed 1:10. Each clinic shift begins with case preview during which the students present to the supervisor their preparations for the patient they will be seeing that day. During each patient visit the supervisor spends time in the room with the student team and the patient. Also during each visit the supervisor and student team consult about the patient in consult rooms, reviewing the assessment and treatment recommendations. Each clinic shift concludes with case review.

Career Opportunities

The programs-mix prepares graduates for a wide range of career opportunities:

Primary Care Doctors (respecting the integrated relationship of body and mind while combining the wisdom of traditional healing with the rigor of scientific methods).
Admission into advanced medical or pharmaceutical programs
Medical and natural product industry consulting
Medical and herbal sales/marketing
Scientific research and writing
The proficiency certificate program offers people who are already practicing traditional herbal medicine an opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills, enabling them to better serve the health-care needs of the population, thus enhancing their attractiveness to potential clients/patients.