University of Michigan Integrative Curriculum for Medicine and Allied Health

Principal Investigator:

Sara Warber, M.D.
Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan Integrative Medicine

Co-Principal Investigator(s):

• Joseph Fantone, M.D. - Medical School Administration, University of Michigan
• Rita Benn, Ph.D. - Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan Integrative Medicine
• Larry Gruppen, Ph.D. - Medical Education, University of Michigan
• Casey White, Ph.D. - Medical School Administration, University of Michigan
• Leslie Wimsatt, Ph.D. - University of Michigan Integrative Medicine

Funding sources:

NIH (NCCAM)

Time period for grant funding (start/end dates):

08/01/2001 - 06/30/2006

Objectives/aims of study:

Complementary and alternative medicine ( CAM ) is widely embraced by persons seeking health and wellness care, with reported usage growing from 30% of Americans in 1990 to 42% in 1997. Health professionals increasingly acknowledge the need for a broad understanding of the modalities used by their patients. At the University of Michigan (UM), interest in CAM education has been accelerated by the work of the NIH-funded CAM Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases. Strong collaborative relationships have developed within the Medical School , between the Medical School and other UM health professions schools, and across the university campus. This interdisciplinary group now proposes a comprehensive plan to integrate knowledge of the theory, evidence, and practice of CAM into the curriculum at the UM Medical School, the Schools of Nursing, Public Health, and Social Work, and the Colleges of Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Literature, Science and the Arts. Specifically, the UM Integrative Curriculum for Medicine and Allied Health will include the development, implementation, and evaluation of three inter-related curricular components:

• An Integrative Undergraduate Medical School CAM Curriculum
• An Interdisciplinary CAM Faculty Scholars Program
• An Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Holistic Health and Healing

The proposed education program will provide a systematically designed and incrementally challenging curriculum that will enable students of medicine and allied health to evaluate CAM and integrate it into their knowledge base and attitudinal framework. The program will facilitate learning through instructional methods that are steeped in best practice pedagogy for adult learners. The methods will include didactic lecture followed by small group discussions, experiential learning, clinical conferences, standardized patient instructors, case-based learning in person and over the web, on-line consultation, evidence-based readings, and clinical field experiences. The foundation of the program will be modular units that can be joined, re-configured, and expanded for different educational audiences and learner levels. Critical to the success of this program is interdisciplinary faculty development that will result in a sustained teaching infrastructure in CAM at both the Medical School and wider university campus. CAM experts in education and practice will join Medical School faculty and allied health faculty to form the Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee which will advise all aspects of the program. Evaluation of curricular content, instructional practices, and learner outcomes throughout the grant period will result in ongoing program improvement. Through these activities the University of Michigan will create a model integrative curriculum. Results of this work will be widely disseminated for the benefit of other institutions and will thus ultimately contribute to better health care for all Americans.

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