Integrative Medical Education

Integrative medical education in traditional medicine is an emerging field of study that blends evidence-based medicine and its modern teachings with the complementary medicine approaches used in many cultures for centuries. Integrative medical education focuses on informing future medical providers of evidence-based medical and complementary practices for prevention, diagnosis, and management of common maladies. Students learn to recognize the unique characteristics of traditional medicine and to combine clinical evidence with cultural context when evaluating patient care. Integrative medical education incorporates various curricula components, such as systemic approaches to population health, interdisciplinary communication, biopsychosocial medicine, public health approaches, and cultural competency. Through this type of medical education, medical students are exposed to different healing practices, such as herbal and nutritional medicine, acupuncture, and traditional physical therapy modalities. This enables them to better understand a patient’s cultural background when designing their treatment plan. Integrative medical education also involves the use of simulations, case studies, and problem-based learning to give students opportunities to apply clinical reasoning skills in a comprehensive manner so they can develop their own evidenced-based foundations to model patient care. The integration of medical education and traditional medicine better prepares learners for practice in a variety of settings that embrace diverse approaches to patient care. Integrative medical education provides a wealth of opportunities for medical students to build bridges between traditional and natural healing practices, to continually inquire about the basis of evidence-based care, and to adopt a patient-centered approach to care. As the health care system evolves and becomes a global phenomenon, integrative medical education is essential for medical learners to appreciate and recognize the importance of traditional medicine practices.