When it comes to patient health and wellness, do you believe in treating the whole person rather than just the symptom or ailment at hand? If so, studying integrative health as part of your career preparation could be a wise choice. Integrative health centers focus on treating the mind, body, and spirit to achieve optimal well-being, often drawing on a combination of conventional and alternative therapies and holistic health practices.
As you explore contemporary and alternative medicine, there are many lessons to be learned from ethnomedicine, the study of medicine as it relates to specific cultural groups. Many integrative health experts draw upon lessons from both Eastern and indigenous practices to serve their patients, including global healing traditions as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Before we dive into some of the types of alternative medicine used by healthcare professionals today, it's important to understand exactly what global healing entails and why it matters in the modern healthcare landscape.
In healthcare, global healing traditions refer to culturally-specific systems that have been around since long before what we now consider "modern medicine." Typically, these practices include the use of acupuncture and herbal medicine, hands-on therapies, and even special rituals and/or ceremonies.
Modern healthcare practitioners should care about global healing practices because understanding these practices may help them expand and improve their offerings to a diverse population of patients. By integrating a global healing approach to their work, providers can offer care that is more culturally sensitive, accessible, and holistic. At the same time, offering more options gives patients a greater sense of empowerment and control over their own health.
When it comes to complementary and alternative medicine, perhaps the most widely known is that of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which has been around for more than 5,000 years.
TCM emerged in ancient China and is based on the basic belief that the body is made up not just of interconnected organs, but energy channels (known as meridians) and vital forces (known as qi). With this in mind, TCM centers around treating the entire body, including a patient's physical and mental health, in an effort to achieve the ideal "yin and yang" balance.
What does TCM look like when its principles are applied to modern healthcare? Some examples of TCM-informed treatments include:
Another holistic health practice that integrative health professionals should be aware of is Ayurveda, a traditional Indian system of medicine that has been used for over 3,000 years.
Ayurveda for health is based on the belief that a person's overall health and wellness rely on the balance of three different energies of the human spirit, known as doshas. These include:
The primary goal in the practice of Ayurveda is to establish and maintain the ideal balance of the doshas, which may be done through the use of such treatments as:
Native Americans and other indigenous peoples have relied on indigenous healing practices since ancient times, drawing on a holistic approach that considers the interplay between the mind, body, spirit, and environment.
Many indigenous healing practices are based on traditional knowledge passed down from generation to generation, which can vary from one community to the next. In general, however, indigenous healing centers around spirituality and aims to restore balance not just within the person, but in their connection to the universe.
While indigenous healing methods can look different in different areas of the world, some common practices include:
For healthcare practitioners who are interested in offering more holistic approaches and alternative medicine options to their patients, these are just a few options to consider. However, practitioners still have an essential obligation to their patients to implement holistic practices and treatments in a way that is evidence-based and safe.
Studying the effectiveness of certain alternative treatments can be challenging, but practitioners are encouraged to review existing research to get a better feel for how certain treatments may work for different populations. This may include examining not only psychosomatic research, but also specific intervention studies.
Another challenge to consider with alternative treatments is that while many have strong anecdotal affirmation, not all have been supported with extensive clinical trials. With this in mind, practitioners are implored to look closely at pragmatic clinical trials and other studies with a keen eye for safety and efficacy standards before offering treatments to their own patients.
In offering culturally responsive care, health practitioners must also maintain a strong sense of ethics and professionalism in their work. More specifically, they must be careful to avoid cultural appropriation while also understanding any applicable legal boundaries.
For starters, health practitioners should never assume that they know everything there is to know about a certain culture. This awareness of humility and cultural competence in healthcare can help to reduce implicit bias while demonstrating respect for traditional healing practices. Providers should be especially tactful in offering practices without misrepresenting or even commercializing them.
Healthcare providers must also keep their scope of practice at the forefront of all decisions they make, including the decision to offer (or not offer) certain alternative treatments. For example, while a physician may choose to offer some TCM treatments, they may not be legally permitted to perform acupuncture without a dedicated license. These legal boundaries can vary significantly from state to state, so practitioners must be familiar with the specific requirements of their own state to avoid compliance issues.
Practitioners must also keep in mind that some treatments may be subject to privacy limitations, including indigenous data sovereignty, which grants indigenous people the right to govern their own data collection and privacy.
Many healthcare providers may also struggle with the idea of integrating components of alternative medicine with existing contemporary care models. Fortunately, this doesn't have to be as complicated as it may seem.
Providers can rely on clinical workflow touchpoints, for example, to help patients explore all of their treatment options (including both conventional and alternative treatments). Empowering patients through shared decision-making is achievable by identifying critical touchpoint moments throughout their care journey.
Providers may also find success in collaborating with other healthcare professionals, including those who already specialize in alternative or cultural medicine. Collaborative care models could be implemented in your practice to benefit both you and your patients. This can be achieved by learning from how other providers have incorporated these treatments.
So, when might alternative medicine be explored as an option? While there are many possibilities, some of the most common examples of alternative medicine application address such issues as chronic pain, metabolic health, and mental health.
Some holistic treatments, like acupuncture and massage, are highly regarded for their ability to manage chronic pain. These practices may also help to improve overall function by enhancing blood and energy flow throughout the body, which is thought to stimulate healing.
Some holistic health practices (like Tai Chi and Ayurveda) are believed to enhance metabolic health by improving circulation. Meanwhile, the use of certain herbs (like ginseng and turmeric) is believed to improve glucose metabolism and offer anti-inflammatory qualities.
Mind-body healing techniques like meditation, yoga, and even aromatherapy are key components of alternative medicine that are often used for the treatment of certain mental health conditions and their symptoms (including stress and anxiety).
If you're in the healthcare field and are looking to expand your understanding of alternative medicine or ethnomedicine, you may be wondering about the training opportunities available to you.
University-based education programs, such as a Master's in Integrative Health from Indiana Wesleyan University, cover important cultural medicine topics that can help providers offer more culturally responsive care to patients.
Meanwhile, additional courses and certifications may provide specialized training in holistic and patient-centered approaches, evidence-based practice, and other essential competencies.
Ultimately, healthcare providers who aim to deliver the most comprehensive care to a diverse range of patients must learn how to integrate conventional treatments with contemporary and alternative therapies effectively. In doing so, they can ensure that patients have access to the exact type of care they want without having to visit multiple doctors.
With so much to be learned about cultural medicine and the many techniques that can be used in integrative health, isn't it about time you found a degree program that focuses on decolonizing healthcare with the exploration of natural healing methods, Eastern medicine techniques, and other holistic health practices?
If this is something you're passionate about, and if you already have a bachelor's degree in a health-related field, then it may be time to pursue your master's in integrative health at Indiana Wesleyan University. Here, you'll explore coursework in such relevant topics as integrative health coaching, behavioral change and empowerment, nutritional science, and more.
Plus, because this degree is offered online, you can enjoy working at your own pace with an empowered learning approach and customized learning paths. Discover more about IWU's Integrative Health degree program (or any of our other programs) by reaching out today, or get the ball rolling with your application here.
