Integrative Medicine for Nurse Practitioner

MunoRN, RN · Dec 28, 2015

They all do, that's the main difference between becoming an independent practitioner through the medical route vs the nursing route. "Integrative medicine" is what those in the medical community call medical practitioners who follow the nursing model. Integrative medicine "focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic and lifestyle approaches, healthcare and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing", or in other words, nursing.

JustMeRN · Dec 29, 2015

I'm not sure if it is an option but I am wondering if anyone knows of a nurse practitioner program that incorporates integrative medicine into the curriculum? Thank you in advance!

what is your definition of "integrative" medicine? Integrative is a popular catch phrase for alternative treatments. Is that what you are asking about? Homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic etc?

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Dec 29, 2015

Hi...Moved to AN's Nurse Practitioners (NP) forum for best chance of NP advice.

Surg-OncRN · Dec 29, 2015

Yes, two that I know of so far and more being added all the time. University of Minnesota Twin Cities and http://nursing.up.edu/default.aspx?cid=9950&pid=207.

University of Portland and University of Minnesota.

PG2018 · Dec 29, 2015

I think all my NP books had a chaper over something extraneous like "CAM" or complementary and alternative medicine. I don't know much about it...or care to. I'm always amazed that people find it helpful, but I think it's only because they want something "CAM" to be helpful for them.

I think OMT is pretty neat, and I'd like to learn some of that merely to practice on myself and my wife.

I'm not into oils or herbs. I figure if that worked there would've never been drug companies. Instead we'd have taxed, controlled and regulated oils, etc. because that would've been the only/best way to make money for somebody.

I'm not into chiropractic because the ligaments don't have time to tighten back up before the next "subluxation" occurs.

Accpunture is nothing but active placebo in my mind.

I hired a hypnotherapist for my wife in pregnancy. When she'd come over so we could "practice" relaxation I'd fall asleep, but then rarely do I ever take 10 minutes to sit still and not engage myself so of course I fell asleep. My wife, on the other hand, didn't find any help from it.

And for me personally, aside from Christmas music (Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, The Rat Pack, et al) I personally hate "noise" going on in the background so I can't deal with music therapy. As a child I despised coloring and drawing and still do. In fact, I get angry when I have to do craft-type stuff, and a lot of the things used for aroma therapy, such as thieves oil, make me feel sick.

lhflanurseNP, APRN · Dec 30, 2015

I utilize integrative medicine in my practice all the time. It is what it means...it integrates aspects of allopathic AND complementary practices. It opens the doors to looking "outside the box" for those patients who allopathic medicine has failed. As nurse practitioners, our focus is on the whole patient. While going to school, I had the unexpected pleasure of being able to suggest alternative treatment options I would offer along with traditional approaches as long as there was evidence to support my options. The main problem to consider is the boards are written in a more traditional allopathic approach. My suggestion...get your schooling done THEN consider taking additional classes as well as finding integrative practitioners to approach. Many of the major nutraceutical companies provide information and help bridge the gap.

evolvingrn, BSN, RN · Dec 30, 2015

I think you have to continue your training afterward. I Plan on incorporating it in my practice with additional training

PG2018 · Dec 30, 2015

I utilize integrative medicine in my practice all the time. It is what it means...it integrates aspects of allopathic AND complementary practices. It opens the doors to looking "outside the box" for those patients who allopathic medicine has failed. As nurse practitioners, our focus is on the whole patient. While going to school, I had the unexpected pleasure of being able to suggest alternative treatment options I would offer along with traditional approaches as long as there was evidence to support my options. The main problem to consider is the boards are written in a more traditional allopathic approach. My suggestion...get your schooling done THEN consider taking additional classes as well as finding integrative practitioners to approach. Many of the major nutraceutical companies provide information and help bridge the gap.

What are the major nutraceutical companies?

Psychcns · Dec 30, 2015

@inflanurse. Can you give an example of someone you have treated using allopathic and complementary practices. I have suggested yoga, mindfulness, etc but haven't actually tried to teach it. I am not sure I am qualified. With nutraceuticals, are there any books or thinking endorsed by the allopathic folks. Does insurance cover nutraceutical. Or are you talking about food? I think it is worth learning more about. I am well grounded in psychotherapy-diagnostics-psychopharmacology and not sure how I would conceptualize integrating neutracuticals.

lhflanurseNP, APRN · Dec 31, 2015

I utilize Xymogen, Apex Energetics, Douglas Laboratories, NuMedica, and others as well as have various products changed and private labelled. I do a LOT of nutritional counseling including diet and lifestyle modification. I encourage patients to utilize chiropractic medicine (not just the traditional snap and pop, but those practicing functional neurology), acupuncture, yoga, taichi, quijong. I do utilize homeopathics as well as traditional prescription drugs. I recently had a patient with diarrhea and a sense of fullness to the point she was unable to eat more than 2-3 bites of food every half hour for 3 months. She had undergone a Whipple procedure 6 months earlier. Worked on releasing adhesions with gentle percussion and activator release...what a belch! Then we did out-of-the box stool testing and identified 3 different fungi as well as 2 bacteria. One week after starting her on the antibiotics and antifungal agents and she was a whole new person. She recently returned to see the chiropractor to keep her surgical scar adhesions "at bay". Had another patient with Triglycerides in the 600s and was not able to take any of the traditional meds. Started him on high dose of a special omega complex we have private labelled and in 6 weeks they were down to 240! Of course this 6 weeks was after he had tried using a different type of omega complex and didn't show his numbers improve at all.

Psychcns · Dec 31, 2015

InflanurseNP. This is interesting. It sounds like you are doing a traditional practice and adding more. It sounds like you would then bill for a routine patient encounter. Does insurance pay for things like homeopathic medicine or the omega complexes you describe. Or is it mostly private billing.