NPs and Integrative Medicine

touchhealth · Mar 27, 2008

Hi JerseyGirl,

I am also interested in Integrative Medicine. UCSF has an ANP program with an emphasis in Integrated Complementary Healing. I'm pretty sure Columbia has a sub-speciality in Integrative Therapies too. There is also a post-graduate program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona...even though it says it for doctors on the website, I know of an FNP who did a fellowship with that program.

Since you are already heading towards your BSN, you might look at the Holistic Nursing or Nurse Massage Therapist specialty threads on here. These seem to be the most "integrative" specialties available.

At the NP/Advanced Practice level it is my understanding that you work more in assessing pt's integrative therapies in conjunction with their primary care, and identify pt access to those therapies that might help their treatment. It's important to have a broad knowledge of the various therapies being offered that are considered safe and complementary to primary care. The alternative health world is quite a thick soup of fantastic effective treatments, and questionable quackery...so I've taken the approach of learning as much as I can about all of it.

I think that integrative medicine is still such an emerging field, especially in nursing practice, and that there are many, many ways to add these therapies into your work!

Good luck!!

kimposbl · May 3, 2008

i was just talking to ucsf's director of admissions for their anp program and they might not have their integrated complementary healing anymore. =(

this is what she emailed me:

"our anp -ich program is undergoing some changes in faculty and i am not sure if we will be offering an ich focus in 2 years."

touchhealth · May 6, 2008

Oh no! :crying2:

I guess that means I better get into the UCSF program in the the next two years, or consider relocating to New York.

...I was kind of hoping to do a 2nd degree BSN or ADN, and work in the field before applying for an advanced practice degree. Hmmmm...that's really too bad. I think nursing has some really great potential in integrated practices. I hope UCSF decides to keep the program.

Maybe we could write some letters requesting the program continue? I've got an email into one of the faculty in the department to see what she says about all this. I'll let you know if I learn anything new!

kimposbl · May 8, 2008

Another Integrative Medicine program in NYC, besides Columbia's, is at NYU. I'm in their 15-month accelerated BSN program right now, and they offer a MSN in Holistic/Adult NP. Here's their website for more info:

http://www.nyu.edu/nursing/academicprograms/masters/programs/holistic.html

Let me know what UCSF emails you back about their ANP - ICH program. I would really like to come back to the SF Bay area to get my MSN. 15 months of NYC will give me my substantial fix of what it is like to live in the largest metropolitan city in the nation. IMO, nothing beats living in the SF bay area.

touchhealth · May 8, 2008

So I was informed that there are faculty changes going on, but its not clear right now what the future of the program will be. She said she'd have a clearer picture in June.

Take care!

touchhealth · Jun 28, 2008

It's official: the UCSF website has added a note that the ANP Integrated Complementary Healing track is not longer available after Fall 2008.

:bluecry1:

But I know there is a vibrant holistic nursing community, as well as some great work in nurse massage therapy, that is similarly oriented.

Good Luck!