Integrative Medicine Team Service in a Hospital Setting: A Training Service

The hospital based integrative medical team which provides collaborative and coordinated care within the conventional hospital service model is an emerging concept. For over ten years, we have developed a training program and service model incorporating and coordinating massage therapy, guided imagery, expressive arts, spiritual care through hospital chaplaincy, healing harp, and holistic nursing. Our service adapts these practices frequently utilized in wellness, health optimization, and prevention oriented services to the setting of acute illness and injury care. The services are directed towards three objectives:

1. Enhancing patient comfort (ease pain, buffer anxiety and fear, support through isolation and loss) 2. Restoring, cultivating, and enhancing patient self efficacy and self regulation as an active agent in their own health 3. Supporting healthcare professionals in managing the stresses and strains of healing work with serious and life challenging illnesses.

Our growth has provided many key learning's and “best practices” for initiating and evolving an integrative medicine service. We will present our current understanding of the key elements in team organization and communication; linkage with conventional hospital services; practitioner training in discipline specific and collaborative practice skills; and challenges for the future in hospital based integrative medicine services.