Quarterly Report of the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care: July 2010
Written by John Weeks
Quarterly Report from
the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care: July 2010
Summary: I
split my professional life between the Integrator
and related writing and the organization featured here, the
Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care
(ACCAHC). This Quarterly
Report describes how the release of the Clinicians'
and Educators' Desk Reference on the Licensed Complementary and
Alternative Healthcare Professions is opening significant discussions about inter-professional education inside schools and universities nationwide; new developments in a dialogue with the NIH NCCAM leadership; initial Council of Advisers includes Cooper, Haramati, Jonas, Kligler, Knutson, Kreitzer, Nedrow, Perlman; document on Competencies for Optimal Practices in Integrated Environments that is expected to shape ACCAHC activity going forward developed through extensive multidisciplinary process; plus latest thinking on themes for ACCAHC's June 26-28, 2011 Conference for Educators, and more.
Send your comments to
for inclusion in a future Integrator.
Note: The following report from
the Academic
Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC)
is an update on projects that the ACCAHC
board of directors and
leaders of ACCAHC's
15 member organizations are defining and shaping. I am involved
with this work as ACCAHC's executive director. These
leaders are practicing inter-professional education, collaboration and
teamwork in all they do with ACCAHC. This issue and prior issues are posted
here on the ACCAHC site. ACCAHC,
and the Integrator, welcome your feedback and comments.
_________________________
Members include 17 national organizations
July 2010 Quarterly
Report
Academic Consortium for Complementary
and Alternative Health Care
Purpose:
The ACCAHC
Quarterly Report educates members, participants and interested parties
on recent work to fulfill on ACCAHC's mission to better patient care through enhancing understanding and mutual respect between the disciplines. If you have questions, contact
John
Weeks (
) or Beth
Rosenthal (
).
In this
issue:
First adoptions of
ACCAHC's Clinicians' & Educators' Desk Reference; outreach promotes
curricular examination
Working Groups
take lead in creating ACCAHC Competencies
for Optimal Practices in Integrated Environments
ACCAHC names first
seven members to top-flight Council of Advisers
ACCAHC & NCCAM's
agenda: Dialogue, follow-up letter,
reception with Briggs, plus
Planning for the
June 26-28, 2011 ACCAHC Conference for Educators: Focus on Leadership
Work underway on ACCAHC Professions and the Future of Primary
Care project
Inside ACCAHC:
Tomasko on Board, CHE becomes first Emerging Professions member, plus
The
following schools and programs each have something in common:
Allegany College
of Maryland-Massage Therapy Program
Asian Institute
of Medical Studies
Finger Lakes
School of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine of New York Chiropractic College
Georgetown
University-Masters of Science in CAM Program
New York Chiropractic
College
Northwestern
Health Sciences University Massage Therapy Program
Tri-State College
of Acupuncture
University of
Bridgeport Acupuncture Institute
University of
Western States
Your program/college/institution here ...
In
each, the ACCAHC Clinicians' and Educators' Desk Reference on the Licensed
Complementary and Alternative Healthcare Professions (CEDR) is beginning to play a role in fostering better
care through enhancing interprofessional education (IPE). In 6 of these
programs, the CEDR has been adopted as a required text. At Georgetown
University, the book was gifted to 50 graduates of a Master of Science program.
At the University of Western States, the administration purchased 50 copies to
gift to faculty as an IPE resource and to stimulate potential use in the
curriculum.
ACCAHC publication provokes intra-institutional dialogue on curriculum on inter-professional education
These
are just some of the outcomes since late February when ACCAHC mailed CEDR copies
to presidents or directors of the 167 accredited universities, programs and
schools associated with ACCAHC's councils of colleges. The effort, led by ACCAHC
assistant director Beth Rosenthal, PhD, MBA, MPH and administrative assistant
Linda Tate, has also included distribution of the book to the directors of the 44
integrative MD programs that are part of the Consortium of
Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine. Rosenthal and Tate are following up these mailings
with individual phone calls to presidents, directors and individual faculty.
ACCAHC's goal is simple: Adoption
of the book as a core, required text, throughout our schools and programs.
Success
produces two outcomes. First and
foremost, we guarantee that students in ACCAHC schools gain at least a minimal
lift out of their professional silos. Each finds grounding for the inter-professional
understanding that supports participation in clinical teams. At the same time,
ACCAHC gains income to advance its mission. A purchase of 50 CEDRs for $875 ($17.50
each) nets $625 to support ACCAHC's work.
Outreach is teaching us a great
deal. Many educators are not sure where to fit the CEDR in their
curriculum. We find that
inter-professional education is often not well incorporated into a student's
education. That everyone wants others to know more about their discipline does
not translate into focused teaching about other disciplines in their programs. Rosenthal and Tate are diligently working
with faculty members to clarify courses in which CEDR may be taught. They now
provide lists of possible courses in which the CEDR could be useful to educators
they contact.
At the same time, we are
learning that faculty members in these fields view the CEDR as a great
resource. Rosenthal has put together comments about the CEDR received from
educators in a variety of disciplines. For
example, Dale Healey, DC, the dean of the massage therapy program at
Northwestern Health Sciences University states:
"We developed our Survey of Complementary and
Alternative Medicine course in response to the changing healthcare market and
the profound need for increased collaboration among all healthcare providers.
This book and the companion power-point are the exact resources we
needed."
Bottom line: Marketing the
CEDR is not just about selling a book. It is provoking reflection and action
relative to ACCAHC's core mission of fostering mutual respect among the
disciplines. It's a grassroots effort - advancing one program at a time. We
hope yours is next. For information, contact
Beth Rosenthal at
.
ACCAHC
Competencies for Optimal Practices in
Integrated Environments
In September 2009, the ACCAHC
Education Working Group (EWG) and Clinical Care Working Group (CWG) each chose to focus their work on supporting academics
in educating students for practice in integrated environments. Working Group leaders recognized this as a
value across all our fields. The ACCAHC
website could be used to share resources. We could identify exemplary
practices, provide model inter-institutional contracts, create curricular
modules, sample course content and perhaps continuing educating or elective
programs useful to educators, students and clinicians seeking to be prepared
for these environments.
The ACCAHC teams decided that
the best place to start this multi-year project would be to identify the target
competencies for students. Through the work of a joint EWG-CWG committee and a
series of working group meetings plus the April 2010 ACCAHC Board and Executive
Committee meetings, a competencies document has been developed. It remains in a draft form. The competencies are clustered around 4 thematic areas:
Healthcare Policy
Institutional Healthcare Culture and Practice
Communication and Inter-professional
Relationships
Evidence-based Health Care and
Evidence-informed Practice
Over 50 ACCAHC professionals
have had significant roles in influencing this document. Of particular note were
the perspectives and inputs of Jason Wright, LAc, Joe Brimhall, DC, Whitney
Lowe, LMT, David Wickes, DC, MS, Tom Souza, DC, Belinda "Beau" Anderson, PhD,
LAc, and Bill Meeker, DC, MPH. The working groups have been guided through
these processes by co-chairs Marcia Prenguber, ND and Kathy Taromina, LAc (CWG)
and Jan Schwartz,, MA and Mike Wiles,
DC, MEd (EWG). We plan to publish the document following a final review.A
copy is available for review by contacting
ACCAHC
honored to announce initial group of top-flight Council of Advisers
ACCAHC
recognized that, with a focus on integration, we would be served by exceptional
advice from leaders from outside our disciplines. The ACCAHC Council of
Advisers was established by the Board in January 2010 for that purpose. We are
pleased and honored to share this founding group of top-flight advisers.
Richard A. "Buz" Cooper, MD, DSc is Professor of Medicine and Senior Fellow,
University of Pennsylvania; national leader on issues related to the supply of
physicians and non-physician clinicians and the dimensions of the health care
system.
Aviad (Adi) Haramati, PhD is Professor in the Departments of
Physiology & Biophysics and Medicine at Georgetown University School of
Medicine; founding Vice Chair, Consortium of Academic Health Centers for
Integrative Medicine.
Wayne Jonas, MD is the CEO of
the Samueli Institute where his team researches integrative practices, promotes
optimal healing systems, and is helping shape a wellness agenda in US
healthcare policy. Jonas was an influential past director of the NIH Office of
Alternative Medicine.
Bejamin Kligler, MD, MPH is Professor of Family and Social
Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Vice Chair and Research
Director of the Beth Israel Department of Integrative Medicine; Vice Chair,
Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine.
Lori Knutson, RN, BSN, HN-BC is the Executive Director of the
Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital
where she developed the largest hospital-based integrative care program in the
US.
Mary Jo Kreitzer, PhD, RN, FAAN is Founder and
Director, Center for Spirituality and Healing, University of Minnesota; Past
Vice Chair, Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine.
Adam Perlman, MD, MPH is Executive Director for the Institute
for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (ICAM) at the University of Medicine
and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and Chair, Consortium of Academic Health
Centers for Integrative Medicine.
More
information about each of these professionals is available in the Council of Advisers page of the ACCAHC website. ACCAHC
& NCCAM's agenda: Dialogue,
follow-up letter, reception with Briggs, plus
ACCAHC's
February 2010 Quarterly Report shared highlights of the ACCAHC input to the NIH
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) 2011-2015
strategic plans. Dialogue has continued. ACCAHC leaders held a conference call
with NCCAM director Josephine Briggs, MD, Deputy Director Jack Killeen, MD and
other NCCAM staff on March 15, 2010. Extensive
internal dialogue to further clarify ACCAHC recommendations followed. This
involved the Board, Executive Committee and the ACCAHC Research Working Group (RWG). ACCAHC's
chair Elizabeth Goldblatt, PhD, MPA/HA, on behalf of the board, and RWG co-chair
Heather Zwickey, PhD, on behalf of the RWG members, subsequently submitted a 4-page
follow-up letter to NCCAM on May 8, 2010. The foci: developing capacity in our
schools, capturing cost issues and review processes. In her response, Briggs' underscored
that ACCAHC "is one of our key stakeholder groups." She noted additional ways where ACCAHC members can
have input. (Copies of the letters are available on request.)
ACCAHC Reception with Dr. Briggs NCCAM Director Briggs was the guest-of-honor at an ACCAHC-sponsored
reception on May 15 at the Seattle home of John Weeks and Jeana Kimball, ND,
MPH. Roughly 25 ACCAHC leaders and colleagues attended the evening gathering. Thanks
to Diana Thompson, LMT, Clinical Care Working Group member and past chair of
the Massage Therapy Foundation for co-hosting.
RWG brainstorm with NCCAM advisors On May 28, 2010, RWG member Janet Kahn, PhD, and EWG
member Adam Burke, PhD, LAc, MPH, created an additional means by which ACCAHC
RWG members have a chance to provide direction on NCCAM's work. Both are
members of the NCCAM National Advisory Council on Complementary and
Alternative Medicine which was to
meet the next week. A subset of RWG members met with these two and with Tim
Birdsall, ND, another member of NCCAM's advisory group. Birdsall was an invited
guest on the 75 minute call. A similar call is anticipated prior to the
September meeting of NCCAM's advisers.
Planning
for the June 26-28, 2011 ACCAHC Conference for Educators: Focus on Leadership
On
May 20-22, 2010, some 20 ACCAHC leaders met in Seattle to plan the June 26-28,
2011 ACCAHC conference for educators. The emerging themes focus on leadership.
Federal
healthcare overhaul legislation created new opportunities for integrative practices
and has significant implications for educators. How do we maximize the benefits?
The US Health Resources Services
Administration and Institute of Medicine have identified inter-professional
education as critical for future team care. Are we stepping up to the challenge?
Can we? Do nominally "integrative" practices have traits
that will help us out of our silos into leadership? Where are best
practices?
Similarly, opportunities for
integration increase daily. What new responsibilities are emerging for
educators? How do we best teach for participation in these environments?
Finally, a key competency for
interprofessional relationships, for optimal integration and for participation
in policy is the comfort and strength of our graduates in evidence-based health
care and evidence-informed practice. Are we grounding our graduates in the
language and culture of evidence?
These themes and identification of practical
examples of how to take the most beneficial steps as educators are shaping
ongoing mulling of conference possibilities. Hold the dates. More soon!
Thanks to the
following for helping keep the costs
of the ACCAHC retreat low: institutions that anteed up travel costs (New York Chiropractic College, University of
Western States, National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine, American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National College of
Natural Medicine-Helfgott Institute, University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey, Association of Chiropractic Colleges, North American Board of Naturopathic
Examiners and Five Branches University; Tom Weeks/Deborah Oyer, MD for donating their home for our
meeting place; and Vicki Weeks/David
Jones for no-cost sleeping spaces for 4 attendees.
Work underway on ACCAHC Professions and the Future of Primary
Care project
Discipline-based teams are
busy at work on the white paper ACCAHC is developing, the working title of
which is the ACCAHC Professions and the Future of Primary Care. The project is
being co-led by Michael Goldstein, PhD, a senior investigator with the UCLA
Center for Health Policy Research and ACCAHC executive director John Weeks.
Under project plans, each group will create a 3000 word section that responds
to an agreed-upon template. The following are the teams, as identified via their
councils of colleges:
DC: Joe Brimhall,
DC and Bill Meeker, DC, MPH, co-leads; Glenn Bub, DC, Marion Evans, DC, and
Vince DeBono, DC
AOM: Belinda "Beau"
Anderson, PhD, LAc, lead: Will Morris, LAc, DAOM, PhD; Hong Jin, LAc; Bingzeng
Zou, PhD, DC, DAOM
ND: Rita
Bettenburg, ND and Bruce Milliman, ND, co-leads: Beth Pimentel, ND, Erica Oberg,
ND, MPH and Jamey Wallace, ND
Midwives: Marla
Hicks, CPM, Suzy Myers, LM, MPH
Drafts of the sections are to
be completed this summer. Goldstein and Weeks will take the lead in preparing
the introductory and concluding sections of the papers.
Inside ACCAHC: Tomasko on Board, CHE
becomes first Emerging Professions member, plus
Board of Directors Felicia
Tomasko, RN, was elected to the
ACCAHC Board after her nomination by the Traditional World Medicines (TWM) and
Emerging Professions group. Tomasko is a board member of the National Ayurvedic
Medical Association, and an ACCAHC TWM member. Tomasko is also editor of LA Yoga and Ayurvedic Health.
Emerging Professions The Council on Homeopathic Education, the accrediting organization for homeopathic education
programs, applied for membership in ACCAHC as the first Emerging Professions
(EP) member. CHE director Heidi Schor led the CHE application process. For purposes of participation in ACCAHC, CHE
and Schor will act with and through a combined TWM-EP group which has the
opportunity to nominate one person to the ACCAHC board and two each to ACCAHC
working groups.
ACCAHC Tele-dialogues Recordings of the ACCAHC Telephone-Dialogues with
Allina Hospitals' Lori Knutson, RN, HN-BC on competencies in integrated
environments and Richard "Buz" Cooper, MD, DSc on primary care and the roles of
ACCAHC disciplines are available on the ACCAHC
Resources web page. Each
recording includes a lively discussion with a group of ACCAHC leaders who chose
to be on the call.
Sustaining Donors To close on a note of thanks, the Leo S. Guthman Fund and NCMIC
Foundation have each fulfilled on the 3rd year of their $10,000/year
Sustaining
Donors Grouppledge to ACCAHC. Bastyr University has completed the second
of its $5,000/year pledge. Many thanks to the leaders of these institutions for
their commitment to advancing our work!
Please let John Weeks know if
you have any questions or suggestions on any of this ACCAHC business. Email
or call 206-932-5799.
