Aligning Preprofessional Student Experiences in Integrative Group Medical Visits with Integrative Medicine Core Competencies.

Introduction Wide utilization of complementary and integrative health care (CIH) approaches by the American public has warranted an increase in the presence and quality of CIH-focused education. Among U.S. medical schools with integrative medicine training programs, passive instruction rather than active involvement in clinical delivery is the norm. Future health professionals may benefit from innovative educational models framed around the core competencies for integrative medicine established by the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health (ACIMH). One model that incorporates students into the delivery of CIH services is the integrative group medical visit (IGMV): a program offering peer support, education about nutrition, acupressure, mindfulness, yoga, sleep hygiene, and more. IGMVs increase access to CIH services, decrease emergency department utilization, and decrease pain medication usage in populations with chronic pain. Involvement in these programs present students with an opportunity to learn about CIH modalities and their delivery in underserved populations. Prior articles have discussed IGMVs as a component of preventive medicine residency training, but little has been said about how trainee experiences align with ACIMH’s core competencies. This commentary articulates, from students’ perspectives, how the IGMV (1) teaches the ACIMH’s integrative medicine core competencies and (2) offers a unique approach to actively involve future providers in CIH delivery.