FAQs
What is Integrative Medicine/CAM?
Integrative medicine is the combining of conventional, "western" medical care with techniques that are commonly referred to as "complementary" or "alternative" in nature.
When unconventional therapies - those that are outside of the realm of conventional care (the care typically prescribed or provided by a medical doctor or nurse, for example) are used on their own, in place of conventional medicine, they are considered "alternative."
When they are used in conjunction with western medical practices, they are considered "complementary."
The term "CAM" is an acronym for "complementary and alternative medicine."
"Integrative" medicine is the integration of CAM therapies and western medicine for the purposes of further enhancing health and reducing symptoms or risk of illness.
CAM therapies may enhance feelings of relaxation, reduce tension, and enhance energy or otherwise supplement your current program.
For example, some therapies, such as guided imagery, encourage you to use your imagination to practice "seeing" a desired mental or physical outcome, with the goal of training your body to respond in a more beneficial manner.
Other therapies, such as tai chi, yoga, and dance/movement therapy, involve engaging in various types of movement to balance energy, reduce undesirable sensations in the body or mind, and foster a feeling of health or well being.
Novel dietary approaches (e.g. macrobiotics) or the use of certain dietary supplements may also be considered CAM.
Some other well known CAM techniques include: massage, other types of bodywork (such as reflexology and acupressure/shiatsu), acupuncture, herbal therapies, meditation, and energy healing (such as Qigong, Reiki and Therapeutic Touch).
There are also entire healing systems associated with particular cultures or regions (such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine) that are considered CAM.
Where is your clinic? I would like to have a consultation/receive complementary medicine services at your Center.
At this time, the Integrative Medicine Program is an almost solely research-oriented organization.
At this time, the Integrative Medicine Program is an almost solely research-oriented organization. We can only provide selected clinical services (one complimentary massage, instruction in cardiac-appropriate yoga, stress management, meditation, and guided imagery) to cardiothoracic surgery inpatients at Columbia University Medical Center.
The Department of Complementary Medicine Services, which provided CAM clinical services on a fee-for-service basis to inpatients, outpatients, family members and staff, closed in June 2000.
For information on other centers providing CAM clinical services in the New York City area, and for links to other CAM related websites, please see the "Links" section of our website.
You may also contact our clinical services coordinator at 212.342.0002 for referrals to CAM practitioners in the New York Metropolitan area.
Please note that we cannot provide endorsements of services offered by outside practitioners or centers.
I have seen Dr. Oz on TV/in a recent article and have heard about his research in CAM.
How can I find out more about his/the program's research? Can you send me his articles?
A list of related articles can be found in the Publications section of our website.
You can also search online via the National Institutes of Health's "CAM on PubMed" search engine:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nccam/camonpubmed.html.
This will enable you to find CAM-related articles by Dr. Oz and others by key word, author, or article title.
You can then access these articles from your local university or medical library. Unfortunately, we cannot perform searches for or mail articles to individuals.
I am a CAM practitioner and would like to volunteer my services for patients at Columbia University Medical Center.
How do I go about this?
Many CAM therapies providers (massage therapists, energy therapy practitioners and others) contact us each week expressing a desire to volunteer for the program and gain experience providing CAM services to hospitalized patients.
At this time, we are a small, primarily research-oriented program, and do not have a dedicated clinical space for providing CAM therapies.
While we appreciate the high level of interest in the program and the field of integrative medicine, we do not have the space or staff available to support a volunteer program currently.
However, your local hospital or hospice may have a program in place to train and supervise volunteers.
We also provide links to other integrative medicine resources and centers on our website, which may be able to offer additional suggestions.
Finally, we are happy to receive information (cover letter and resume) from qualified practitioners via fax.
We review all materials sent to us and keep promising resumes on file in the event that a volunteer or other position becomes available.
Our fax number is 212.543.8895.
Due to the high volume of resumes we receive regularly, we prefer that you fax information to us rather than calling the office at this time.
I am a CAM practitioner and have observed wonderful effects from the use of my technique/therapy/healing modality.
I would like the Integrative Medicine Program to study this particular healing technique/assess my healing abilities.
It's wonderful to hear that people have experienced benefit from a particular CAM modality.
The faculty and staff of the university and medical center determine which modalities to study based on a number of factors, including current evidence of safety and efficacy for a therapy, potential for benefit, evidence of current use by patients (particularly cardiac patients), and the interests of research and clinical staff, among others.
As it takes a tremendous amount of time, money and effort to conduct a single, well-designed trial, we cannot study individual healers to assess their abilities or design trials around a particular person's practice at this time.
I am interested in gaining experience doing research in integrative medicine.
Do you have any job openings or volunteer positions available?
We are flattered by the dozens of requests we receive annually from people interested in gaining experience in this area. Though we have experienced significant growth in the past few years, our program is small, so job openings are infrequent at this time. These are posted on the Columbia University website.
Our most frequent postings are for research interns. These postings are typically placed through the Columbia University Career Services Office, although we have had interns from other institutions. Interested applicants can send a cover letter and curriculum vitae to us via fax (212.543.8895). The cover letter should describe your specific interests and integrative medicine experience, as well as your professional goals.
Due to the time necessary to train interns, we do not accept summer hires or offer internships for periods of less than 6 months at this time.
I have heard that you are conducting research studies on CAM therapies, and I would like to participate in one.
How can I find out more about current trials, and whether or not I am eligible?
Currently, most of our studies are conducted with cardiothoracic or other cardiac patients at Columbia University Medical Center. Eligible patients are typically contacted by our staff around the time of their treatment.
I would like to make an appointment with Dr. Oz.
How can I reach him?
Dr. Oz is available for cardiothoracic surgery consulations.
Appointments for surgery consultations can be scheduled through his office.
The number is 212.305.4434.
For consultations regarding any other type of medicine, conventional or complementary, please visit the Links section of our website.
You may also visit the American Holistic Medical Association's website, http://www.holisticmedicine.org, for more information on finding CAM-friendly physicians in your area.
You may also wish to visit the website of CAM professional organizations, some of which are listed in the "Links" section of our website.
Are you part of the Rosenthal Center? What other CAM centers exist at Columbia?
The Integrative Medicine Program is housed within the Department of Surgery at Columbia University/ NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
There are three other integrative medicine oriented centers at the University, and links to these are in the Links section of our website.
These are: The Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the Center for Holistic Urology, and the Integrative Therapies program for Children with Cancer.
The latter two centers offer CAM clinical services for their patients, and the Rosenthal Center conducts research.
How can I contribute to the advancement of integrative medicine?
There are a number of ways in which one can contribute positively to the field, two of which are described here.
First, be honest with your conventional healthcare team about your use of CAM therapies, if you are currently pursuing treatments that are outside of what your medical team prescribes.
This will foster an open dialog between you and your healthcare provider, help raise his/her awareness of the role CAM plays in your healthcare approach, and can enable him/her to inform you of potential side effects or interactions between CAM therapies (particularly herbal or other supplements) and prescribed medications or surgical procedures.
So, keeping an open line of communication can help ensure you receive the most informed and appropriate care from your physician, and may enhance your professional relationship with each other.
Second, research is crucial to understanding which therapies are safe and effective. This takes trained staff and sufficient funding, however. Many universities are now conducting research in CAM, and most likely all will accept donations toward these efforts. As universities are non-profit organizations, donations are usually tax deductible. The Development Office at the University of your choice can provide you with additional information on this topic.
If you are a researcher or practitioner seeking funds for your study, you might begin your search by visiting the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine website: http://nccam.nih.gov/.
Where can I find the guided imagery (meditation/relaxation) audiotapes you recommend to patients?
I read about these in a recent article of Dr. Oz's, and would like to obtain one.
We use audiotapes produced by Belleruth Naparstek of Health Journeys.
For information on available audiotapes and to place an order, visit www.healthjourneys.com.
How can I find out more about a particular CAM clinical therapy (massage, energy healing, etc.)?
See the "Links" section of our website for links to a variety of CAM oriented websites and organizations.
You may also wish to visit the NCCAM website, which is also listed on this page.
I am a reporter and would like to interview Dr. Oz or someone else regarding the program's research or clinical services.
Whom should I contact?
All requests for interviews must go through our Public Affairs department.
The telephone number is 212.305.5587.
We greatly appreciate receiving copies of articles or videotapes that incorporate information or otherwise result from staff interviews.
Members of the press can send these to us at
CMPC, Integrative Medicine Program, 177 Fort Washington Avenue, MHB 7-435, New York, NY 10032.
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