Evidence Informed Practice as the Catalyst for Culture Change in CAM

Abstract

The NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has funded two rounds of R25 education grants. The first set of R25 grants were awarded to conventional schools and focused on integrating CAM content into health professions education programs. Grants were awarded to medical and nursing schools predominantly, with one grant going to the American Medical Student Association and one grant being awarded to an institution integrating CAM into nursing, medicine and pharmacy. The second round of R25 grants were awarded to CAM institutions and focused on introducing evidence-based practice into curricula of CAM schools including schools of chiropractic, naturopathic, and acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Although not an explicit objective of the grant program, one of the most significant and enduring outcomes reported by investigators has been culture change. This article describes individual and organizational culture changes that occurred at Northwestern Health Sciences University.