National Coordinating Center for Integrative Medicine (NccIM)

Purpose

The purposes of the National coordinating center for Integrative Medicine (NccIM) are to: (1) provide technical assistance to Integrative Medicine Program (IMP) grantees related to faculty development, trainee support, and planning, developing, and operating training programs; (2) collect data and evaluate the IMP training program; (3) provide support for the coordination and evaluation of faculty development programs established by the IMP grantees; and (4) disseminate best practices and lessons learned. The NccIM has a more national scope beyond the IMP grantees. It is responsible for helping to establish an evidence-base for incorporating integrative medicine into preventive medicine residency programs. The NccIM will identify best practices and disseminate the results of the work being done by the IMP grantees to the primary care and preventive medicine fields. The NccIM will also serve in an advisory capacity to other PMR and primary care residency programs interested in incorporating integrative medicine into their curriculum.

Eligibility

Eligible entities must be: (1) a health professions school, including an accredited school or program of public health, health administration, preventive medicine, or a school providing health management programs; (2) an academic health center; (3) a State or local government; or (4) any other appropriate public or private nonprofit entity. Applicants must have the capacity to provide technical assistance for IMP grantees and the broader audience of preventive medicine and primary care residency programs. Applicants must be able to assist grantees and other interested residency programs in improving training in preventive medicine by providing guidance in the implementation of the integrative medicine projects and demonstrating expertise in the field of evidence-based integrative medicine modalities for health professions disciplines or be an Integrative Medicine Center.

Applicants for the NccIM should have: (a) experience with developing evidence-based integrative health care curricula, (b) faculty and/or a consultative team available with expertise in evidence-based integrative medicine necessary to carry out specialized technical assistance, and (c) expertise in evaluating integrative medicine curricula and programs and dissemination of best practices. All applicants must be actively researching and developing evidence to enhance integrative medicine practice.