National University of Health Sciences has announced a new cooperative arrangement with the Graduate Program in Complementary and Alternative Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington D.C., which will benefit students preparing for careers in health care and integrative medicine.  Faculty at the two schools will now work together to help students seeking advanced degrees in health care, by advising students of the benefits of each other’s programs and providing preferential seating and advanced standing in each other’s programs when appropriate.

Georgetown offers a one-year graduate program in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) at Georgetown University.  In the Georgetown program, students critically evaluate the science and effectiveness of such medical specialties as chiropractic medicine, naturopathic medicine, oriental medicine and acupuncture. After their in-depth study, graduates of the Georgetown program may decide to pursue a professional career in one of these same CAM specialties.

NUHS offers the doctor of chiropractic, doctor of naturopathic medicine, master of science in acupuncture and master of science in oriental medicine degrees.  NUHS admissions and academic standards are among the highest in the country for institutions offering CAM degrees, and the university maintains one of the most robust and respected research programs in the CAM field.

Program Directors at Georgetown selected NUHS as a top-tier institution providing educational excellence in its professional degree programs, thus meriting Georgetown’s recommendation for its graduates seeking professional degrees. According to Aviad “Adi” Haramati, who co-directs the program with Hakima Amri, PhD, the academic affiliation is intended to “…break down the silos that hold the disciplines apart and create relationships between the disciplines and the educational institutions that prepare the nation’s future healthcare providers.”

“National University will in turn recommend the Georgetown program to qualified undergraduate students and graduate program applicants who are committed to developing a career in integrative medicine, but who may yet remain uncertain about which medical specialty they would like to enter,” says NUHS President James F. Winterstein, who led the leadership team that developed the working arrangement with Georgetown.

“The Georgetown program would also be ideal for our students and applicants who have interests primarily in CAM research and public policy, but who may not have a concurrent desire in learning how to provide direct care to patients, which is always a component of our professional degree programs,” adds Dr. Winterstein.

This new agreement with Georgetown University marks another milestone in NUHS’ goal of advancing its commitment to integrative medicine.  The new field of integrative medicine fosters mutual cooperation and respect among physicians, researchers, and academic institutions representing a wide variety of medical specialties, with the goal of improving the delivery and quality of patient care.