Integrative Med Courses

One of the educational goals of the Center for Integrative Health and Wellness is to expose students to relevant patient interactions earlier, including teaching a more integrative approach to healthcare. Principles of integrative medicine are beginning to be interwoven into existing courses and electives and numerous integrative medicine-focused courses have been created in the UC medical sciences program. Integrative medicine courses are open to students and interested community members or practicing healthcare providers. Learn more about enrolling as a non-matriculated student here >>. Integrative Med Courses Flyer

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

MEDS 2087
Fundamentals of Integrative Health & Medicine
3 credit hours (Drs. John Sacco/Lauri Nandyal) 
Fall 25/50% online, flipped classroom model and offered on Mondays from 4-5:50p (in person) and Spring 100% asynchronous online. This course provides an overview of the basic principles and history of integrative health and medicine. This includes an emphasis on a critical review of the scientific evidence-based for integrative medicine approaches as they relate to prevention, treatment of chronic disease, and overall wellness. Students experience a variety of integrative health modalities and a focus on healthy lifestyle as models for disease prevention, treatment of illness, and overall health and wellness promotion. 

MEDS 2088
Science & Practice of Mind-Body Medicine 
3 credit hours (Drs. Sian Cotton/Barbara Walker) 
Fall 100% asynchronous online and Spring 25/50% online, flipped classroom model offered on Tuesdays from 4-5:50p (in person). In this course students will experientially explore commonly used mind‐body modalities including mindfulness, guided imagery, breathwork, yoga, etc., which enhance stress management and promote overall wellness. This course provides an evidence‐base and indication for use of mind‐body techniques in a personal and professional/clinical setting, including reviewing the scientific evidence.

MEDS 2089
Mental Well-being and Self Care 
3 credit hours (Meriden McGraw) 
Fall/Spring 100% asynchronous online. This course will introduce scientifically validated strategies shown to reduce stress and increase mental wellbeing. It will also seek to increase students’ capacity to overcome setbacks, challenges, and difficulties. The course will include exploration and discussion of the psychological science of self-care and mental wellbeing and include experiential learning of specific self-care strategies to bolster overall mental wellbeing and resiliency.

MEDS 2090
Music and Health
3 credit hours (Betsey Zenk Nuseibeh and Christina Weber)
NEW for Spring 2022, 100% asynchronous online. This course will expand student knowledge beyond traditional coursework by including experientials pared with the growing scientific evidence of music and health outcomes. Students in health-related fields will possess new ways to connect with their patients or clients through additional therapies and/or modalities that may be part of their existing skill set or of particular interest. Together we will learn how music can be a powerful, non-invasive therapy that can encourage exploration of self and community while supporting physical and mental well-being supported by evidence-based research.  Students will experience first-hand, the ability of music to improve health outcomes, including the role of music therapy in health care and community-based settings. 

MEDS 3070
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Compassionate Care 
3 credit hours (Dr. Meera Murthi)
NEW for Fall 2021, 25/50% hybrid online, flipped classroom model and offered on Wednesdays from 3-5p (in person, via Zoom). This course will combine the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course with the 8-week Mindful Self Compassion course, for a full 16-week course.  You will be using meditation, yoga and other evidence-based mind-body modalities to cultivate awareness and reduce stress.  MBSR is a formal eight-week program with a daylong intensive that was created by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979.  This course is adapted to fit in with the standard college curriculum. The primary intention of the MBSR curriculum is to create a structured pathway to relieve suffering and increase wellbeing for people facing a host of challenges arising from a wide range of medical and psychological conditions and the demands and stressors inherent in the everyday lives of human beings.

MEDS 3091
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture
3 credit hours (Derek Johnson, Licensed Acupuncturist)
NEW for Spring 2022, 100% asynchronous online. This course provides the basis for understanding the mechanisms and principles by which traditional Chinese medicine is practiced. Students explore different therapeutic modalities.  Course content includes traditional Chinese philosophy as applied to treatment in acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage therapy, Tai Chi, and Qi-Gong. This course requires individuals to be open to learning about different philosophical beliefs upon which Chinese medicine is based.   

MEDS 4038
Integrative Gut Health 
3 credit hours (Dr. Lauri Nandyal)
NEW for Fall 2021, 25/50% hybrid online, flipped classroom model and offered on Monday’s from 1-3p (in person). In this course you will explore the theory of an interdependent/ interconnected relationship between the gastrointestinal tract and other systems within the body and understand the impact of stress and environment on the functionality of the gastrointestinal tract and how it effects your overall health. You will also learn how the role of the microbiome is related to digestion, immune health and systemic effects. 

GRADUATE COURSES

MEDS 6087 
Fundamentals of Integrative Health 
3 credit hours (Drs. John Sacco/Lauri Nandyal) 
Fall 25/50% online, flipped classroom model and offered on Mondays from 4-5:50p (in person) and Spring 100% asynchronous online. This course provides an overview of the basic principles and history of integrative health and medicine. This includes an emphasis on a critical review of the scientific evidence-based for integrative medicine approaches as they relate to prevention, treatment of chronic disease, and overall wellness. Students experience a variety of integrative health modalities and a focus on healthy lifestyle as models for disease prevention, treatment of illness, and overall health and wellness promotion. GRADUATE STUDENTS WILL ALSO:

• Analyze and critique relevant journal article.
• Meet apart from the undergrads for one hour bi-weekly/virtually for a journal club, each required to present.
• Describe the business and practice of integrative medicine including relative policy implications.

MEDS 6088
Science and Practice of Mind Body Medicine
3 credit hours (Drs. Sian Cotton/Barbara Walker)
Fall 100% asynchronous online and Spring 25/50% hybrid online, flipped classroom model offered on Tuesdays from 4-6p (in person). In this course students will experientially explore commonly used mind‐body modalities including mindfulness, guided imagery, breathwork, yoga, etc., which enhance stress management and promote overall wellness. This course provides an evidence‐base and indication for use of mind‐body techniques in a personal and professional/clinical setting. GRADUATE STUDENTS WILL ALSO:

• Understand how to synthesize existing literature in mind body medicine and propose a next pilot research step.
• Focus on science and choose one mind/body modality to research in more depth and propose a pilot research and summarize the literature in more depth – i.e. guided imagery as it relates to pre and postsurgical outcomes.

MEDS 7050 
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Compassionate Care 
3 credit hours (Dr. Meera Murthi)
New Fall 2021, 25/50% online hybrid, flipped classroom model and offered on Wednesdays from 3-5p (in person, via Zoom). This course will combine the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course with the 8-week Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) course, for a full 16-week course.  You will be using meditation, yoga and other proven mind/body modalities to cultivate awareness and reduce stress.  MBSR is a formal eight-week program with a daylong intensive that was created by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979.  This course is adapted to fit in with the standard college curriculum. The primary intention of the MBSR curriculum is to create a structured pathway to relieve suffering and increase wellbeing for people facing a host of challenges arising from a wide range of medical and psychological conditions and the demands and stressors inherent in the everyday lives of human beings. GRADUATE STUDENTS WILL ALSO:

• Describe and critically evaluate scientific literature of MBSR or MCS as it relates to various fields of study including health care and equity, social justice and policy, and trauma informed care.

All courses are also open to interested community members and practicing health care providers who enroll as non-matriculated students. Learn more about enrolling as a non-matriculated student here >>

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