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The Integrative Approach

Dr. Julie ReardonAfter 13 years of practicing conventional medicine – the kind of medicine found in most doctor’s offices – Dr. Julie Reardon found another approach that she believed was more effective, one that combines the best parts of conventional medicine with many other common-sense wellness practices. This approach is called integrative medicine.

According to Dr. Reardon, integrative medicine uses all the tools on the continuum of health care, such as genetic profiles, lab work, and medications. More importantly, integrative medicine acknowledges that patients are, first and foremost, human beings. Therefore, when treating patients, integrative medicine practitioners need to examine the circumstances of patients’ lives, including their diet, their exercise habits, and how they manage stress.

Integrative Medicine Focuses on the Whole Person, Not Just the Illness

Before she embraced integrative medicine, Dr. Reardon said, “I felt like I was putting Band-Aids on things and not really looking at the root cause of issues for my patients, and not necessarily able to look at the whole person and all the aspects of their lifestyle in the way that I wanted to.”

Being the patient of a doctor who barely has time for you, talks down to you, or worse, doesn’t really listen to you, Dr. Reardon says, can have negative consequences on your health. That is why she puts great attention on building strong working relationships with her patients. Ultimately, she says, a productive doctor-patient relationship serves to enliven the healer that is already within the patient.

In addition to serving her patients’ healing journeys, Dr. Reardon feels a strong personal mission is to be a resource and inspiration for her peers. She works with doctors who want to practice medicine in a different, more life-enriching way.

“It starts with mindset about looking at the conflicts we see in medicine,” she says. “I see the current challenges for those of us who practice medicine as an opportunity, a calling even, to grow for ourselves and for the system. This actually parallels what we want our patients to do in their own lives.”

Dr. Reardon recently released her first eBook, My LIVE IT Philosophy: A Doctor’s Simple Guide to Thriving. It recounts her journey from conventional care to a fully integrative model of care and serves as an invitation to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Reardon is a Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Medicine® (ABOIM), a Member Board of the American Board of Physician Specialties® (ABPS). The ABOIM fully espouses the idea that the whole patient—mind, body, spirit—must be taken into account for effective treatment and real healing. The ABOIM believes that medicine is truly integrative when it treats the root causes of illness instead of the symptoms, and emphasizes optimal health and healing.

Board Certification in Integrative Medicine Through the ABOIM

The ABOIM offers board certification for physicians who wish to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Reardon and other physicians who have turned to integrative medicine. To be eligible for certification in integrative medicine, candidates must initially satisfy the general requirements of the ABPS. These requirements include graduating from a recognized allopathic or osteopathic medical school in the U.S., Canada, or internationally, and holding an unrestricted medical license in the United States, its territories, or Canada.

The ABOIM establishes additional specific eligibility criteria, which include:

  • Completing a residency accredited by ACGME, AOA, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).
  • Maintaining current or prior board certification from a member board of the ABPS, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC.
  • Completing an integrative medicine fellowship approved by the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health.
  • Submitting a current curriculum vitae that outlines medical education, degrees obtained, and work experience.
  • Providing three letters of recommendation from Diplomates of the ABPS, ABMS, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC.
  • Completing a self-query of the National Practitioner Data Bank and submitting the report.

Once candidates meet these criteria, they must pass a computer-based written exam to receive ABOIM board certification. This certification remains valid for eight years, expiring on December 31 of the eighth year.

To learn more about this specialty, which is based on scientific inquiry, and for more information about physician board certification in integrative medicine, contact the ABPS today.

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Medical organizations throughout North America understand that our rigorous certification standards prove that ABPS Diplomates are capable of delivering the best patient care possible.

Far too often, medicine is led by less than 5% of non-practicing physicians taking away and replacing the voice of the 95% of physicians practicing and placing patient safety and care first on the front lines every day. The American Board of Physician Specialties has raised the standards in physician board certification not only in the quality of their boards of certification, but in hearing and allowing for the voice of those active physicians caring directly for patients. Having been a part of the ABPS over the last 28 years has allowed me to grow as a woman leader in a field often wrought with challenges. It helped me and others raise the bar of the standards of care in my specialty, Emergency Medicine, through their Board Certification in Emergency Medicine (BCEM). ABPS also helped raise the standards of care for 21st century medicine through their certifications in other specialties, particularly in Integrative Medicine & Disaster Medicine. Having physician voices heard matters to medicine and is essential in the betterment of patient safety and care.

Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Emergency Medicine
On October 18, 2007, President George W. Bush released Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (HSPD-21), calling on our nation, among other initiatives, to “collectively support and facilitate the establishment of a discipline of disaster health”. It is a great testament to the wisdom and foresight of the American Board of Physician Specialties that it immediately set to work and created, within the short span of only one year, an educational blueprint and set of certification examinations, both written and oral, for a new subspecialty of disaster medicine—and it is why I chose to be part this vital initiative and this wonderful organization. This is but one of the many innovative programs initiated by the American Board of Physician Specialties over the years, and why I am proud to support its work on behalf of our nation’s public health.

Art Cooper, MD
Disaster Medicine
When the American Board of Physician Specialties offered to host the American Board of Integrative Medicine, ABPS became a landmark organization working to move medicine into the twenty first century. Certifying physicians who have completed rigorous academic training in Integrative Medicine ensures that the field of Integrative Medicine will continue to develop academically, clinically, and professionally. The leadership of ABPS continues to impress me - they are diligent in constantly innovating to provide certifications for physicians who want to advance their careers and their areas of expertise. I am honored to be a part of this organization.

Ann Marie Chiasson, MD
Integrative Medicine
There are many ways board certification advances a physician career. ABPS Board examination verifies your accuracy, precision, and reflects your mastery of your residency training verifying your expertise. ABPS Board certification demonstrates your level of expertise beyond your practice experience, primary education degrees, and training which are necessary for insurance reimbursement and practice privilege requirements. Attaining your ABPS Board Certification will clarify your purpose, secure your practice growth, and expand into leadership positions. Board certification can serve as an indication of a physician’s commitment to medicine, beyond the minimal standards and competency of training, their measurement to quality of care, and attaining an award for excellence.

Chris Kunis MD
Internal Medicine
When I think historically, advancement in medicine and patient safety and care has been driven by the diversity of people and scientific thought. That’s what I found at the ABPS and more. For over 60 years that is just who we are. I found a physician certifying body that provides a choice and voice to all physicians ensuring that patients are always placed first.

Jerry Allison, MD
Emergency Medicine
When I decided to pursue a full time role as a physician executive it was important to me to obtain additional professional training, education and work experience. Board certification through the ABPS in Administrative Medicine is validation of my efforts and a demonstration of dedication to professional development. We need more physicians to become full time health care executives, knowing there is a board certification option in Administrative Medicine encourages physicians to take the leap from full time clinical practice to healthcare organizational leadership.

Richard Paula, MD
Administrative Medicine
The American Board of Physician Specialties has provided me with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of internal medicine through board certification. As a hospitalist, board certification is an expected credential, and hospitals recognize the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) as one of the three standard credentialling bodies for Internal Medicine. Additionally, the ABPS has helped me develop leadership skills as a Board member and Committee Chairperson. ABPS has also helped me sharpen critical thinking skills as a test question developer and reviewer. The Allopathic (MD) and Osteopathic (DO) physicians in the ABPS are lifelong learners and frequently pursue multiple board certifications. I enjoy the camaraderie of my peers in ABPS.

Loren Jay Chassels, DO
Internal Medicine
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