title: Integrative veterinary medical education and consensus guidelines for an integrative veterinary medicine curriculum within veterinary colleges.
abstract: Integrative veterinary medicine (IVM) describes the combination of complementary and alternative therapies with conventional care and is guided by the best available evidence. Veterinarians frequently encounter questions about complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM) in practice, and the general public has demonstrated increased interest in these areas for both human and animal health. Consequently, veterinary students should receive adequate exposure to the principles, theories, and current knowledge supporting or refuting such techniques. A proposed curriculum guideline would broadly introduce students to the objective evaluation of new veterinary treatments while increasing their preparation for responding to questions about IVM in clinical practice. Such a course should be evidence-based, unbiased, and unaffiliated with any particular CAVM advocacy or training group. All IVM courses require routine updating as new information becomes available. Controversies regarding IVM and CAVM must be addressed within the course and throughout the entire curriculum. Instructional honesty regarding the uncertainties in this emerging field is critical. Increased training of future veterinary professionals in IVM may produce an openness to new ideas that characterizes the scientific method and a willingness to pursue and incorporate evidence-based medicine in clinical practice with all therapies, including those presently regarded as integrative, complementary, or alternative.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Memon
authors.affiliation: Departments of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Shmalberg, Chrisman, Johnson, Sleeper), Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Morton), and Biomedical Sciences (Ramirez), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shmalberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Egger) and Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Adair), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Adair
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allweiler
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.affiliation: Medicine Wheel Veterinary Services, Ocala, FL, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cantwell
authors.affiliation: Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Robertson) and Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Carr), College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: Departments of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Shmalberg, Chrisman, Johnson, Sleeper), Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Morton), and Biomedical Sciences (Ramirez), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chrisman
authors.affiliation: Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Egger) and Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Adair), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Egger
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Haussler
authors.affiliation: Integrative Veterinary Oncology, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hershey
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Holyoak
authors.affiliation: Departments of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Shmalberg, Chrisman, Johnson, Sleeper), Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Morton), and Biomedical Sciences (Ramirez), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (Peyton) and Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences (Le Jeune), School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: S Le
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Jeune
authors.affiliation: IVG Hospitals, Woburn, MA, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Looney
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: McConnico
authors.affiliation: Coral Springs Animal Hospital, Coral Springs, FL, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.affiliation: Departments of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Shmalberg, Chrisman, Johnson, Sleeper), Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Morton), and Biomedical Sciences (Ramirez), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Morton
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Munsterman
authors.affiliation: Angel Animal Hospital, Springfield, MO, USA.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Integrative Ophthalmology for Pets, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: North Houston Veterinary Specialists, Spring, TX, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parsons-Doherty
authors.affiliation: The Sanctuary Animal Clinic, Holyoke, MA, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Perdrizet
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (Peyton) and Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences (Le Jeune), School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Peyton
authors.affiliation: Independent, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raditic
authors.affiliation: Departments of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Shmalberg, Chrisman, Johnson, Sleeper), Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Morton), and Biomedical Sciences (Ramirez), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.affiliation: Winterville Animal Clinic, Winterville, GA, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saik
authors.affiliation: Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Robertson) and Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Carr), College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Departments of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Shmalberg, Chrisman, Johnson, Sleeper), Large Animal Clinical Sciences (Morton), and Biomedical Sciences (Ramirez), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sleeper
authors.affiliation: Canine Rehabilitation Institute, Wellington, FL, USA.
authors.forename: J Van
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Dyke
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wakshlag
keywords: Complementary and alternative veterinary medicine; integrative veterinary course; integrative veterinary curriculum; integrative veterinary medicine; veterinary education