Supporting the Integrative Health Care Curriculum in Schools of Nursing

The concepts of integrative health or integrative medicine are reviewed with an analysis and synthesis of the meaning of these concepts for nursing and nursing education. The passages of public laws that have influenced US health policy are reviewed along with the increase in funding for research as it relates to the increased use of these modalities by health care consumers. It is proposed that schools of nursing adopt and implement curriculum that addresses integrative health care. The goal is to educate nurses about these important concepts and prepare them for the health care consumers that increasingly use them.