Hillary Franke, MD, MS, associate professor, UA Dept. of Pediatrics, is the first pediatric intensivist in Tucson to complete the two-year fellowship program in integrative medicine from the Arizona Center Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson, making her one of the 120 pediatricians nationally with this specialized training.
According to the internationally-recognized UA Center for Integrative Medicine, integrative medicine is healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person, including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between practitioner and patient, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapies.
“The fellowship focuses on the use of what we used to call ‘complementary’ methods of treatment, using an evidence-based medicine approach,” said Dr. Franke. “Integrative medicine implies the union of these complementary approaches with standard medical care. Integrative medicine focuses on the mind, body, and spirit of the individual. The field has incredible potential in pediatrics due to its focus on preventive health.”
Dr. Franke studied a wide array of treatment approaches including nutrition (including the anti-inflammatory diet and Mediterranean diets), evidence-based use of botanicals and supplements, mind-body therapies such as yoga, tai chi, meditation, clinical hypnosis and guided imagery; traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, aromatherapy, and motivational interviewing among other topics. Integrative medicine approaches to a variety of clinical conditions, such as integrative oncology, pain management, anxiety, depression, recurrent abdominal pain and inflammatory bowel disease, stress, obesity, women and men’s health topics, and pediatric issues were also in the 1,000-hour, two-year curriculum.
“Now I have the knowledge base to help families form an integrative medical approach to help care for their children in the pediatric intensive care unit,” said Dr. Franke. “I have helped my colleagues when families have asked about complementary therapies, and I’m sharing my experiences with the pediatric residents.”
“I am extremely proud of Dr. Franke for completing this rigorous fellowship,” said Hilary McClafferty, MD, FAAP, assistant professor, interim fellowship director and director of the Pediatric Integrative Medicine in Residency program for the UA Center for Integrative Medicine.
“It has been a great pleasure to have her in the class, and I’m delighted that she will be stepping into a leadership role in the national Pediatric Integrative Medicine in Residency program, which is currently in process at eight pediatric residences, including the UA, Stanford, University of Chicago, University of Kansas, and Eastern Virginia Medical School, involving more than 300 pediatric residents. It will be wonderful to add her expertise to the project.”
“This fellowship was incredible and exciting,” Dr. Franke said. “I have learned a lot about myself, my approach to the patient as a whole being, and hope I can help families adopt an integrative approach to health.”