CCTN (Children’s Complementary Therapy Network) members can now take advantage of 50% discount for FIIM’s undergraduate CPD short courses. Courses include; Integrated Medicine: An Overview (free), HIV and Complementary Therapies, an introduction to Diabetes and an interactive Breast Cancer case study. This special offer is only available for the first 100 members and has been made possible through the CCTN’s working links with FIIM in promoting CAM and integrated medicine education opportunities.CPD is often required by health professionals to ensure that knowledge and skills are kept up to date with advancements made in the field. There is a free taster available for all of the courses and upon completion of the full course and quizzes you will be awarded a CPD certificate and points for your portfolio. Members who miss this offer can still be eligible for a £5 discount. Click here to find out more.

Similar discount offers are also available to members of FHT members. This new on-line flexible way of learning has proven to be a very popular and in keeping with the busy life styles of professionals.



FIIM is delighted to announce that it has partnered with the Complementary and Medicine Library and Information Service (CAMLIS), the largest UK holder of complementary therapy academic resource. Being members of CAMLIS allows FIIM staff and students on our forthcoming Post-Graduate programmes, to be able to access an abundance of information resources that forms a fundamental part of academic studies and evidence based learning.This will make a considerable difference to the overall learning experience easing literature searching and full text articles. Students will have direct access through the CAMLIS library based in Central London or log into on-line resources via the internet. CAMLIS provides a variety of services including;

• Full remote access to over 50 e-journals and 200 print journals from UK and international sources
• Borrow books in person or by 1^st class post
• Familiarisation with research database navigation to improve research methods and gain the most out of your study
• Reference access to the Royal Society of Medicine
• CAMLIS acquisitions are led by user need to ensure that the collection is relevant to library members.

For further information on CAMLIS visit the website.

‘Portraits of Calm’ is a relaxation CD containing simple breathing techniques and 7 different relaxation exercises, 2 of which are specifically designed for children.

The exercises are simple and easy to follow, with soothing music accompanying each track.

Just make yourself comfortable and listen as you are guided to stretch and relax tired muscles and be transported to a peaceful and tranquil space.

To find out more information, preview the tracks and buy online please click here.

On Saturday 6th November at 11am Jon Critoph (Education Development Officer) provided a talk on the subject of Integrated Medicine and Healthcare for the 21st century. This talk was part of our active role in promoting and delivering training in the field of Integrated Medicine.

Information about FIIM’s work and E-learning courses are available from the FIIM website http://fiim.freshwinds.org.uk .

A summary of the event and talk follows:

Never has there been a time when our health and that of our nation has been under so much threat and there are calls for an integrated approach to health where practitioners from both the allopathic and complementary fields working together with a common aim of improving the wellbeing of the patient and putting them at the centre of their own health. This inspiring talk will look at what Integrated Medicine is (and what it is not), how it is being implemented already and the path we still have to travel to offer a fully integrated system. It will cover some of the work that has been done in trials in Northern Ireland with cooperative working between GPs and practitioners & will also look at some of the ground breaking work being done by the charity Freshwinds www.freshwinds.org.uk

The talk formed part of the Mind, Body and Soul Weekend at the Clarendon Suites.

More information can be found through the following link: Birmingham’s Mind Body & Soul Weekend

FIIM’s next event

Mind Body and Soul weekend with a talk given by Jon Critoph, Education Development Officer for FIIM at Clarendon Suites, Hagley Road, Edgbaston
B16 9SB – Saturday 6th November time TBC. Talk entitled Integrated Medicine –Healthcare for the 21st Century

The HIV CPD course enables therapists and health professionals to learn about how an integrated approach to healthcare can help people coping with this condition. It covers the aetiology, pathology, diagnosis and management of the condition and covers the psychological impact to the sufferer and shows the role complementary therapy can play.

There is no denying the fact that healthcare and commissioners are finding it hard to ignore the emergence and gaining popularity of Integrated medicine (IM). The UK annual spend on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is around £1.6 billion (Ernst, 2010). In the US this is estimated to be at £33.9 billion in 2006 (Paddock, 2009). Such huge financial figures beg the question whether IM is justified and do we need it?

In the article “The bridge between patient and doctor: the shift from CAM to integrative medicine”, Diehl supports the case for IM and describes it as ‘the balance point where cure is complemented by care and ambition mitigated by empathy’ and ‘the ground where doctor and patient met as two mountain climbers’. His personal experience of thirty years has led him to realise that as an oncologist he has to cross a bridge, where on one side is the objective pillar: the principles of evidence-based medicine and the other is the subjective pillar: the psychological and spiritual reality of patient need. Thus, he views integrated oncology as seeing with two eyes, one focusing on the kill of the tumour cells and the other on the face of a suffering human being demanding empathy from doctors (Diehl, 2009).

Bibliography:

• Diehl, V. (2009). The bridge between patient and doctor: the shift from CAM to integrative medicine. Hematology 2009 , 320 – 325.
• Ernst, E. (2010). Complementary medicine for pain. Retrieved March 31, 2010, from Pain:
  Paddock, C. (2009). Americans spend $34 billion a year on complementary and alternative medicine. Medicine News Today accessed 31 Mar 2010.

For some, computers are the tool they switch on and use nearly every day of the week whether it is for work, pleasure or staying in touch with friends and family around the world. For others it can seem a daunting prospect to sit down and conquer new software. These days user interfaces are much less technical and much more user friendly (point and click!) making them easier to use and take advantage of additional benefits and features. This is clearly demonstrated in the success of the Open University (UK)’s distance learning courses which offers around 250 qualifications ranging from certificates to post graduate research degrees.

One of the major advantages is the ability to undertake on-line education courses at your convenience, any time of the day or night, 7 days a week 365 days a year. Therefore you no longer have to fit your life around the course. You can usually work at your own pace and track your progress! It also means that you can learn from anywhere in the world as you are not tied into attending specific classes/lectures at certain times in a fixed location, an added bonus towards reducing your carbon footprint and saving the planet!

One of the major advantages of Online Learning is the ability to undertake courses at the user’s convenience; at any time of night or day that suits the individual, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Therefore the student no longer has to fit their life around the course! Students can also usually work at their own pace and track their progress throughout the course. It also means that they can learn from any computer in the world with internet access (so long as the course is not dependant on attending specific classes and lectures at a defined time and place).

Depending on the type of on-line course, the assessment can be made through a range of methods such as multiple choice questions (MCQs) or essay style assignments. For short CPD courses it is usually an MCQ exam which will require a minimum passing grade. In order to ensure the optimum learning outcomes there may also be an allocated minimum study time in order to successfully complete the course.

You will usually find out about your results and even print a customised CPD certificate to be put in your portfolio immediately after course completion. In the event of an unsuccessful result, there are options to retake the test. Below are answers to the common questions posed by people who are unsure about on-line courses.

What is on-line learning?

On-line e-learning is just what the name suggests – learning that takes place over the internet while being logged into virtual interactive learning environments e.g. Moodle, Blackboard, WebCT. The student will usually join a virtual classroom with other (real) students in it for discussion and chat, at the individual’s own pace.

What will I find in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)?

Usually, you will find a list of courses you are signed up for. You will be able to view the individual course topics and their learning outcomes. The course overview will guide you on how to complete the course and any other requirements that the course may have. For longer courses your topics will be aligned with the course calendar. This helps to facilitate common topic discussions and chats between students and the tutor in that period, which individuals can enter and leave at their own pace. Similar to a real classroom, students will be able to pose questions and give comments in the discussion area.

Is on-line learning for me?

Traditional classroom teaching entails a lecturer who delivers the teaching, while students try to grasp everything that is being said. How much the student learns is dependent on the style of teaching used. On-line learning is a wholly new concept and skews away from this method towards a more interactive approach to learning. This requires the student to be motivated and proactive through the course. For additional information and ‘Is on-line learning for me?’ quiz please go to: http://fiim.freshwinds.org.uk/?page_id=330.

How do I get started?

Firstly visit a learning website e.g. http://fiim.freshwinds.org.uk/ and browse through on-line courses and what they can offer you. You may also want to try a CPD course to see what it is like. You can try the special free offer, Integrated Medicine: An Overview course (4 CPD points) or one of the free taster courses on, http://fiim.freshwinds.org.uk/?page_id=14.

How do I know the courses are going to be at the required standard?

One way is to read up on the organisation who is offering the course. Course information will detail the audience for which it has been developed and any relevant accreditation. Therefore the suitability of a course will depend on the requirements of your professional or membership body.

Professional bodies do not always require accredited courses but it helps to evidence the CPD much easier. For example at FIIM, CPD courses written for complementary therapists or undergraduates have been accredited by the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT), General Natural Practitioner (GNP) and recognised for CPD by the Institute of Complementary and Natural Medicine (ICNM). For Post graduate courses, FIIM is working towards university accreditation.

Why is FIIM offering these courses?

Freshwinds Institute of Integrated Medicine is committed to promoting education and learning in Integrated Medicine, especially high quality training for both doctors and other medically trained staff, interested in complementary therapies, and complementary therapists wanting to enhance their medical knowledge. It is hoped that this sharing of knowledge will help drive the shift towards a more integrated approach to healthcare.

We are actively developing our courses and programmes in Integrated Medicine. We have look at the issue of course validation and have been awarded accreditation for our CPD courses from the FHT, GNP and ICNM…

Try our FREE course  Integrated Medicine: An Overview and gain 4 CPD points.
Recently we were awarded accreditation from the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT), General Natural Practitioners (GNP) and the Institute of Complementary and Natural Medicines (ICNM) for our CPD courses in Integrated Medicine, breast cancer and diabetes. In June we are planning to release our lastest CPD in HIV. 

The Mitra Post graduate programme in Integrated medicine is also on course to be launched this autumn. The on-line medium of the programme enables anyone from any part of the world to be able to access the courses, so long as they have internet access.

Link to our courses and the Mitra Programme.

To be launched in 2010, The Mitra programme is a Post-graduate programme in integrated medicine. The programme will also offer the first Paediatric integrated medicine programme in the UK. The programme is being developed as an international collaborative effort with contributions from integrated and CAM professionals from the UK, Europe, Canada and the US.  To learn more click here.

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