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Background and Objectives: Integrative medicine in residency (IMR) is a competency-based online program designed to incorporate a core curriculum in integrative medicine (IM) into established residency training in family medicine. Results of a needs assessment survey developed to guide this curriculum design are presented and discussed., Methods: Faculty and residents from eight self-selected family medicine programs that agreed to pilot the IMR were invited to complete an online needs assessment survey. The survey included a mix of structured and open-ended questions., Results: A total of 222 respondents completed the survey, yielding a 60% response rate. Sixty-seven percent of faculty and residents preferred that IM be woven throughout all curriculum areas. The highest rated content topics were nutrition and supplements and physician wellness. Chronic illness, behavioral health, and outpatient medicine were the three top curricular areas seen to need enhancement with IM. Qualitative analysis revealed that 84% of respondents viewed IM as central to family medicine training, the care of patients, and the field of family medicine. Top challenges to implementation included limitations in time, resources, and acceptance., Conclusions: The findings from the needs assessment serve as a resource for addressing curriculum design and potential challenges in implementation.

Background and Objectives: The widespread use of alternative and complementary therapies by the public provides a new challenge to medical education. No standardized curriculum is available for medical educators in this field. Providing an adequate background on these therapies and reliable, useful information to our learners was a task addressed by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Group on Alternative Medicine over the past 2 years., Methods: The group met at conferences and communicated via e-mail to develop a consensus of recommended knowledge, skills, and attitudes in complementary and alternative medicine for incorporation into the family practice residency training curriculum., Conclusion: This article suggests guidelines as developed by this STFM group to assist programs wishing to include formal training in complementary and alternative medicine in residency training.

Background and Objectives: The processes of teaching outpatient procedures in the training of primary care physicians have not been widely studied or standardized. This study identified the most widely used teaching settings, methods of evaluation, and barriers to teaching several key procedures in US family practice residencies., Methods: A survey was sent to directors of family practice residency programs. Key issues identified in phone survey data of published experts in procedural training were used in developing the survey., Results: Of the 464 residency directors contacted, 342 (73.7%) returned completed surveys. Results showed that the family practice center (FPC) was the most common setting for this teaching. Faculty observation was used as a principal evaluation method in most programs for all procedures. Several barriers to training were identified as "very" or "moderately" important., Conclusions: While the FPC is the most frequently used setting for training in procedures, significant limitations include problems of low volume, limited methods of evaluation, scheduling difficulties, and lack of faculty interest and skill. Several internal and external strategies may be used to alleviate these problems.