Checking in on Dr. Thompson’s AIHM Fellowship Experience

Earlier this spring, NWHSU congratulated Stephen Thompson , DC, DACM, LAc, BCTMB for his acceptance into The Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM) Fellowship on full scholarship.  

We recently reached back out to Dr. Thompson for an update on how the AIHM fellowship is going and what his cohort is up to: 

He shared, “The focus of the fellowship this far has focused on better understanding how our patients are coming to medical care with respect to concepts like social determinants of health, evidence-informed practices, motivational interviewing and nutrition therapy. Each module takes a deep dive into actionable strategies to improve patient care and reduce practitioner burnout.”  

“One of my favorite aspects of this fellowship is the mutual respect the fellows have for each other’s professions. During a recent synchronous conference over Zoom, we met each other virtually for the first time and commiserated over challenges to providing better patient care and working together to find new solutions to whole person health problems in an overwhelmed medical system. I am excited to take all that I have learned in the fellowship and share those resources with my patients and community even before I graduate from the program in 2025. “ 

The AIHM fellowship brings together health care practitioners from a variety of different medical disciplines and health care professions. Dr. Thompson revealed that in his cohort alone there are fellows from emergency medicine, acupuncture, infectious disease, naturopathy, oncology, general practice, himself, a chiropractor. The goal of the program is to converge eastern and western medical practitioners and philosophies, as well as palliative and preventative care. The AIHM fellowship is designed to introduce collaboration and new ways of thinking so professionals can better serve their communities. 

Story by Kit Harlow, Chiropractic Student