National College of Natural Medicine, in collaboration with the Center for Natural Medicine (CNM), has established a Center of Excellence in Naturopathic Cardiovascular Medicine, a naturopathic medical center dedicated to patient care and clinical education focused on cardiovascular and pulmonary medicine. The Center is located at the NCNM Clinic in Southwest Portland and at CNM, a privately owned natural medicine clinic in Southeast Portland.
In 1999, NCNM and CNM first launched the Heart & Lung Wellness program to mentor NCNM naturopathic medicine students in the clinical components of naturopathic cardiovascular and pulmonary medicine. The success of that program—and the announcement in April 2013 that the Oregon Health Authority credentialed CNM as a Tier 2 Patient-Centered Primary Care Home—has further advanced the longstanding collaborative clinical training for NCNM naturopathic students. As a leader in this unique field, CNM has attracted a team of medical experts to provide clinical training and mentorship in medical best practices, and training in evidence-informed research to NCNM students in integrative cardiovascular medicine.
CNM’s Medical Director Martin Milner, ND, a longstanding NCNM professor, along with an advisory council comprised of NCNM deans and administrative officers, provide oversight of the new Center. Milner is also responsible for standards and coordination of patient care, as well as student clinical training and research. In addition to working closely with conventional cardiovascular specialists, Center physicians work with senior investigators at NCNM’s Helfgott Research Institute to design and implement clinical studies on cardiovascular conditions.
In announcing NCNM’s Center of Excellence in Naturopathic Cardiovascular Medicine, NCNM President David J. Schleich, PhD, emphasized the importance of providing clinical training to naturopathic students in integrative cardiopulmonary medicine. “As integrative medicine continues to grow and evolve, our naturopathic doctors have developed valuable expertise in naturopathic cardiopulmonary medicine. Dr. Milner and others have been collaborating extensively with specialists in adult and pediatric cardiology, pulmonary and vascular medicine at hospitals throughout the Northwest—all to the benefit of our patients and students.”
Schleich adds that the Center, with its expanded range of medical equipment such as spirometers, stress and resting electrocardiogram equipment, echocardiography, Holter monitors and other diagnostic tools, provides naturopathic medical students extensive, hands-on clinical training in naturopathic cardiology, unique to NCNM.
