Growing up East Indian, Cherry Hill Faculty member, Tanmeet Sethi, MD was exposed to Ayurvedic and botanical medicine in her home and culture. Her early interest in this area inspired her to become certified in Ayurvedic medicine and to develop competency in Integrative Medicine. She has also received advanced training in Mind Body Medicine from the Center for Mind Body Medicine in Washington, D.C. and will be completing the Integrative Medicine Fellowship with Dr. Andrew Weil at the University of Arizona beginning in January 2007.

Dr. Sethi has long incorporated yoga, guided imagery, meditation, bio-feedback, herbals and nutrition into her practice. "Family Medicine is founded on the principle of holistic care," states Sethi. "Patients want access to different modalities. We need to be able to offer them choices and know what is safe and what is not."

As the faculty coordinator for the Integrative Medicine curriculum at Swedish/ Cherry Hill, Dr. Sethi delivers monthly case-based lectures on Integrative Medicine and teaches intensive mind-body skills during the R2 Behavioral Medicine month and the R1 Family Medicine Intensive rotation, insuring that all residents graduate from the program with a foundation in Mind Body medicine. Residents who wish to pursue more in-depth training can complete the Integrative Medicine elective rotation and/or the Integrative Medicine Area of Concentration (AOC), the core of which is an intensive continuity clinic experience during which residents precept all of their patients through an Integrative Medicine approach. The rotation also benefits from many of Seattle's diverse educational resources such as Bastyr University.

What's ahead for Integrative Medicine at Swedish/ Cherry Hill? "Our short term goals are to develop a formal curriculum for resident self-care based on Mind Body skills and to formalize the Integrative Medicine continuity clinic experience," says Sethi. "And our future vision includes a four year track or fellowship in Integrative Medicine."