In the beautiful setting of Dumfries House, East Ayrshire, the College of Medicine’s Foundation Course for Clinicians ran on November 16th and 17th 2017.
The two-day course, which included workshops, discussions and interactive sessions, saw a myriad of different areas covered by the attending speakers including acupuncture, social prescribing, women’s health and mental health.
Here, we round up some of the feedback received from three attendees:
Susan Neal, Yoga And Qigong teacher
‘It was refreshing to be among health professionals who are looking at the whole person, and who appreciate there are gaps in Western medicine that can be filled by complementary therapies.
‘I was particularly interested to hear about the work already being carried out by the Dumfries House Integrated Healthcare staff with local GPs and their patients; so important in areas of deprivation where the health services face additional difficulties.’
Rosie Gilbert, Clinical Research Fellow in Ocular Immunology and MSc Student in Health Psychology
I had not had much personal experience of practicing integrated medicine, having been through fairly standard (gruelling!) hospital training in a surgical specialty.
I arrived at the course, curious, and not exactly sure what to expect. The location and venue were absolutely beautiful. The course itself turned out to be more than just a CPD-type educational experience about integrated medicine.
Although course participants came from different clinical backgrounds, everyone seemed to share the same goal of wanting to bring some of the ‘human factor’ back to medicine/ healthcare and to understand how this might be achieved.
Over the two-day schedule, we heard from an interesting and varied group of speakers and there was lots of discussion about different experiences/perspectives of ‘integrated’ medicine, with shared reflections how we might bring it into our clinical practice.
Attending the course provided me a whole new perspective on the integrated medicine field and brought me into contact with an eclectic community of pioneering, intelligent and compassionate clinicians.
Taking time out of day-to-day work (which sometimes feels difficult to justify) to be in that setting was absolutely worthwhile and valuable – everybody was so friendly and welcoming and the learning was profound.
Claire Gaskin, Clinical Psychotherapist, Clinical Hypnotherapist
The College of Medicine is unrivalled in its aim to promote an integrated model of health care and the foundation course sets the scene, bringing together an eclectic mix of health professionals, from surgeons and GPs to herbalists and hypnotherapists.
I was on the first course in London last year and enjoyed it so much I went for a second time in Scotland. It was great to meet friends old and new, and to learn from some of the world’s most forward-thinking people.
A particular highlight was Prof. David Peters talking about the power of the ‘human effect’, reminding us that there is nothing more important.
Dumfries House is a spectacular location in which to grow ideas and I was especially struck by the fantastic work the Princes Trust is doing for children and young people around the estate.
The model of integrated health care is expanding at Dumfries House and stands as an inspiration to us all.
