The perceived impact of integrative medicine in a surgical department

Introduction: Integrative medicine in a surgical department is an innovative phenomenon. Patients in acute conditions are treated with guided imagery, hypnosis, acupuncture and reflexology for perioperative symptoms in the surgical department of an Israeli hospital. The purpose of this research was to inductively explore how diverse stakeholders perceive the impacts of integrative medicine. Methodology: The research was conducted in the surgical department of a public teaching hospital by means of observations; in-depth qualitative interviews with managers, physicians, senior nurses, integrated complementary medicine (CM) practitioners and patients; and analysis of electronic medical records. Results: The most prevalent CM treatments addressed pain, anxiety and nausea. Most of the patients reported improved wellbeing following the treatments. Surgeons reported heightened awareness of patients' emotions. CM practitioners assisted surgeons and nurses by dealing with patients' emotions and other perioperative symptoms, such as high blood pressure and urinary retention. Some surgeons and nurses reported using lower doses of analgesics. CM practitioners welcomed the opportunity of gaining practical experience and participating in team work. Disadvantages were also mentioned: some patients reported feeling no benefit; a sense of intrusion to their daily routine was reported by nurses; CM practitioners mentioned certain drawbacks associated with working in the hospital, such as low salary, feelings of marginality, and the dominance of biomedical knowledge. Conclusions: This inductive exploration paves the way for further research that should examine patients' experiences, cost-effectiveness and means to facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration.