Navigation training

IMC Foundation staff, led by Pam Koppel, Executive Director, has developed a Navigation training program.  The goal of the program is to train integrative health Navigators. The vision is that Navigation will develop into a new profession. Navigators will serve patients as their guide in choosing and working with alternative health care providers. 

Navigation training positions are currently available at IMC

Navigation training takes one year of 6 hours a week of training and study. Schedules are flexible. The program is currently designed as a one-on-one mentoring process.

The trainee

Experiences the many modalities of care at IMC and at other sites in Sonoma County.

Mentors with our Navigator with phone consults, in person discussions with potential clients at imcsr. 

Researches on the web and in person  resources and clinics offering integrated services.

Does follow up data collection with IMC patients that have had Navigation, to understand their experience and get their feedback on the process.

Reads a full syllabus of information on complementary and alternative modalities.

Attends Patient Care Conferences and team meetings to understand the team concept.

Shadows practitioners in their work with patients/clients to understand the actual delivery of integrated care.

Develops a study or research question for a focus of information within integrated care.

Conducts Navigation sessions with clients, under supervision – initially directly observed and eventually with reporting feedback sessions.
 

Navigation training is a year program. 6 hours a week minimum. The cost is $4,500.

A Certificate of Completion is presented at the end of the training. No job guarantee is included. 

Residency Training elective opportunities

Family Practice, Internal Medicine, and other physicians in residency training are invited to spend time at IMC as part of their elective experiences.

Naturopathic Doctors in training and students in other complementary modalities are also invited to apply for time at the clinic.

Most of the professional elective experience is observing the individual practitioners, and attending patient care conferences. 

In some cases, with long enough time frame, patients agree to have the students interview them without the practitioner present and then the student and practitioner review the students findings and recommendations.