December 2023 Society Spotlight
Special Interest Section Edition: Complementary and Integrative Medicine
The mission of the AHS Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CIM) Special Interest Section is to raise more awareness about evidence-based therapies that can complement standard, medical therapies and help treat the whole person. We focus on the importance of educating patients and providers about the evidence behind these treatments through the development of online resources, hosting pre-courses at AHS conferences, publishing peer-reviewed articles, and engagement through social media.
The CIM Section’s Patient Education Kit for Migraine is an ongoing project that is a collection of evidence-based recommendations for CIM therapies that can help patients improve their migraine frequency and severity. Topics include exercise, nutrition, sleep, behavioral treatments, supplements, and acupuncture. The content is developed by members of the section and every recommendation is backed up with supporting literature. It is a resource for patients, as well as, for providers. The content is free and can be easily incorporated into patient instructions and visit notes to referring providers.
Join the Complementary & Integrative Medicine Special Interest Section here.
Meet the Chair
Niushen Zhang, MD, FAHS
In college, a good friend introduced me to the volunteer work that was being done at a local HIV/AIDS hospice. It was my first experience with patient care. The opportunity to listen to the patients’ stories, to get to know them through the peaks and valleys of their struggle with chronic disease, and to help them in some small way was one of the most formative experiences that led me to pursue a career in medicine. In medical school, I found my calling in neurology. I was not aware that Headache Medicine was a field of its own until I started neurology residency. But from the first day I stepped into the headache clinic, I knew that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my career. The connection I felt with the patients, the discovery of the wide array of treatments available, and the holistic and personalized treatment approach practiced at the Stanford Headache Clinic was the type of medicine that I wanted to practice.
Being a member of the AHS family has been a truly meaningful part of my work. It has been an honor to be the Chair of the CIM section for the last 4 years. It has also been a great privilege to be Co-Chair of the Fellowship Program Directors Committee and to be a part of the movement to bring together programs and reinstate the Match for our field. I look forward to continuing the work on the AHS National Headache Fellowship Opportunities Website and supporting AHS education programs such as the Resident Education Program and REACH.