Pediatric integrative medicine (PIM) is of significant interest to patients, with 12% of the general pediatric population and up to 80% of children with chronic conditions using PIM approaches. The field of PIM has evolved over the past 25 years, approaching child health with a number of guiding principles: preventive, context-centered, relationship-based, personalized, participatory, and ecologically sustainable. This manuscript reviews important time points for the field of PIM and reports on a series of meetings of PIM leaders, aimed at assessing the state of the field and planning for its future. Efforts in the first decade of the 2000s led to increased visibility in academic and professional pediatric organizations and through international listservs, designed to link those interested in and practicing PIM, all of which continue to flourish. The PIM leadership summits in recent years resulted in specific goals to advance PIM further in the following key areas: research, clinical practice, professional education, patient and family education, and advocacy and partnerships. Additionally, goals were developed for greater expansion of PIM professional education, broader support for pediatric PIM research, and an expanded role for PIM approaches in the provision of pediatric care.

It is widely recognized that burnout is prevalent in medical culture and begins early in training. Studies show pediatricians and pediatric trainees experience burnout rates comparable to other specialties. Newly developed Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies in professionalism and personal development recognize the unacceptably high resident burnout rates and present an important opportunity for programs to improve residents experience throughout training. These competencies encourage healthy lifestyle practices and cultivation of self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, mindfulness, and compassion—a paradigm shift from traditional medical training underpinned by a culture of unrealistic endurance and self-sacrifice. To date, few successful and sustainable programs in resident burnout prevention and wellness promotion have been described. The University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine Pediatric Integrative Medicine in Residency (PIMR) curriculum, developed in 2011, was designed in part to help pediatric programs meet new resident wellbeing requirements. The purpose of this paper is to detail levels of lifestyle behaviors, burnout, and wellbeing for the PIMR program’s first-year residents (N = 203), and to examine the impact of lifestyle behaviors on burnout and wellbeing. The potential of the PIMR to provide interventions addressing gaps in lifestyle behaviors with recognized association to burnout is discussed.

Use of integrative medicine (IM) is prevalent in children, yet availability of training opportunities is limited. The Pediatric Integrative Medicine in Residency (PIMR) program was designed to address this training gap. The PIMR program is a 100-hour online educational curriculum, modeled on the successful Integrative Medicine in Residency program in family medicine. Preliminary data on site characteristics, resident experience with and interest in IM, and residents’ self-assessments of perceived knowledge and skills in IM are presented. The embedded multimodal evaluation is described. Less than one-third of residents had IM coursework in medical school or personal experience with IM. Yet most (66%) were interested in learning IM, and 71% were interested in applying IM after graduation. Less than half of the residents endorsed pre-existing IM knowledge/skills. Average score on IM medical knowledge exam was 51%. Sites endorsed 1–8 of 11 site characteristics, with most (80%) indicating they had an IM practitioner onsite and IM trained faculty. Preliminary results indicate that the PIMR online curriculum targets identified knowledge gaps. Residents had minimal prior IM exposure, yet expressed strong interest in IM education. PIMR training site surveys identified both strengths and areas needing further development to support successful PIMR program implementation.

Increase in the prevalence of disease and illness has dramatically altered the landscape of pediatrics. As a result, there is a demand for pediatricians with new skills and a sharper focus on preventative health. Patient demand and shifting pediatric illness patterns have accelerated research in the field of pediatric integrative medicine. This emerging field can be defined as healing-oriented medicine that considers the whole child, including all elements of lifestyle and family health. It is informed by evidence and carefully weighs all appropriate treatment options. This Special Issue of Children, containing a collection of articles written by expert clinicians, represents an important educational contribution to the field. The goal of the edition is to raise awareness about integrative topics with robust supporting evidence, and to identify areas where more research is needed.