Daniel Wolpert, Debra Bell, Neena Thomas-Eapen	David Rakel

Debra G. Bell, MD, and Neena E. Thomas-Eapen, MD, FAACP, are the interim codirectors of integrative medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine for the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Bell gave the inaugural John R. Fischer, MD, Integrative Medicine Lecture on January 20 at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Bell is a family physician from Crookston, Minn.  Bell introduced the grant for integrative medicine, provided a brief overview of integrative medicine and its importance in medical education, and reviewed new plans for its addition to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Thomas-Eapen delivered the second lecture on February 18. Thomas-Eapen is associate director of the UND Center for Family Medicine in Minot.

The Fischer Lectures cover topics in integrative medicine and include a wide range of clinical issues. The goal of the series is to introduce a variety of practitioners and experts in the field who will help create an awareness of the importance, depth, and breadth of this discipline. The lecture series is the first step in incorporating integrative medicine into medical education at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The series is made possible by a grant from John R. Fischer, MD, BS Med. ’65.

David Rakel, MD, gave the third integrative medicine lecture, titled “The Salutogenic Oriented Session: A Healing Focused Patient Encounter, Combining the Science and the Art,” on March 26. Rakel is editor of one of the main texts in the field, titled Integrative Medicine. 

The Rev. Daniel Wolpert, MDiv, MA, presented “Science, Medicine, Human Bias, and the Future of Healing,” the fourth lecture in the series on April 19. Wolpert is cofounder and codirector of the Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing, a multifaceted facility for the practice and study of contemplation, healing, and the arts.  He is the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Crookston, Minn.