Did any of you ever get the feeling in school that it simply was not OK to speak about wanting to be successful? To get into the nitty gritty details of how to make money in practice? Maybe you were even someone like me who was directly told by someone in a position of power that I needed to take what I could get because in private practice, I wouldn’t make money.
A New NCCIH Director ... One That Backs Acupuncture
The third time is a charm—the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced it's newest director, Dr. Helene Langevin.
This appointment comes after Stephen Straus, MD (the first director), who had no background (or interest) in complementary or alternative medicine modalities, and Josie Briggs, MD (the second director) who although had no background in complementary medicine, involved herself with the Veterans Administration and proactively sought treatments from various modalities, including acupuncture.
For those unfamiliar with Dr. Helene Langevin, earlier this year she co-authored, "What is the Point? The Problem With Acupuncture Research That No One Wants to Talk About." The paper argues that failure to use clear terminology and rigorously investigate the subject of acupuncture points has hindered acupuncture's growth as an evidence-based therapy.
As the new NCCIH director, Dr. Langevin will oversee the Federal government's lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.
The NIH director, Dr. Francis S. Collins said, "Helene's distinguished career and leadership in the integrative health community, along with her research on the role of nonpharmacologic treatment for pain, makes her ideally suited to lead NCCIH. We are so pleased to have her join the NIH leadership team."
Langevin will begin her new role in November 2018 after she closes out her job at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.
For more information visit nccih.nih.gov.