NUNM 2025 Commencement keynote speaker shares career milestones and lessons in optimizing healthcare.

The National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) will welcome pioneer in integrative medicine Dr. Tracy Gaudet as the keynote speaker for the 2025 Commencement Ceremony on June 28. 

Gaudet is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, expert in ‘Whole Health’ principles, and founding leader across clinical, academic, and federal systems that aim to redefine healthcare.

“It’s an honor to welcome Dr. Gaudet as our keynote speaker,” said NUNM President and CEO Dr. Melanie Henriksen. “She is a visionary leader who has helped transform how the larger medical system thinks about health and healing.”

As the founding executive director of the Doctor of Whole Health Leadership (DrWHL) program at Southern California University of Health Sciences, Gaudet currently oversees a groundbreaking educational initiative designed to prepare working healthcare professionals to drive systemic change.

She is also co-founder of the Cornerstone Collaboration for Societal Change, which works alongside DrWHL to provide support in research and partnership-building.

Over the decades, Gaudet has worked with the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Patient-Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, Duke Center for Integrative Medicine, and the University of Arizona Program in Integrative Medicine.

Her work has primarily focused on the transformation of healthcare systems, driven by collaboration and the integration of ideas across disciplines.

Dr. Gaudet spoke with NUNM about her path from medical doctor (MD) to integrative medicine, along with reflections and guidance for graduates beginning their professional journeys.

NUNM: How did you become interested in integrative medicine?  

Gaudet: I’ve always been much more holistically oriented than conventional medicine. I wasn’t even pre-med in my undergrad because I didn’t want to be one of those obnoxious doctor types. I was a psychology and sociology major and much more interested in the mind-body-spirit framework. Ultimately, I realized that if I wanted to impact the healthcare system, it would help to be a product of it, so I went back to complete my pre-med and became a medical doctor.  

During my training, I was acutely aware of the system’s shortcomings. There are many things it does well, but there are so many that it doesn’t. I became consumed with questions like, “How can we change the whole approach? How can we think about health and well-being to integrate both?” At that point in time, I had never heard of naturopathy and wasn’t knowledgeable about it.    

How has your work involved the concept of ‘whole health?’    

When I worked at the University of Arizona on integrative medicine, I began to see that professions like naturopathy, Chinese medicine, and other traditions are much more oriented to a whole-person, holistic approach than the kind of reductionistic biomedical model I’d been trained in. It was clear that if we were working to achieve the best health outcomes for ourselves and others, we would have to dance together.   

Later, at the VA, we coined the term ‘whole health’ to describe a system designed not only to treat disease, but also to optimize health and well-being—inclusive of all professions.   

Much of my work now focuses on driving system change so that graduates across health careers are educated in advancing a paradigm shift toward integration and partnership. When it comes to the graduates of NUNM, their professions, and education, they’re already so much more aligned with this way of thinking.  

What role can transformation play in healthcare?  

In my work at the VA, I became obsessed with transformation. I thought, “Cultural transformation in this huge, massive bureaucracy?!” That jazzed me up because not only do I love a challenge, but it was what I wanted, had permission for, and was charged to do.  

I like to use the definition of transformation: ‘You know your system has been transformed when the purpose of that system has changed.’ We don’t need to paste on these little additional pieces. We need a true transformation in how we think about health and well-being. It helps to distinguish that from simple improvements in a system. Making things more efficient or working better is great, but, in my opinion, that’s not transformation. That’s continuous improvement.    

If we’re honest, the purpose of the dominant “healthcare” system is predominantly to diagnose and treat disease. When we’re successful in this transformation, I believe the healthcare system’s purpose will be to help optimize people’s health and well-being so that they can live their fullest lives. Of course, within that, you’re still going to treat disease—it’s not like we’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater—but it’s a much different purpose.  

There’s a Rumi quote: “Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure”. It may sound cutesy, but it’s true. Transformation is hard because dominant systems have inertia. But when things become chaotic or break down, it opens the door to breakthroughs and to creating something new. 

As someone who has worked to integrate the health professions, what advice do you have for NUNM graduates?  

One of my friends gave me advice a long time ago: “Go where the water is flowing.” You will find pockets of resistance in places you may not expect, and paying attention to this is valuable. If you feel like there’s an opportunity or an openness, go in that direction and see what unfolds.   

A critical lesson I learned the hard way is that not everyone will be interested in integration or open to collaboration. Early in my career, I tried to bring together various professionals, including naturopaths, for interdisciplinary case discussions. I assumed everyone would be open to the idea of integration. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would resist this vision of creating optimal health and health systems by bringing different disciplines and professions together. The thought that people would fight against that was foreign to me, but some were defending their territory.  

Like any other belief system where people may be dug in and attached to their own beliefs, there will be people who don’t understand your profession or disagree with your perspective. Some of that is just better to let go of or consider whether it’s critical to what you’re trying to do for your patients.  We can all bring different perspectives, systems, and approaches, which patients can absolutely benefit from, but only if all the providers are interested in doing that.  

How can NUNM graduates prepare themselves for success in their careers? 

The reality is that if you’re in a paradigm that is not fully aligned, it will be draining, so you must intentionally refuel yourself. It takes intention to take good care of yourself on that journey. To replenish yourself, you need supportive people.   

Part of graduating and moving into the “real world” is finding people with a little curiosity, because that’s who you want to engage with. It may take time, patience, and understanding that not everyone will be on board. The goal isn’t to enlighten everyone but to create a foundation where meaningful work can happen, and building those relationships over time will help you do the work you want to do.  

There’s so much stress around the end of your academic career, and worrying about what will come next. All transitions are scary to some degree, but these may be scarier and more uncertain times. It’s important to pause to acknowledge your accomplishments and celebrate your chosen path, because it’s not an easy one.  

I see NUNM graduates as pioneers—each and every one of them. And the world needs them now more than ever. 

Editor’s Note: NUNM’s commencement ceremony is set to take place at the Portland Art Museum’s Kridel Grand Ballroom on June 28. For more information and to view the livestreamed event, visit nunm.edu/commencement.

Written by Ashley Villarreal, NUNM Marketing Content Specialist.