Dr. Louise Gagne MD
Assistant Professor Centre for Integrative Medicine

Louise Gagné graduated with distinction from the College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, in 1983, and completed a medical internship at St Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon.

Dr Gagné practiced family medicine with Saskatoon Medical Associates from 1985-1995. During this time she established a busy medical practice focused primarily on well woman care, infant and child care, office gynecology and obstetrics. In 1995, Dr Gagné relocated her medical practice to the Community Clinic in Saskatoon, where she continues to practice today. 

In 2002, Dr Gagné decided to shift the focus of her medical practice and apply to do a two year fellowship in Integrative Medicine through the University Of Arizona.  Following two intensive years of study, beginning in January 2002, Dr Gagné completed the fellowship program in December 2004. The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona has become a recognized leader in the training of physicians in the practice of integrative medicine. They have recently launched a four year combined family medicine/integrative medicine residency- the first of its kind in North America.

The decision to study integrative medicine would prove to be transformative for Dr Gagné, both personally and professionally. Subsequent to completing this training, Dr Gagné began to provide consultations in integrative medicine, by referral, to the patient population at the Community Clinic.  She began publishing a series of articles in the community clinic newsletter. She also began travelling frequently to further her studies, particularly in the areas of nutrition botanical medicine and mind body medicine. During her fellowship training, Dr Gagné began the study of motivational interviewing, a counseling method that supports the patients’ internal motivation to adopt positive health behavior change.

Dr Gagné has since furthered her studies in this area by completing advanced level training in motivational interviewing at the National Wellness Conference in Wisconsin in 2007. In 2008, Dr Gagné was accepted to attend an intensive course, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to become a trainer of motivational interviewing. She is now a member of a worldwide organization of trainers of motivational interviewing (MINT).

Since 2006, Dr Gagné has been teaching integrative medicine in the College of Medicine and publishing articles in peer reviewed medical journals. She recently authored a chapter in a women’s integrative health text, which was published by Oxford Press in 2010. She is a regular invited speaker at the annual Nutrition and Health conference, co-sponsored by Columbia University and the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.

Dr Gagné has been a speaker at a number of other conferences on topics related to integrative medicine, motivational interviewing and cancer risk reduction. She has recently begun offering a series of monthly group health seminars at the community clinic, on topics such as ‘reducing the risk of diabetes’ and ‘natural therapies to lower blood pressure’.

Dr Gagné has begun to explore Tai chi, yoga and meditation. She continually works toward achieving a healthful balance in her life, allowing time to garden, cook, exercise and spend time with family and friends. Dr Gagné is married and has a daughter and three stepsons.