Med Students interested in CAM

Medical students are interested in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and believe that CAM could benefit their future patients, according to recent research.

These were among the results of the study published in Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine:

• Ninety-one percent of students agreed that "CAM includes ideas and methods from which Western medicine could benefit";

• More than 85 percent agreed that "knowledge about CAM is important to me as a student/future practicing health professional";

• More than 75 percent believe that CAM should be included in medical-school curriculum.

The purpose of the study was to assess attitudes toward CAM and its place in the medical school curriculum and medical practice among preclinical students at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Among the 265 students surveyed, the most frequently indicated level of desired training was "sufficient to advise patients about use," for 11 of the 15 modalities. The greatest level of training was wanted for acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal medicine and nutritional supplements. The types of CAM the students said they'd offer in practice included endorsement, referral, or provision of acupuncture, biofeedback, chiropractic, herbal medicine, massage, nutritional supplements, prayer and meditation.

—Source: PubMed (www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov)