Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the undergraduate medical curriculum: the Southampton experience

Introduction: Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is popular in the general population and medical practitioners may not be fully equipped in their knowledge of CAM to advise patients appropriately. The aim of this paper was to perform a scoping review of current literature describing undergraduate medical student use, attitudes, and knowledge of CAM as a means of better understanding the educational needs of these students. Methods: A systematic search of Medline, PubMed and the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases with keywords related to “complementary and alternative medicine” and “undergraduate medical students” for relevant articles published until August 2020. Results: Of 131 papers identified, 38 underwent full review. It was found 13-80% of medical students use CAM, and overall have a positive attitude towards CAM therapies. Female medical students and those with religiosity had more positive attitudes towards CAM than their male colleagues and those without a religion. Knowledge of CAM is lacking with approximately only half of students feeling they were knowledgeable about CAM therapies. Popular information resources are the Internet and social media, but students expressed they want more teaching of CAM in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Conclusion: Evidence suggests high usage of CAM amongst undergraduate medical students, and positive attitudes towards CAM therapies; however, knowledge of CAM is poor, and students want more CAM teaching to upskill them in counselling patients interested in CAM therapies. Further areas for research include a better understanding of resources medical students use for their knowledge and how gender and religiosity influence attitudes towards CAM.

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A Survey of Medical Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Urmia, Iran

Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1177/2156587215605751 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 306-310 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Mahshid Sadeghi ◽

Soheila Rabiepoor ◽

Aida Sefidani Forough ◽

Shiva Jabbari ◽

Shahram Shahabi

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Medical Curriculum ◽

Neuromuscular Disorders ◽

Knowledge And Attitudes ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Study Results ◽

Data Collection Instrument ◽

Complementary And Alternative

Personal beliefs of medical students may interfere with their tendency for learning Complementary and Alternative Medicine concepts. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of medical students toward complementary and alternative medicine in Urmia, Iran. A structured questionnaire was used as data collection instrument. One hundred questionnaires were returned. Thirty-one percent of students reported use of alternative medicine for at least once. Iranian Traditional Medicine was the main type of alternative medicine used by medical students (93.5%). Neuromuscular disorders were the main indication of alternative medicine use among students (34.4%). Ninety percent of participants demonstrated competent knowledge about acupuncture while the lowest scores belonged to homeopathy (12%). Study results showed that 49% of medical students had positive attitudes and demonstrated a willingness to receive training on the subject. Thus, there appears a necessity to integrate complementary and alternative medicine into the medical curriculum, by taking expectations and feedbacks of medical students into consideration.

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Medical student attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in medical education: a critical review

Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine ◽

10.1515/jcim-2014-0053 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Paul Joyce ◽

Jon Wardle ◽

Chris Zaslawski

Keyword(s):

Medical Student ◽

Medical Students ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Critical Review ◽

Student Attitudes ◽

Medical Curriculum ◽

Care Providers ◽

Medical Student Attitudes ◽

Complementary And Alternative

AbstractBackgroundThis paper aims to remedy a gap in the knowledge by presenting the first critical review of the literature on major themes relating to medical students perceptions and attitudes towards the exponentially growing field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).MethodsAfter a comprehensive database search of the literature, 21 papers were chosen as suitable for the review. The results from these papers were tabled and discussed.ResultsThe results indicated that medical students lacked knowledge of CAM and are generally positive towards CAM education (especially in the preclinical years, if it provided evidence of efficacy and post-placement). Medical students thought that CAM should generally be incorporated into the medical curriculum mainly so they can confidently undertake referral to CAM practitioners. Being able to communicate with future patients about their CAM use was a major motivation for medical students to learn about CAM and a factor for medical student support of further incorporation of CAM content in the medical curricula. Educational exposure to CAM in many forms and in many papers was shown to significantly affect medical student attitudes to CAM. This may be reflective of the fact that, outside direct CAM training, there may be limited accessible opportunities for medical students and if integration is to occur, educational exposure is most important.ConclusionsThe rise of CAM as a social and clinical phenomenon necessitates consideration of further inclusion of these topics in the medical curriculum, if future physicians are to be able to fully discharge their role as care providers in an increasingly medically pluralistic world. However, the inclusion of CAM needs to be done in an objective and critical manner, which is relevant to the learner.

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Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Comparison of Current Knowledge, Attitudes and Interest among German Medical Students and Doctors

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1093/ecam/nen079 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Karsten Münstedt ◽

Hildegard Harren ◽

Richard von Georgi ◽

Andreas Hackethal

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Medical Curriculum ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

General Medicine ◽

Specific Content ◽

Bivariate Correlation ◽

Supportive Oncology ◽

Complementary And Alternative

Although it has been agreed that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) should be included in the German medical curriculum, there is no consensus on which methods and how it should be taught. This study aimed to assess needs for CAM education by evaluating current knowledge, attitudes and interests of medical students, general physicians and gynecologists. Two instruments based on established and validated questionnaires were developed. One was given to seventh semester medical students and the other to office-based doctors. Data were analyzed by bivariate correlation and cross-tabulation. Altogether 550 questionnaires were distributed—280 to doctors and 270 to medical students. Completed questionnaires were returned by 80.4% of students and 78.2% of doctors. Although 73.8% (160/219) of doctors and 40% (87/217) of students had already informed themselves about CAM, neither group felt that they knew much about CAM. Doctors believed that CAM was most useful in general medicine, supportive oncology, pediatrics, dermatology and gynecology, while students believed that dermatology, general medicine, psychiatry and rheumatology offered opportunities; both recommended that CAM should be taught in these areas. Both groups believed that CAM should be included in medical education; however, they believed that CAM needed more investigation and should be taught “critically". German doctors and students would like to be better informed about CAM. An approach which teaches fundamental competences to students, chooses specific content based on evidence, demographics and medical conditions and provides students with the skills they need for future learning should be adopted.

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