Complementary and alternative medical therapies: implications for medical education.

Full Abstract

Increased use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has made it imperative that these topics be included in medical education from the preclinical years through residency and beyond. There has been progress in this direction in recent years, with a steady increase in the number of medical schools that include CAM therapies in their curricula. There remains, however, a lack of clear goals and concrete suggestions for implementing these changes. This article examines the questions that arise when medical educators consider how to incorporate CAM therapies as an integral part of the medical curriculum. It offers practical suggestions for finding time in an already packed curriculum, getting started, including faculty and students in the process, and sustaining the initiative with the necessary administrative and institutional support.

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Author information

Author/s: Wetzel, Miriam S (MS); Kaptchuk, Ted J (TJ); Haramati, Aviad (A); Eisenberg, David M (DM);

Affiliation: Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Suite 612, Boston, MA 02115.

Grants: U24 AR 43441 (Agency:NIAMS NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Annals of internal medicine (Ann Intern Med), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Feb; vol 138 (issue 3) : pp 191-6

Dates: Created 2003/01/31; Completed 2003/02/11; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12558358, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Ann Intern Med. 2004 Jan 6;140(1):67-8; author reply 68-9. (PMID: 14706977)

CommentIn: Ann Intern Med. 2004 Jan 6;140(1):67; author reply 68-9. (PMID: 14706976)

CommentIn: Ann Intern Med. 2004 Jan 6;140(1):68. (PMID: 14706979)

CommentIn: Ann Intern Med. 2004 Jan 6;140(1):68; author reply 68-9. (PMID: 14706980)

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