Medical Students' Knowledge of and Attitudes About Complementary and Alternative Medicine Before and After an Integrated Clinical Experience Learning Module

Stupski, Bernard A., Medical Students’ Knowledge of and Attitudes about Complementary and Alternative Medicine before and after an Integrated Clinical Experience Learning Module, Master of Science, May 2003, 2 pp., 2 tables, bibliography, 13 titles. Background: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is an important health care trend that is drawing increasing attention from medical schools. An educational program, the Integrated Clinical Experience (ICE), was instituted at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine to address CAM for second year medical students. Methods: A thirty-five question survey developed to measure the students’ knowledge of and attitudes about CAM was given at the beginning and end of the ICE week. Results: Students had significantly more knowledge about CAM prevalence following the ICE week. Students perceived greater efficacy and relevance in education for certain CAM modalities and felt more likely to incorporate CAM into their clinical practice and use CAM for self care.