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Abstract #156412

Stergios Roussos, PhD, MPH¹, Steve Turner, MSIV², Aaron Nisley³, Dave Rakel, MD⁴, Wendy Kohatsu, MD⁵, M. Caitlin Phelps, MA², Bryan Bayles, PhD⁶, Gautam Desai, DO⁷, Emily Ferrara, MA⁸, Mary Guerrera, MD⁹, Desiree Lie, MD¹⁰, and Henri Roca, MD¹¹. (1) Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, 2054 Pinehurst Court, Merced, CA 95340, 209-723-4399, steve@akouo.org, (2) American Medical Student Association Foundation, 1902 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191, (3) Alliance for Community Research and Development, 1735 Canal Street, #5, Merced, CA 95340, (4) Dept. of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin Medical School, 777 South Mills St., Madison, WI 53715, (5) Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR 97239-3098, (6) University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Center for Integrative Health, 8122 Datapoint Drive; Suite 1150, San Antonio, TX 78229, (7) Family Medicine, KCUMB, 1750 Independence Ave, Strickland Educ. Pavilion 434-435, Kansas City, MO 64106, (8) Preventive Medicine, University of Massachusetts, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655, (9) Family Medicine, University of Connecticut SOM, 99 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT 06105, (10) Family Medicine, UCI Medical Center, 101 The City Drive South, Bldg. 200, Rm 512 Rt 81, Orange, CA 92868, (11) Family Medicine, LSU, 1542 Tulane Ave, Box T1-8, New Orleans, LA 70112

The rising use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in USA necessitates that medical schools prepare students to inform and potentially use CAM during patient care. This study examined student perceptions and recommendations for incorporating CAM curricula during medical school. A cross-sectional survey was administered for three years to medical students (MS1 thru MS4). The survey examined students' preferences, satisfaction, and recommendations regarding CAM curricula, resources, and faculty and administrative support for CAM. Likert-type scale ratings were complemented with open-ended items to describe CAM use, rationale for or against integration of CAM into medical education, and recommendations for appropriate integration during medical training. Students' use of CAM across years ranged from 55% to 68%. Types of CAM use included less-Western practices (e.g., acupuncture, yoga) as well as nutrition and religious practices. Student perceptions for types of CAM curricula to include in medical education were consistent across the three years. Junior students (MS1, MS2) reported more positive ratings across survey items for CAM training than senior students (MS3, MS4). Average ratings of student support for incorporating CAM during medical training were high across years (3.5 - 4.0). Two curricula topics were rated most important across years: how to advise patients about the risks and benefits of using CAM and how to critique lay and academic evidence on CAM effectiveness. This multi-year assessment indicates that students support the integration of CAM curricula during medical education and offers important insights for how schools can support CAM education.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe a method of assessing medical student perceptions and recommendation for their schools’ integration of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) curricula.
• Identify trends in CAM curricula topics and supports that may be important to integrating CAM into training of health professionals.
• Articulate policy implications for incorporating CAM in medical schools and education of health professionals.

Keywords: Alternative Medicine/Therapies, Training

Related Web page: www.amsa.org/humed/CAM/resources.cfm

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.