Using online modules to incorporate CAM content into public health nursing curricula

As part of our complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) education program for undergraduate and graduate nursing students, CAM content was incorporated into required public health nursing courses using three online case-based educational modules. The first module, which was integrated in the undergraduate curriculum, focused on management of a patient with a culturally-related illness (empacho). Two modules were integrated into the graduate public health nursing curriculum and addressed 1) approaches to assessing a population or community's CAM practices and 2) integration of traditional medicine and CAM into program planning at a population/community level. Students completed pre- and post-tests to measure their CAM knowledge and an eight-item questionnaire measuring satisfaction with the online teaching method; lower scores indicated greater satisfaction. Post-test scores significantly improved for the module focusing on the use of CAM therapies to manage empacho (n=38; Z=-4.212, p<.001). Satisfaction data revealed mean values below 2.8 (score of 3.0 reflective of feeling “neutral” towards the module). These findings were corroborated by other outcome data indicating that graduates felt prepared to incorporate CAM into their practices and to collaborate with CAM practitioners. Data analysis is currently underway for those modules addressing assessment and integration of CAM into population health planning. Methods of evaluating graduate student application of CAM in public health nursing practice are being implemented. In conclusion, online, case-based CAM modules are an effective teaching tool for nursing students, based upon measures of knowledge gained and evaluations of module effectiveness.