Creating future leaders in integrative medicine: Evaluation data from a CAM leadership training program for medical students

The changing landscape of health care has led to a growing, urgent need for CAM awareness and education among conventional medical practitioners, and more importantly, among future physicians. From 2003-2006, the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) Foundation conducted a five-day leadership training program (LTP) in CAM for twenty medical students. The LTP initiative (designed to improve medical student proficiency in CAM theory, methods, and practice and enhance medical student education of preventive health, holistic care, and self-care) ultimately intended to produce CAM savvy leaders among the medical student population who would be able to return to their respective schools equipped with the knowledge, skills, and resources to act as peer-educators, bringing increased awareness of preventive health, holistic care, and self-care to their local medical school population. To evaluate the effectives of the program, a survey was developed and implemented that measured the students' ability to identify the areas of CAM education that should be expanded at the student's institution; ability to motivate others at school to support and participate in CAM projects and activities; perceived support of CAM by faculty and student peers; barriers and challenges that they may face when implementing CAM projects; general knowledge of CAM; and self care, such as the balance of school, projects and personal life. The discussion will include trends from the latter three years of survey data, as well as the student-led educational and community-building projects students implemented post-LTP at their institutions.