Educating about complementary and alternative medicine

摘要

Considering the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine in the community and the growing evidence base, health practitioners (and patients) need to develop informed and balanced attitudes, skills and knowledge that are going to assist in making safe and beneficial decisions regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine. Education regarding complementary and alternative medicine use generally, and for cancer in particular, has tended to be tokenistic and piecemeal at best or, at worst, totally absent or misinformed. Complementary and alternative medicine content is often marginalised rather than being seen as an integral part of the core knowledge and skills that a well-rounded and informed health practitioner requires. This is problematic for a number of reasons, including that the practitioner is less aware of which therapies are potentially useful or harmful and is therefore less able to help patients make informed and safe decisions regarding this aspect of their healthcare. It also potentially impedes the therapeutic relationship and communication between therapist and patient, especially if a patient has a disposition towards complementary and alternative medicine. This paper will review some of the background issues regarding education about complementary and alternative medicine and make suggestions about what should be minimal knowledge and competency for a health practitioner. At a minimum this content should include teaching on the common complementary and alternative medicine modalities, ethics, the economics of complementary and alternative medicine, evidence, safety and risks including interactions, clinical applications, clinical skills in history taking and communication around complementary and alternative medicine, and how to find and assess further information. Rather than being taught as a separate discipline, complementary and alternative medicine is best integrated into the wider curriculum and healthcare delivery based upon integrative medicine principles.