- Menachem Oberbaum: Center for Integrated Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. oberbaum@netvision.net.il
BACKGROUND: Complementary medicine is gaining in public popularity, yet medical school curricula usually ignore it.
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether senior medical students are interested in learning principles of complementary or alternative medicine, to check their degree of familiarity with it, and to suggest a format for such studies in the medical curriculum.
METHODS: Senior medical students (n = 117) were surveyed by an anonymous questionnaire.
RESULTS: Seventy-nine percent of the senior medical students were interested in studying complementary or alternative medicine in medical school, and 65% were interested in applying these techniques to treat patients. Eighty-seven percent of students were familiar with some techniques of complementary medicine.
CONCLUSIONS: Senior medical students are interested in studying complementary and alternative medicine in medical school and in applying these techniques in practice.