Non-White Medical Students Reject Therapies Typically Associated with Their Culture While White Students Embrace CAM

November 18, 2008

Non-white medical students are more likely to embrace orthodox medicine and reject therapies traditionally associated with their cultures. That is one finding from an international study that measures the attitudes of medical students toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). While seemingly counter-intuitive, white students view CAM more favorably than their non-white counterparts, the study authors say. Hakima Amri, director of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program at Georgetown, was a co-investigator and the lead author of the US component of the study. 

Despite the growing popularity of CAM, many medical schools do not include CAM teachings within basic medical education. So researchers at four medical schools, including Georgetown University, conducted two surveys to measure the attitudes of medical students toward CAM during their first and fourth year of medical training in schools that offer some CAM education either at the undergraduate or graduate level. The study is published online in the journal Medical Teacher.

For more information on this study, click here.

Submit your news at any time to the GUMC Office of Communications at gumccomm@georgetown.edu.



More Research News

Browse recent items in this category.

More Education News

Browse recent items in this category.