Complementary medicine courses in Swiss medical schools: actual status and students' experience.

BACKGROUND

In line with growing public popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), courses in CAM have been implemented in Medical Schools internationally, but as yet in an uncoordinated and heterogeneous way. In Switzerland, comprehensive data about CAM education at Medical Faculties are lacking.

OBJECTIVES

To survey courses at Swiss Medical Schools, document medical students' attitude toward and knowledge of CAM and their experience of CAM courses at medical schools. The aim was to determine the relationship between the presence/absence of CAM courses at each medical school and students' attitude toward, knowledge of, and motivation to learn about CAM.

METHODS

Data about current courses in CAM were collected from the websites of the five Swiss Medical Schools and from an online questionnaire addressed to the CAM teachers (n = 13). All Swiss senior medical students (n = 640) were surveyed by an anonymous online questionnaire.

RESULTS

There are two chairs for CAM in Bern and Zürich, CAM familiarisation courses are provided by external teachers in Basel and Lausanne, and there was no CAM education in Geneva. 38.3% of the senior medical students replied to the survey. 80.0% of the students who visited CAM courses stated that they have improved their knowledge of CAM. There was no relationship between the presence of CAM education and a significant elevation of the self-assessed knowledge of CAM of the students. CAM education has no significant influence on students' opinions about CAM, nor does it significantly motivate them to deepen their study of CAM. Form, frequency and content of CAM courses are similarly as heterogeneous as in other countries.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no coordination or standard for CAM courses in Swiss Medical Schools. Our results suggest an overall positive attitude toward and positive personal experiences with CAM of Swiss medical students', but a relationship between the absence or presence of CAM courses and students attitudes and knowledge could not be found. A coordinated policy towards the integration of CAM in medical curricula is strongly recommended.