Integration of Complementary and Alternative Medicine into German Medical School Curricula – Contradictions between the Opinions of Decision Makers and the Status Quo

Abstract

Introduction: There is a growing demand for complementaryand alternative medicine (CAM) in Western societies. This trendhas lead to the gradual integration of CAM courses into medicalschool curricula. The aim of this study was to survey key decisionmakers at German medical schools with regard to theirviews on CAM and to examine the extent to which CAM has alreadybeen integrated in the German medical school system.Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was sent to 753 clinicand institute directors at German medical schools. Results: Atotal of 500 questionnaires (66%) were returned. 39% of respondentshad a positive opinion of CAM, 27% had a neutral opinionand 31% had a negative opinion. 3% of respondents were unsure.The CAM therapies viewed most positively were osteopathy(52%), acupuncture (48%), and naturopathy (41%). Most respondentswere in favor of integrating CAM into the medicalsystem. However, a larger percentage favored its use in research(61%) and teaching (59%) rather than in the treatment ofpatients (58%). Only 191 respondents (38%) indicated that CAMtreatment methods had been integrated into the curriculum oftheir respective medical schools. In these schools, CAM wasmainly used in patient treatment (35%), followed by research(22%) and education (21%). Conclusions: Our data show thatthe majority of respondents were in favor of integrating CAMinto medical school curricula. However, at the time of our survey,only a small percentage of medical schools had actuallyput this into practice. The reasons for this discrepancy areunclear and should be further investigated.