Originally published June 19 2005
Complementary and alternative medicines gaining recognition in medical schools
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Although complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been largely dismissed by traditional medical schools, Seacoast Online is reporting some schools, such as the University of Pennsylvania, are beginning to teach CAM as it becomes increasingly popular with the public.
Once largely dismissed as a leftover fad from the Age of Aquarius, acupuncture, herbal remedies and other forms of alternative medicine are finding their way into curriculums at traditional medical schools - most recently the University of Pennsylvania.
Doctors at Penn are working with Tai Sophia Institute, an alternative medicine school in Maryland, on a program to teach medical students about herbal therapies, meditation and other approaches that are increasingly popular with the public but largely exist outside the realm of mainstream medicine.
"We're not going to turn great surgeons into acupuncturists or herbalists; that's not the idea," said Robert Duggan, co-founder of Tai Sophia.
"The goal is that Penn medical school graduates will be highly able to speak with patients about how to guide these things into their overall care."
More than a third of American adults have tried alternative therapies - including yoga, meditation, herbs and the Atkins diet - according to a 2002 government survey of 31,000 people, the largest study of its kind in the United States.
More than 95 of the nation's 125 medical schools require some kind of complementary and alternative medicine coursework, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
"If you had raised this 10 years ago everyone would have sneered at it," Fishman said.
One program, for example, will teach doctors about herbal medicines so they can better serve their patients who are already taking them.
The idea is to teach the cardiology staff how to develop personalized therapy plans - including everything from meditation and massage to reflexology and aromatherapy - to decrease patient stress, pain and anxiety.
For example, new brain imaging technology will allow researchers to physically explore how things like herbs, acupuncture, even prayer, can make people feel better.
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