Development of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Curriculum for Undergraduate Students at College of Oriental Medicine

한의과대학 학부생을 위한 보완대체의학 교육과정 개발 연구

Objectives : Integrative medicine in Korea is the 21st century-style medical practice of two orthodox medical doctrines, traditional Korean medicine and western conventional medicine, as well as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM with scientific evidence should be incorporated in undergraduate curricula for the purpose of Korean integrative medicine. Methods : Items of detailed objectives, syllabi, textbooks, instructor's experiences, and effectiveness and reason for difficulty of the CAM curriculum for undergraduate students were analyzed and the preference of CAM therapies and others were also evaluated. Results and Discussion : The effectiveness of this CAM class curriculum was high (8.0$\pm$1.4) enough to be used in other Oriental medical colleges. Development of ability for self-study was rated as 7.0$\pm$1.7 and the helpfulness for clinical use was marked as 6.8$\pm$1.9. Students preferred placebo, Ayurveda, aromatherapy, yoga, functional food, bio-feedback and homeopathy. The difficulty degree was 7.2$\pm$1.6, and the amount of content was suggested as the major reason for it. We also found that this curriculum can be a model for self-oriented study and problem-based learning. Discussions were made for the improvement of the implemented CAM curriculum, which was shown to be very effective for the achievement of Korean integrative medicine. Conclusion : We have successfully installed a CAM curriculum for undergraduate students at the College of Oriental Medicine, and it can be used in others.