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Complementary & Alternative Medicine in US Medical School Curricula

As Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) makes gains in both availability and popularity in the United States, both the US National Institutes of Health and the US American Medical Students Association (AMSA) have included CAM into their research, teaching, and curricula initiatives throughout the country. Some of the nations top Medical Schools have taken the lead in incorporating CAM research and training into their curricula. In 1999, a core group of institutions joined together to form what would become the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, which has since grown to include 40 Universities and Clinics throughout the United States and Canada.

For instance, Yale University recently established a center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, to be integrated with the Yale School of Medicine, as well as other national and international CAM intiatives. For more information, visit Integrative Medicine at Yale.

National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine Initiatives

The National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) recently funded 15 Education Project Grants, at 12 medical and 2 nursing schools, and the AMSA. In October 2007, the journal Academic Medicine highlighted the results of the study, which developed and introduced CAM into established medical and health schools and training programs. Click for more.

This CAM education program was an essential first step toward creating curricula that will help conventional health care professionals to understand and advise their patients about CAM use
-Ruth L. Kirschstein, M.D., NCCAM's Acting Director

NCCAM also provides training and funds research at leading institutions around the US. Below is a list of selected projects which have been funded through NCCAM:
Harvard Medical School
Yale University School of Medicine & Griffin Hospital
University of Michigan Medical School
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine & Public Health
University of Colorado, Denver & University of Colorado, Boulder

Click for complete lists of NCCAM projects funded in 2006, 2005 and 2004.