Teaching TCIM as part of the integrative curriculum in medical school

Background

The project aimed to improve the teaching of traditional Chinese and integrative medicine in medical school. The introduction to the basics of TCIM takes place in the context of a single lecture in the fifth academic year. In order to deepen understanding we also offer a clinical elective in traditional Chinese and integrative medicine (TCIM) for a maximum of 15 students, also in the fifth academic year. This takes place over several weekends (total 54h) and ends with an examination. The elective consists of the following: Introduction, basics, diagnostics and acupuncture.

Summary of work

The elective was evaluated both before (past experiences and expectations of the students) and after the event (key learning and improvements of the students, as well as the need for regulation) using part standardized questionnaires (especially Likert-scale) and the results were compared. The aim was to examine the needs and interests of the students of medicine more closely.

Summary of results

The majority of the surveyed students had, before the start of the course, little or average knowledge of alternative and complementary treatments. Only 14% claimed to have any significant knowledge. This was predominantly in the fields of classical homeopathy (23%) and TCIM (27%). Students felt that these areas (and also chiropractic) were the ones they were most likely to use in their future professional capacity. Their prior knowledge was mainly acquired through their own treatment experiences, through internships or by personal study.

From the post-evaluation of the elective results, it was found that the students showed much more extensive knowledge of alternative and complementary medicine than before. All students demonstrated average or better abilities. Practical exercises and treatment experiences during the course were felt to contribute particularly towards improvements.

Conclusions

The elective in TCIM increased the motivation of students to continue to study and receive teaching in this field. The course was evaluated by the majority of students as good or very good. Negative comments included the lack of structure to the seminars and the final examination.

Take-home messages

A good understanding can be achieved, as well as increased motivation of students in the field of TCIM. This was developed particularly through experiencing the practical exercises and treatment participation.