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Alternative and complementary therapies in nursing curricula.
F C Reed1, A C Pettigrew, M O King
1Doctoral Program, College of Nursing, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
The Journal of Nursing Education
|March 22, 2000
Summary
Nurse educators should integrate complementary and alternative therapies into curricula. Students need to understand these practices and learn to assess patient use for better healthcare outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Integrative Health
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Background:
- Increasing use of complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) by patients and professionals.
- CAT integration into medical education and practice is growing.
- Need for formal recognition and study of CAT in healthcare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a framework for incorporating CAT into nursing curricula.
- To equip nurse educators with strategies for teaching CAT.
- To prepare nurses to address patients' use of CAT.
Main Methods:
- Curriculum integration strategies for different educational levels.
- Focus on foundational principles of healing practices.
- Skill development in patient assessment of CAT use.
Main Results:
- Prelicensure students should learn CAT premises and patient assessment skills.
- Continuing education and electives can offer in-depth study of specific CAT.
- Graduate programs can focus on safety and efficacy research of non-orthodox therapies.
Conclusions:
- Nursing education must adapt to the rise of CAT.
- Standardized approaches are needed to teach CAT effectively.
- Nurses should be prepared to critically evaluate and discuss CAT with patients.