[Between metaphor and certainty: teaching an introductory course in complementary medicine]

In recent years it has been recognized that it is increasingly important to teach complementary medicine (CAM) in medical schools, residency programs and CME courses. We report our experience in teaching an elective introductory course in CAM to residents and specialists in the department of family medicine in the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, Haifa, Israel. Teaching four modules in CAM (herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy and nutritional medicine) during a 16-session course induced a positive change in the students attitude toward CAM and increased their interest in evidence-based CAM. In addition, the students increased their use of CAM for both themselves and their families, decreased their overall tendency to refer patients to CAM practitioners but increased their actual referral rate for patients who were considered to benefit from complementary treatment. The majority of the course participants considered teaching physicians CAM to be of great importance.