Defining ‘complementary and alternative medicine’

Trethewey, Samuel P., Morlet, Julien, Trethewey, Christopher S. and Reynolds, Emma K.M. 2019. Defining ‘complementary and alternative medicine’. The British Student Doctor Journal 3 (1) , pp. 42-47. 10.18573/bsdj.74

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Abstract

The topic of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is controversial. CAM is a confusing term used to encapsulate a broad range of health-related practices. In this article we explore several CAM practices including homeopathy and manipulation therapies such as osteopathy and chiropractic. We examine the difficulty in understanding the meaning of the term CAM and argue that the term is unhelpful and should be avoided in the education of healthcare professionals. Medical educators should be careful to highlight the heterogeneity of health-related practices in teaching and treat each health-related practice as an individual entity without the need for the umbrella term CAM.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RS Pharmacy and materia medica R Medicine > RV Botanic, Thomsonian, and eclectic medicine R Medicine > RX Homeopathy R Medicine > RZ Other systems of medicine
Publisher:	Cardiff University Press
ISSN:	2514-3174
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 February 2019
Date of Acceptance:	12 November 2018
Last Modified:	03 May 2023 04:44
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/119356

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