Medical students' attitudes about complementary and alternative medicine.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the attitudes about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) of medical students from two different medical schools and at different stages of their medical training (first and third years).


METHODS
Four-group, cross-sectional, self-administered survey study.


METHODS
Three hundred and eleven (311) students from two British medical schools (Newcastle and London).


METHODS
Self-reported knowledge of, attitudes about, and beliefs about CAM.


RESULTS
Third-year students thought CAM overall was less effective than first-year students and also were significantly less interested in training in CAM techniques. The 43 attitude statements factored into six interpretable factors. A medical school x year ANOVA on the factor scores showed many results consistent with the first part of the study. First-year students seemed more eager to be taught CAM than third-year students, and students at Newcastle were more positive about CAM than those at University College London.


CONCLUSIONS
Education at medical school does influence attitudes to CAM. As their orthodox medical training proceeds, medical students seem to increase their skepticism about CAM.
Furnham
Adrian
A
Department of Psychology, University College London, UK. a.furnham@ucl.ac.uk
McGill
Clare
C
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004739:England; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012938:Social Perception; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires