Learning activities to enhance research literacy in a CAM college curriculum.
As complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies become increasingly accepted healthcare options, it is of major importance for CAM institutions to enhance research literacy and an evidence-based perspective in their curricula. A research education program for students and faculty at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM), developed in collaboration with the Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, has been supported by an R25 award from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). A key initiative of OCOM's grant is the design of learning activities that infuse a research perspective into nonresearch courses in both the traditional Chinese medicine and biomedicine curricula. This approach was pilot-tested in course sequences chosen from each of the 3 years of the master's degree program. Learner-centered activities included Infusing Evidence and Reflection Into Introductory Qigong Classes (Year 1: Qigong), Using Evidence to Inform Acupuncture Point Selection (Year 2: Point Actions and Indications), and Media and Research in Western Clinical Medicine (Year 3: Western Clinical Diagnosis). Among the lessons learned are the need to infuse learning activities into the curriculum in a manner that minimizes interactivity redundancy and reinforces learning, the importance for faculty to communicate to students the rationale for introducing the learning activities, and the value of creating a learning activity design template to guide faculty recognition of essential elements in design and evaluation and to provide sustainable overviews of the learning activities.
Lasater
Kathie
K
Oregon Health & Science University, School of Nursing, Portland, USA.
Salanti
Sonya
S
Fleishman
Susan
S
Coletto
Joseph
J
Jin
Hong
H
Lore
Roger
R
Hammerschlag
Richard
R
D026881:Acupuncture / Q000193:education; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000193:education*; D001945:Breathing Exercises; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000193:education*; D003479:Curriculum; D004500:Education, Graduate; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D009922:Oregon; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014495:Universities