title: An evidence-based course in complementary medicines.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of an evidence-based course in complementary medicines on the attitudes, knowledge, and professional practice behavior of undergraduate pharmacy students.
  
  
  METHODS
  A required 12-week evidence-based complementary medicine course was designed and introduced into the third-year undergraduate pharmacy curriculum. The course included a combination of traditional lectures, interactive tutorial sessions, and a range of formal assessments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pre- and post-course survey instruments were administered to assess changes in students' attitudes, perceptions, knowledge, and the likelihood they would recommend the use of complementary medicines in a pharmacy practice environment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Completion of a required evidence-based complementary medicines course resulted in a positive change in pharmacy students' perceptions of the value of various complementary medicines as well as in their willingness to recommend them, and provided students with the required knowledge to make patient-centered recommendations for use of complementary medicines in a professional pharmacy practice setting. These findings support the need for greater evidence-based complementary medicine education within pharmacy curricula to meet consumer demand and to align with pharmacists' professional responsibilities.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Australia. L.Blott@curtin.edu.au
authors.forename: Liesl
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steenfeldt
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hughes
mesh_terms: D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000193:education*; D003479:Curriculum; D004512:Education, Pharmacy / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D010595:Pharmacists; D013339:Students, Pharmacy