An Approach to Teaching Dermatologists About Complementary Medicine

Abstract

Objectives:

There is increasing evidence for the extensive use of complementary and alternative medicine(CAM) among patients with dermatologic ailments amid a scarcity of information about teaching health providers on how to engage with patients who use CAM or request information about it. An approach to educating dermatologists and nurses about CAM is described in this paper.

Design:

A course on CAM and dermatology was offered to 17 dermatologists and nurses at a dermatology department in a university hospital in Israel. The course objective was to expose participants to common methods in CAM, emphasizing the role of an evidence-based approach and patient–doctor communication relating to CAM.

Results:

Course evaluation revealed that participants acknowledged the existence of evidence-based research as an important consideration before referring their patients to CAM.

Conclusions:

Teaching CAM to dermatologists and nurses using evidence-based medicine and a patient-centered approach could enable them to provide informed and balanced advice to their patients.