Hi, Margaret, I will try to track down the conversation. It was a
couple months ago, and I'm having trouble remembering enough details
to find which article it was. If I can find it, I'll share!
- Patricia
On Sat, Sep 22, 2012 at 7:14 AM, <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Patricia and Kamlesh
>
> Very many thanks for your stimulating and detailed contributions. May I
> check, please, if when referring to what is or is not taught within
> particular programs, each of you are referring to teaching within the
> context of undergraduate medicine? My understanding is that in the UK,
> students require to take course of further study to become proficient in the
> theory of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and to be permitted
> to practise CAM within the NHS. Also, Patricia, I would be interested to
> receive reference details from you of the article you mention in your first
> paragraph.
>
> Many thanks
>
> Best wishes
>
> Margaret
>
> ________________________________
> From: Patricia Anderson <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Friday, 21 September 2012, 22:18
>
> Subject: Re: Complimentary Medicine - Absence of proof is not proof of
> absence
>
> I must agree with Kamlesh on this. A few months ago someone who
> purports to be a proponent of evidence-based research in healthcare
> jumped all over me for posting a link to an article about a CAM
> methodology. The article was peer-reviewed and a randomized controlled
> clinical trial. I reviewed the methodology myself and found it sound,
> likewise the sample size and analysis seemed appropriate, and findings
> were conservatively presented. His argument against the article was
> the journal in which it was published, which was automatically "bad"
> because the journal often published CAM articles. We learn nothing
> from that sort of argument, which will persuade no one except those
> who have already made up their mind.
>
> It is incredibly difficult to prove a negative, to prove that
> something is NOT true. With evidence-based research, as I was told
> over and over by my mentor in EBHC, the most you can ever say to
> approach a negative is that there is insufficient evidence. You cannot
> say the approach or methodology are false or don't work; but you can
> say that there is not enough evidence to say it is true. There are
> innumerable examples of past science saying something is false, and
> then later we thought up some clever approach that opened the door to
> new understanding. Closing that door simply means you've given up, not
> that there is nothing there to learn. I strongly emphasize this when
> I am teaching on this subject.
>
> We support a program here on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
> (CAM). A few of the publicly available resources we recommend for them
> are CIMER, About Herbs, and NCCAM, each of which includes evidence
> based information in their overviews.
>
> CIMER (Complementary/Integrative Medicine Education Resources)
> <http://www.mdanderson.org/education-and-research/resources-for-professionals/clinical-tools-and-resources/cimer/index.html>
>
> MSKCC: About Herbs (About Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products)
> <http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/about-herbs-botanicals-other-products>
>
> National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
> <http://nccam.nih.gov>
> NCCAM Health Info: <http://nccam.nih.gov/health>
>
> MedlinePlus also makes available a subset of Natural Standard, a
> commercially available database on the topic. Our institution pays for
> full access, so we don't often recommend it to our students, however,
> this is very helpful for the general public, since the information is
> so thoroughly vetted.
>
> MedlinePlus: Herbs and Supplements
> <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/herb_All.html>
>
> I would also recommend the following resources.
>
> NOAH: Evidence-based CAM
> <http://www.noah-health.org/en/alternative/resources/ecam.html>
>
> Oxford Press: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (eCAM)
> <http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/ecam/for_authors/scope.html>
>
> Sage Publications: Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary &
> Alternative Medicine (JEBCAM) (formerly Complementary Health Practice
> Review)
> <http://chp.sagepub.com>
>
> University of Washington: LibGuide: Evidence-based Complementary and
> Alternative Medicine (CAM)
> <http://libguides.hsl.washington.edu/cam>
>
>
> - Patricia
>
> On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 4:19 PM, Kamlesh Bhargava <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>> Dear List members,
>>
>> At the outset must admit that we do not teach complimentary medicine to
>> our
>> undergraduates.
>>
>> In fact the terms have graduated from "Alternative medicine" to
>> "Complimentary Medicine" to "Integrative Medicine" and soon we will have
>> more of "Epigenetics" which to an extent covers the biopsychosocial
>> aspects.
>>
>> Whatever we may say or do, our patients do believe in other forms of
>> treatment, spend out of their pockets. So we should know more about it.
>>
>> I a interested in Evidence based Integrative Medicine and would like to
>> collaborate with people interested in this feild.
>>
>> As a begining our postgraduates in Family Medicine whenever they come
>> accross a patient who is taking "Complimentary medicine" we ask them to
>> search for the evidence and are surprised to see published evidence.
>>
>> Where to begin with there are 2 books which have incorporated evidence
>>
>> Integrative Medicine by David Rakel
>> Oxford Handbook of Complimentary Medicine by Edward Ernst et Al
>>
>> Finally as they say "The mind is like a parachute it works best when open"
>> so also we need to consider factors like "Expectations of patients" and
>> "Experience of doctors/patients" not only "Evidence" because the The
>> absence
>> of proof is not the proof of absence (Prof. Kameshwar Prasad loves this
>> quote and gives the example of OJ Simson trial)
>>
>> Best wishes.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 19, 2012 at 1:43 AM, Margaret MacDougall <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear list members
>>>
>>> As a non-clinician, I would like to improve my understanding of current
>>> perspectives in different countries on the teaching of the principles and
>>> practise of complementary medicine to undergraduate medical students. Do
>>> perspectives vary across countries and are their instances where such
>>> teaching is taboo?
>>>
>>> Best wishes
>>>
>>> Margaret
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dr. Kamlesh Bhargava FRCGP [INT]
>> Senior Consultant
>> Dept. of Family Medicine & Public Health
>> College of Medicine
>> Sultan Qaboos University
>>
>> Program Director
>> Family Medicine Residency Training Program
>> Oman Medical Specialties Board
>> Oman
>>
>> Office +968 2414158/24147208
>> Mobile +968 99369015
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Patricia Anderson, [log in to unmask]
> Emerging Technologies Librarian
> University of Michigan
> http://www.lib.umich.edu/users/pfa
>
>
--
Patricia Anderson, [log in to unmask]
Emerging Technologies Librarian
University of Michigan
http://www.lib.umich.edu/users/pfa
|