Will collaboration or affiliation between allopathic medical schools and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) accredited schools better incorporate CAM into allopathic medical school curriculum

Over the past 50 years discussion about the health care system in the United States has increased, as has the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or integrative medicine (IM; (Kessler et al., 2001, p. 266). Two large studies (1,539 adults in 1991 and 2,055 in 1997) conducted in the United States on alternative medicine in 1997 found an estimated 4 in 10 Americans used at least one alternative therapy as compared with 3 in 10 in 1990 (David M. Eisenberg et al., 1998, p. 1574). With this high rate of CAM use it is important to educate medical students and current physicians to the positive effects of integrating the Western medical model and alternative medicine models. The purpose of this study is to find if collaborations between allopathic and CAM schools will better incorporate CAM into medical education and clinical care.;The exploratory mixed method of research (qualitative and quantitative) was used and conducted in two phases: Phase 1, using an open-ended questionnaire the researcher conducted an in-depth interview either in-person or by phone. Phase 2 the researcher sent quantitative web-based surveys.;It was found that there is strong interest and commitment to incorporating CAM within medical education through collaborations with accredited CAM schools. The "culture of change" has been slowly working its way through the health care system and innovative forward-thinking leaders within universities, whether deans, faculty or students, have been steadily working to create this change by working to introduce CAM to allopathic schools, their faculty and students, and by discussing ways to incorporate it within medical education, clinical care, and research. From this study it appears that research of CAM applications and modalities will be one of the most progressive and logical ways to bridge the gap between allopathic Western medical philosophies and CAM philosophies.