Traditional Chinese Medicine from Swiss Preclinical Medical Students' Point of View

Background: During the past two decades the demand for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and especially regarding Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has continuously increased in -witzerland and abroad. Among experts representing the fields of research, clinical practice, education and politics it has been discussed whether the further integration of CAM into the existing curriculum would help to prepare future doctors meet the growing needs of their patients. A study was conducted to determine the attitudes, experiences and preconceptions of preclinical medical students regarding TCM as well as to assess their level of interest in making TCM a part of the compulsory curriculum. Materials and Methods: 180 second-year medical students of the University of Bern were asked to participate in the survey by filling in a questionnaire (return rate 73.3%). Results: 3.8% of the respondents perceived the therapeutic benefit of TCM as equivalent to western medicine. The majority of participants, i.e. 76.3%, saw TCM as a complementary treatment. 9.2% attribute TCM to a placebo effect and 10.7% perceive TCM as antiquated. 46.6% of the respondents would welcome an integration of TCM in their compulsory curriculum. Most of the 17.4% of those students who had prior treatment experience with TCM expressed a positive opinion. The majority of those with no treatment experience (76.1%) demonstrated a high degree of openness. 76.5% of the students judged themselves as having very limited prior knowledge of TCM. Conclusion: Despite sparse previous knowledge, second-year medical students show great interest in TCM. We suggest further investigation as to how TCM can be adequately integrated into the existing curriculum.