Is input on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) necessary in our medical curriculum? A perspective from a survey on medical practitioners

A cross-sectional study was carried out through a postal survey of a random sample of registered medical practitioners in Malaysia to explore the pursuit and practice of CAM among them. A response rate of 42% was acquired. 27.1% of the medical practitioners are currently using CAM on themselves or their own families and 22.2% actually have referred patients to CAM practitioners. Analysis showed that only 14.9% of the medical practitioners who responded were exposed to CAM during their undergraduate days. Out of 28 respondents graduated from USM, 15 (53.6%) were exposed while out of the 80 graduates of UM, only 6 (7.5%) were exposed and out of 58 respondents graduates of UKM, only 5 (8.6%) were exposed to CAM during their undergraduate teaching. These differences are statistically different (p < 0.001). Analysis also showed that more (72.6%) medical practitioners are for having training in CAM during the medical undergraduate studies. Only 9.1% of the respondents have attended any training in CAM post graduation and 36.8% would like further training on CAM postgraduate and would pay for it. The findings illustrate the need for training in CAM in medical undergraduate education especially in this new age where alternative therapy is in demand by the consumers.