Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) offers important but under-exploited adjuncts to conventional health care, yet conventional health science professions schools such as nursing give insufficient attention to CAM. Thus, the primary purpose of this proposal is to enhance the integration of information about CAM therapies into UW health sciences curricula.
The specific aims are as follows: 1) In collaboration with Bastyr University (BU), design and implement education offerings to develop nursing faculty capacity to value and integrate CAM content into the nursing curricula. 2) Integrate CAM content into required undergraduate and graduate nursing didactic and clinical courses (including nurse practitioner and nurse midwifery programs). 3) Modify Masters and doctoral Research Methods courses to include CAM exemplars. 4) Develop and implement an evaluation program to determine the success of the CAM content in terms of faculty and student valuing, knowing, and implementing knowledge of CAM therapies in classroom, clinical, and research endeavors. 5) Establish structures and community linkages to enhance CAM products as follows: a) CAM-Advisory Committee (UW & BU faculty; CAM practitioners; group will develop, implement, evaluate curriculum, evaluation program effectiveness); b) Cultural Content Expert Panel (UW faculty with cultural expertise; group will ensure that CAM content is culturally relevant); c) External Consultants (CAM faculty from other Schools of Nursing; will critique and advise group); d) CAM Clinical Preceptors (CAM practitioners; will provide clinical opportunities); 6) Work with the Center for Health Sciences Interprofessional Education to design, implement, and evaluate elective CAM courses for health sciences students and practicing professionals as well as continuing education programs via traditional and web-based formats.
| Booth-Laforce, Cathryn; Scott, Craig S; Heitkemper, Margaret M et al. (2010) Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) attitudes and competencies of nursing students and faculty: results of integrating CAM into the nursing curriculum. J Prof Nurs 26:293-300 |
| Cornman, B Jane; Carr, Catherine A; Heitkemper, Margaret M (2006) Integrating CAM into nursing curricula: CAM camp as an educational intervention. Explore (NY) 2:226-31 |
