Benjamin P, Phillips R, Warren D, Salveson C, Hammerschlag R, Snider P.

Outcomes of a delphi survey process to develop educational priorities: a report on results.

Academic Consortium For Complementary and Alternative Health Care, 1044 NE 188th St, Seattle, WA 98155. plsnider@comcast.net

PURPOSE: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) educators respond to the proposed set of guidelines for medical school curricula in Integrative Medicine (IM) published in Academic Medicine in June 2004.

METHODS: Representatives from the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC) and the Oregon Collaborative for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (OCCIM) participated in a modified Delphi survey process of consultation and deliberation, and agreed upon important points to include in a response to the integrative medicine (IM) curriculum proposal.

RESULTS: Although many shared values were recognized in the proposed IM core competencies, five key areas of concern emerged: 1) the definition of IM as presented in the article, 2) lack of clarity about the goals of the proposed IM curriculum, 3) lack of recognition of the breadth of whole systems of health care, 4) omission of competencies related to collaboration between MDs and CAM professionals in patient care, 5) omission of potential areas of partnership in IM education. A major overall theme emerging from the Delphi process was a desire for closer collaboration between conventional medical schools and CAM academic institutions in developing IM curricula.

CONCLUSIONS: A discussion of recent NCCAM and IOM reports reinforces several of the Task Force concerns about the need for collaboration in developing IM to promote health care pluralism and minimize the risk of cooptation. Several cross-disciplinary venues for addressing Delphi themes include NCCAM's R-25 initiatives, and the National Education Dialogue (NED). OCCIM is presented as an example of a successful lateral integration approach.

 

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