In July 2001, Georgetown University School of Medicine was awarded a five-year R25 education grant from the NIH to support a new educational initiative aimed at incorporating complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), in an evidence-based manner, into the medical school curriculum.  The purpose of the initiative is not to train practitioners of CAM, but rather to increase students’ knowledge and awareness about advances in CAM so that they will understand the role of CAM in healthcare and be capable of discussing these issues with their patients.  Dr. Aviad Haramati, a physiologist, is principal investigator of the grant and is leading a group of educators, researchers and practitioners in this initiative at Georgetown.  The unique approach he is implementing is to introduce CAM material in the required basic science courses, applying scientific rigor to determining what should and should not be presented.

 In this one-hour IAMSE Audio Seminar, Dr. Haramati will discuss the rationale for such a curricular initiative, with specific emphasis on the critical role of basic science.  Examples will be provided for how CAM can be seamlessly integrated into several required basic science courses, and, in the process, how several educational objectives can be achieved.