Survey on the Attitude of Medical, Nursing and Pharmaceutical Students to Oriental Medicine and Medical Hydrology / 日本温泉気候物理医学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

To explore the possibility of incorporating oriental medicine and medical hydrology in the educational programs of medical, nursing and pharmaceutical schools, a questionnaire on the attitude of medical students (group A, N=70; group B, N=77), nursing students (group C, N=64; group D, N=61) and pharmaceutical students (group E, N=172) who had not yet received any practical medical education was circulated. The results showed that about 50% of the students did not recognize the term “medical hydrology, ” and about 10% of them did not recognize the term “oriental medicine.” Seventy-five percent of the group A medical students and 93% of the group B medical students were interested in oriental medicine, and these rates were higher than those who were interested in medical hydrology (49% (67%)). About 50% of the nursing and pharmaceutical students were interested both in oriental medicine and medical hydrology. Eighty-two percent of group A and 86% of group B medical students hoped to attend lectures on oriental medicine, and these rates were higher than those among nursing and pharmaceutical students. Between 49% and 60% of the students of all three groups hoped to attend lectures on medical hydrology. This rate was lower than that of those who hoped to attend lectures on oriental medicine. In general, the rate of those who had a positive image of oriental medicine was higher among medical and pharmaceutical students. However, there were no significant differences in the rates of those who had a positive image of medical hydrology among different groups of students. In all student groups, the rate of those who answered that both oriental medicine and medical hydrology are “relatively effective” was the highest.