Suggested curriculum guidelines on complementary and alternative medicine: recommendations of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Group on Alternative Medicine.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The widespread use of alternative and complementary therapies by the public provides a new challenge to medical education. No standardized curriculum is available for medical educators in this field. Providing an adequate background on these therapies and reliable, useful information to our learners was a task addressed by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Group on Alternative Medicine over the past 2 years. METHODS: The group met at conferences and communicated via e-mail to develop a consensus of recommended knowledge, skills, and attitudes in complementary and alternative medicine for incorporation into the family practice residency training curriculum. CONCLUSION: This article suggests guidelines as developed by this STFM group to assist programs wishing to include formal training in complementary and alternative medicine in residency training.

Teaching outpatient procedures: most common settings, evaluation methods, and training barriers in family practice residencies.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The processes of teaching outpatient procedures in the training of primary care physicians have not been widely studied or standardized. This study identified the most widely used teaching settings, methods of evaluation, and barriers to teaching several key procedures in US family practice residencies. METHODS: A survey was sent to directors of family practice residency programs. Key issues identified in phone survey data of published experts in procedural training were used in developing the survey. RESULTS: Of the 464 residency directors contacted, 342 (73.7%) returned completed surveys. Results showed that the family practice center (FPC) was the most common setting for this teaching. Faculty observation was used as a principal evaluation method in most programs for all procedures. Several barriers to training were identified as "very" or "moderately" important. CONCLUSIONS: While the FPC is the most frequently used setting for training in procedures, significant limitations include problems of low volume, limited methods of evaluation, scheduling difficulties, and lack of faculty interest and skill. Several internal and external strategies may be used to alleviate these problems.