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The American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a new policy in June that encourages medical students and physicians to increase their knowledge of the benefits, risks, and efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).1 Resolution 306, which resulted in this policy, was approved by the AMA’s House of Delegates (HOD)1 after amending the stronger language originally recommended by the resolution’s sponsors.2
The final language of the policy, as adopted by AMA, reads as follows: “Resolved, that our American Medical Association promote awareness among medical students and physicians of the wide use of complementary and alternative medicine, including its benefits, risks, and evidence of efficacy or lack thereof.”1 Reasons for implementing such a policy, as cited in the resolution, include the widespread use of CAM therapies in the United States, a reported general lack of knowledge regarding CAM treatments among physicians, and the limited education opportunities for medical students concerning CAM therapies.
Resolution 306 was submitted by AMA’s Medical Student Section in May for the organization’s June HOD meeting. The original language of the resolution, as proposed by its sponsors, was “Resolved, that our American Medical Association support the incorporation of complementary and alternative medicine in medical education as well as continuing medical education curricula, covering CAM’s benefits, risks, and efficacy.”2
John Weeks, editor and publisher of the Integrator Blog, wrote in his online forum that AMA’s new policy gives a more favorable impression of CAM therapies than previous AMA resolutions, particularly in that it acknowledges potential benefits of CAM treatments.3 However, he lamented the abridgement of the resolution’s language. “That the House deliberately removed reference to the parties and venues which would be responsible for fulfilling on Resolution #306-those responsible for medical education and for CME (continuing medical education)-leaves the Resolution floating in space. It is indeed a ‘sentiment,’ not quite even an intention. The HOD removed the reference to ‘incorporation,’ and to ‘curricula’-education’s skeletal system-as though to protect the body of medicine from CAM infection,” he wrote.3 Weeks’ blog entry on AMA’s Resolution 306 is available at http://theintegratorblog.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=119&Itemid=173.
-Courtney Cavaliere
References
1. Resolution 306-increasing awareness of the benefits and risks associated with complementary and alternative medicine. A-06 Final Reports and Resolutions page. American Medical Association Web site. Available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/377/a06res6.doc. Accessed August 18, 2006.
2. Reference Committee C: Medical Education. American Medical Association Web site. Available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/17/a06refcfinal.pdf. Accessed August 23, 2006.
3. Weeks J. AMA resolution urges that MDs/students receive info CAM benefits and risks. The Integrator Blog. Available at: http://theintegratorblog.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=119&Itemid=173. Accessed August 16, 2006.
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