AMEE Berlin 2002 Programme

5M3 Impact of a short interactive
curriculum on medical students’
appreciation of EBM and CAM
Samuel N Forjuoh*, Robert A Henry, Terry G Rascoe,
Barb Symm and Janine C Edwards
Department of Family & Community Medicine, Scott & White
Memorial Hospital, Texas A & M University, System Health
Science Center, College of Medicine, Scott & White Santa Fe
Center, Temple, TX 76504, USA
To evaluate the impact of a short, interactive curriculum
on students’ appreciation of evidence-based medicine
(EBM) and complementary/alternative medicine
(CAM), a one-page anonymous questionnaire was
distributed to all third-year students during their sixweek
family medicine clerkship before/after a new
curriculum, comprising interactive sessions on
principles of epidemiology, biostatistics, EBM/CAM.
The majority reported that the new instruction in
epidemiology (83%), biostatistics (88%), EBM (95%),
and CAM (100%) would help their future work. Even
though the increase in their mean response on
appropriateness of integrating EBM/CAM from 3.79
to 4.05 on a 5-point Likert scale was not statistically
significant (p=.095), significant changes were reported
in the areas of “critiquing the medical literature”
(p=.030) and “appraising a clinical trial” (p