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Alternative Medicine Senior Elective

Department of Pharmacology
Creighton University School of Medicine

Course: PHR 461 Integrative and Alternative Medicine

Director: William B. Jeffries, Ph.D
Contact Person: William B. Jeffries, Ph.D.
Email: wbjeff@creighton.edu
Length of Course:  4 Weeks
Maximum Students Allowed per Rotation: 5

Course Description: 

This Senior Elective is a critical survey of commonly employed complementary and alternative therapies. In didactic and case discussions the scientific foundations of allopathic medicine will first be explored, then compared and contrasted with several popular "integrative" or "alternative" medical systems.  Additional emphasis will be placed on the pharmacology and uses of herbal medicines.  Students will also gain first-hand experience in alternative medical theories and practice by "shadowing" clinical alternative medicine practitioners.  Finally, each student will perform library research and author a web-based critical review article on a selected aspect of alternative medicine.  This review will become part of the Creighton Alternative Medicine Web Site.  

Course Faculty

Learning Objectives:

1.  Define the characteristics of all complementary and alternative therapies, comparing and contrasting them with conventional therapies. 
2.  Discuss criteria required for the critical evaluation of the effectiveness of any therapy. 
3.  Describe the philosophical and (where applicable) scientific principles of chiropractic, reflexology, homeopathy, acupuncture, naturopathy, herbalism, traditional Indian medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, therapeutic touch, massage therapies, purgative therapies, chelation therapy, mind-body medicine and other alternative treatment modalities.  
4. Discuss the pharmacological properties and intended uses of commonly used herbal medicines.  
5. Identify the influence of common alternative therapies on the outcome of routine physical examination and laboratory diagnostic tests. 
6. Research a specific area of integrative or alternative medicine and produce critical review material that will serve as a resource for physicians and patients. 

 Evaluative Technique: 

1. The faculty will complete an evaluation report on the performance of the student in case and didactic presentations and the research project. 
2.  Each student will research and produce a critical evaluation of a specific alternative therapy, which will be graded for credit and published on the Creighton Alternative Medicine Web Site as a resource for physicians and patients. 
3.  An honors grade will be given for a student who demonstrates a superior performance on each aspect of the course. 

 Schedule weeks 1-4: 

 
Monday  Tuesday  Wednesday  Thursday  Friday
8:30-9:20 AM Lecture  Lecture  Clinical Shadowing Lecture  Clinical Shadowing/ Research Project
9:30-11:30 AM Research Project Case Discussions Research Project Case Discussions Clinical Shadowing 
12:30-4:30 AM Research Project Research Project Research Project Research Project  Clinical Shadowing 
  
Maintained by   William B. Jeffries, Ph.D 
Email:   (wbjeff@creighton.edu) 

Last Update: July 05, 2006