Abstract
High quality education is essential for the development of competent practitioners in all medical and medically related fields. Healthcare education entails the provision of knowledge in the sciences relevant to medicine and clinical practice, coupled with appropriate practical instruction. The basic education of healthcare professionals must be designed and delivered to ensure that newly qualified practitioners are competent to both practice in their field and be able to properly comprehend and respond to future developments within and intersecting their discipline. Beyond the initial phase of inculcating basic competence, education should be a continuing process that healthcare professionals engage with throughout their professional career.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Although such ‘non-autonomous’ healthcare roles do not absolutely require education in all four elements, in practice the trend in recent times has been towards providing more extensive education for these roles, with the requirement of degree-level qualification becoming commonplace. Notwithstanding the additional costs entailed, and insofar as the four key elements are covered (which is not always the case), such extended education is likely to be of value for those staff who are promoted to senior levels involving an input to clinically relevant decision-making (for example in terms of which diagnostic equipment should be purchased).
- 2.
In practice, there will often be a division of labour, especially in modern mainstream medicine; so the professional who makes the diagnosis (of kidney stones, for instance) may not be the same person who performs the treatment (i.e. the surgeon who removes the kidney stones).
- 3.
Intriguingly, the ARH has a code of ethics which its members evidently disregard. It states that they must “not claim or imply, orally or in writing, to be able to cure any named disease and that they should be aware of the extent and limits of their clinical skills” (ARH 2017).
- 4.
The one exception being Swansea University.
References
Ali A, Calabrese C, Lee R et al (2014) Vaccination attitudes and education in naturopathic medicine students. J Altern Complement Med 20(5):A115–A116
ARH (2017) What is the ARH. Alliance of registered homeopaths. http://www.a-r-h.org/. Accessed 10 Mar 2017
Brokaw JJ, Tunnicliff G, Raess BU et al (2002) The teaching of complementary and alternative medicine in US medical schools: A survey of course directors. Acad Med 77(9):876–881. doi:10.1097/00001888-200209000-00013
CHE-LON (2017) BSc (Hons) homeopathy part time. The Centre for Homeopathic Education. http://uk.chehomeopathy.com/what-we-offer/practitioner-training/uk-homeopathic-courses/. Accessed 16 Mar 2017
Colquhoun D (2007) Science degrees without the science. Nature 446(7134):373–374. doi:10.1038/446373a
Colquhoun D (2017) The last BSc (Hons) homeopathy closes! But look at what they still teach at Westminster University. DC’s improbable science. http://www.dcscience.net/2009/03/30/the-last-bsc-hons-homeopathy-closes-but-look-at-what-they-still-teach-at-westminster-university/. Accessed 16 Mar 2017
Cowen VS, Cyr V (2015) Complementary and alternative medicine in US medical schools. Adv Med Educ Pract 6:113–117. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S69761
Ernst E (2008a) Chiropractic: a critical evaluation. J Pain Symptom Manage 35(5):544–562. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2007.07.004
Ernst E (2008b) Complementary and alternative medicine: what the NHS should be funding? Br J Gen Pract 58(548):208–209. doi:10.3399/bjgp08X279562
Ernst E, Pittler MH, Wider B et al (2008) Oxford handbook of complementary medicine. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Gliedt JA, Hawk C, Anderson M et al (2015) Chiropractic identity, role and future: a survey of North American chiropractic students. Chiropr Man Therap 23(1):4-014-0048-1. eCollection 2015. doi:10.1186/s12998-014-0048-1
Hougham P, Parrott A (2017) Holistic medicine and holistic education. British Acupuncture Accreditation Board. http://baab.co.uk/articles/item/14-holistic-medicine-and-holistic-education.html. Accessed 9 Mar 2017
MacLennan AH, Morrison RGB (2012) Tertiary education institutions should not offer pseudoscientific medical courses. Med J Aust 196(4):225–226. doi:10.5694/mja12.10128
Marcus DM, McCullough L (2009) An evaluation of the evidence in “evidence-based” integrative medicine programs. Acad Med 84(9):1229–1234. doi:10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181b185f4
Sampson W (2001) The need for educational reform in teaching about alternative therapies. Acad Med 76(3):248–250. doi:10.1097/00001888-200103000-00011
School of Homeopathy (2017) A holistic view of health. www.homeopathyschool.com/why-study-with-us/what-is-homeopathy/holistic-view-of-health/. Accessed 12 Mar 2017
Scrutton S (2017) Measles. Why homeopathy? http://s-scrutton.co.uk/Why_Homeopathy/illness-i-m/measles.html. Accessed 10 Mar 2017
Smith KR (2011) Factors influencing the inclusion of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in undergraduate medical education. BMJ Open 1(1):e000074. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000074
UCAS (2017) At the heart of connecting people to higher education. UCAS. https://www.ucas.com/. Accessed 16 Mar 2017
White B (2017) Making evidence-based medicine doable in everyday practice—family practice management. Family Pract Manag. http://www.aafp.org/fpm/2004/0200/p51.html. Accessed 10 Mar 2017
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ernst, E., Smith, K. (2018). Education. In: More Harm than Good?. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69941-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69941-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69940-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69941-7
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)