Young doctors' views on alternative medicine

Abstract

A survey was undertaken to explore attitudes to alternative medicine among 100 general practitioner trainees. A positive attitude emerged from the 86 respondents, with 18 doctors using at least one alternative method themselves and 70 wanting to train in one or more. A total of 31 trainees had referred patients for such treatments; 12 of these doctors made referrals to non-medically qualified practitioners. The most commonly used alternative treatments were hypnosis, manipulation, homoeopathy, and acupuncture. A total of 22 doctors had been treated, or had treated themselves, by an alternative treatment, and this personal experience was linked to a greater professional use. These findings indicate that alternative methods of treatment are currently being used to complement orthodox medicine and an expansion in their use appears imminent.