Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Nursing Education: Trends and Issues

In: OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, Volume 6, Issue 2

Abstract

Nurse educators are considering the inclusion of complementary and alternative therapies in nursing curricula with increasing frequency, motivated at least in part by the ever-increasing public enthusiasm for these therapies. This article addresses the differing paradigms between orthodox Western medicine and complementary and alternative therapies, describing the research, language, educational, legal , financial, and ethical issues related to the use of complementary and alternative therapies. Additionally, it presents sources of current standards, along with examples of teaching these therapies at the undergraduate, graduate and continuing education levels and suggests strategies for teaching these therapies.