The Economist Asks

Should alternative medicine be taught in medical schools?

You voted: NoCurrent total votes: 24691 （至筆者回文時54% Yes; 46% No）

Alternative therapies have long had powerful supporters. King George VI helped to ensure that homeopathy would be part of Britain’s newly created National Health Service (his grandson, Prince Charles, is also a fan). Royal Copeland, an American senator and homeopath, saw to it that the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 authorised homeopathic products. Sixty years on another senator, Tom Harkin, helped to set up the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the world’s leading medical-research outfit, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which has hitherto received $1.5 billion from taxpayers. In 2009 Mr Harkin said it had “fallen short” (and bemoaned its focus on “disproving things” rather than approving them). There are plenty of similar outfits. The Consortium of Academic Health Centres for Integrative Medicine now has 50 members, some offering master's degrees.

In Britain and Australia, horrified scientists are fighting hard against the teaching of alternative therapies in publicly funded universities and against their provision in mainstream medical care. They have had most success in Britain. Some universities have been shamed into ending alternative courses. The number of homeopathic hospitals in Britain is dwindling. In 2005 the Lancet, a leading medical journal, declared “the end of homeopathy”. In 2010 a parliamentary science committee advised that “the government should not endorse the use of placebo treatments including homeopathy.” So, should alternative medicine be treated on a par with the traditional sort and taught in medical schools? Cast your vote and join the discussion.

Voting opened on Apr 17th 2012

Should alternative medicine be taught in medical schools?

May 21st 2012, 15:14

Any method that can improve the progress of medicine should be introduced into the system of medicine education. Besides, the arrangement of any lessons should abide by rational logic. So far, the so-called alternative medicine lacks of the above two. This “field” is filled with sayings that just talk about nonsense.

I know there are more nations taking the method for “help” of western medicine. Also, there are some problem or tangle of weaker formal medicine education. Nowadays, this method is used to play the “background” role or make a “surroundings” so that the patient can live in a better process of medical cure with care. But, there are some substitute for this help in western medicine. Moreover, using the nonbasic method to say “examples” or support the “contention” is questionable, let alone to say this kind become the mainstream. I adamantly insist that the cause of patient’s recovery be few relation with “alternative medicine”.

In addition to the western medicine, Chinese herbal medicine is another formal medical system. Sometimes, for the purpose of chronic illness or the nutrition of vegetable, herbal medicine has gradual effect of improving body. Recently, a fashion of herbal medicine is hot in Asia. In Taiwan, Chang Gung University, where I stayed once, and China Medical University own herbal medicine of department. And in mainland China, there are numerous colleges teaching this kind. Japan has some successfully relative research and innovative product with advanced biotechnology. Yeah, so many treasure in herbal medicine are still worthy of discovery with gross capital and time. By contrast, talking more about the Economist’s this title is just like Barack Obama talking about the gay-marriage or Bo Xi-lai case, another tedious thing.

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替代療法(alternative medicine)並沒有按照嚴密的科學根據，也沒有作系統性的並列說明疾病到除症狀的定義。他們的說明是偏西方醫學的支持療法用於不能維持生理功能的病患，說病人自己的抵抗力來袪除病原體。替代療法既然無法自成一格為系統性學科，當然也不能提出能在醫學院校上課，連研究都會亂七八糟。其倡議者容易被稽為民粹主義者如同當時美國總統歐巴馬一樣。筆者很擔心世局如同在長庚大學醫學系，在那裡遇到的冒牌教師，某白姓禿頭還搞人文醫學科，一點教養都沒有的流氓拿假學歷框稱德語天才，很救世基督的樣子，實則招搖撞騙，常常陪當時吳姓女學生至聯合報投稿，說致力於鄉土客語看病方式，一樣地令人不齒。至於醫預科主任根本是輔大社會系沒畢業的女角頭一名，系主任黃燦龍被登不只一次蘋果時報頭版指出動不動就索賄劫財劫色。湊個字就說自己很行，整批學生無賴至極，很尖端個頭，從有狗醫師社團成員自己死好、急診醫師問題和宋永魁信妙禪到最近長庚體系根本崩潰，敗壞社會令人髮指。