Non-white med students reject their culture's CAM.

I found this article in Science Daily on an international study designed to measure med students' attitudes toward Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). The study found that Non-white medical students were more likely to embrace evidence-based medicine and to reject therapies traditionally associated with their native culture.

This may be a broad generalization but it seems to me that many people in this country find other cultures intriguing and fascinating, but not for the sake of learning about other people - for the sake of showing the people around us how cultured they are, compared to them. They eat "ethnic" food, get Kanji tattoos, love watching Japanese anime and proving to other people just how cultured and sophisticated they are. They think it's funny when other people don't understand when they insert random French phrases into their conversations or call their friends "Baka". appriciating other cultures is one thing, but flaunting your knowledge of another culture to prove that you are more sophisticated than someone else is pretty juvanile.

I was, admittedly, guilty of this kind of thing when I was in high school. I wanted to show off how in tune I was with other cultures. I went to global grocery stores and bought snacks with no English on the label, I ate my crappy school lunch with chopsticks. I wanted people to know I was sophisticated and different - you know, the whole teenage identity crisis thing.

I thought alternative medicine was cool because it was mysterious and ancient. It was a good part of the allure, and I hear that sentiment echoed among alternative medicine practioners and consumers alike - so much so that any given alt-med is often advertized as being an ancient Indian remedy or developed in Japan, complete with ethnic packaging. Your friends will think you are so cultured when they see a tub of cream on your sink counter with indian writing all over it, won't they?

My guess is that non-white students reject their own culture's CAM because it's commonplace to them. It lacks the air of mystery and mysticism which sems to be a large part of the appeal.

Of course, this brings up another question. Study after study shows that CAM is no more effective than a placebo, yet people still turn to alternative medicine. Why? As more and more people seek out Alternative medicine rather than evidence-based medicine, one has to wonder if it is because evidence-based medicine is failing to meet their needs.

There is one rather obvious difference between the relationship between clients and alt-med practitioners or doctors. Doctors usually are found in the disinfectant-scented, paper lined confines of an office. A visit to the doctor is decidedly impersonal - you wait your turn to sign in, fill out some papers, sit down to wait, get ushered into a hall to check your wieght by a nurse, get ushered into a patient room by another nurse, wait... get seen by a third nurse, wait... get seen by the doc, who spends much of his time behind paperwork, clearly anxious to see the next person. Western medicine is known for being impersonal, technological, and sterile.

Alt-med practitioners, however, are often very different. Rooms are filled with crystals, aura charts, incense,  throw rugs and pillows. Alt-med practitioners are on the whole a lot more personable. They don't pass you on to someone else, and they appear generally concerned for you. they want to know how your life is going and aren't just asking to fill the silence while they write out your prescription. There is also often less of a power-discrepancy between alt-med practitioners and the client. Western medicine isn't very empowering to the patient.

Alt med also offers hope for a cure, even if that hope is a false one. When western medicine tells you that there is no cure for autism, you might be likely to visit someone who does offer a cure - especially in a society where failing to do "everything you can" is a sign of weakness and failure.