Gender differences among medical students in attitudes to learning about complementary and alternative medicine

OBJECTIVES: To explore gender differences in attitudes to CAM among Year 1, 2 and 3 medical students. DESIGN: Survey; seven-item self-administered questionnaire. SETTING: Plenary lectures at the start of semester 2 of the academic year at the University of Birmingham Medical School. RESULTS: 35.6% of 662 students were male and 64.4% female. Females were more likely than males to feel CAM has an important role in healthcare (p < 0.001). This difference increased through the medical course (p < 0.05). Females gave a more positive rating than males to the use of five therapies in healthcare (p < 001). Females were more positive than males about learning the theory (p < 0.001) and practice (p < 0.001) of CAM and a greater amount of CAM curriculum time (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: If CAM teaching is optional females may be more likely to choose it. An unexpected consequence of more women than men entering medical school may be a positive impact on the development of integrated medicine.