A survey of attitudes to traditional Chinese medicine in Hong Kong pharmacy students

Objectives: To study the attitudes and personal experiences with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) use in pharmacy students. Design: Prospective cross-sectional study. Setting: University School of Pharmacy. Methods: Pharmacy students were asked 17 questions according to an anonymous survey questionnaire. Results: All 91 students (46% mates) participated in the survey. The attitude toward TCM use was positive in 40%, neutral in 59% and negative in only 1%. On scales from 0 to 10, the mean (SD) scores for the adequacy of the current curriculum in TCM training and state of TCM knowledge were 3.2 (2.0) and 3.6 (1.6), respectively. Of the 35 participants who had used TCM in the past year, nearly half did so without any TCM practitioner consultation. Seventy-four percent reported that they had not been told of any side effects of TCM. When comparing the third year with first or second year students, there was no significant difference between any of these findings. Conclusion: The training in TCM within this 3-year pharmacy curriculum appears inadequate. Most students are not aware of any possible side effects in TCM. The attitude and practice do not appear to vary significantly between successive year of pharmacy students. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.