Time Schedule:
Gail Anderson
MEDCH 525
Seattle Campus
Study of popular alternative and complementary medicines used in the United States. Focus on herbal products with some coverage of homeopathic and other non-nutritional dietary supplements. Demonstration of resources for current objective information on these controversial medicines. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: A
Class description
Students will study popular alternative and complementary medicines used in the United States. The focus is on herbal products and other non-nutritional dietary supplements.
Student learning goals
Efficiently select and use the best electronic and print resources to obtain objective information about the attributes and risks of using specific herbal products and other dietary supplements
Describe the USA regulatory status of herbal products and dietary supplements and be able to advocate for changes that will benefit effective consumer use.
Describe the botanical origin, active ingredients, efficacious uses and risks for the most popularly used herbals in the USA.
Indicate which popular herbals or other dietary supplements have evidence based utility for common human diseases
Evaluate the pre-clinical and clinical evidence provided in the primary literature in the assigned readings, summarized in Natural Standards and presented in the modules.
Use information presented in this course to select the best quality products from the myriad of commercially available herbals and dietary supplements
General method of instruction
Students will proceed through the 15 online subject modules and exams at their own pace,except for the following deadlines. • Exams 1 and 2 must be completed by November 2. • Exams 3 and 4 will stay open until December 7. Overall, the course must be completed by the end of the quarter.
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
Assigned readings: 1. Approximately 1 articles per module 2. Natural Standard Online;available at http://healthlinks.washington.edu/
There will be 4 multiple choice exams worth 100 points self-administered online plus one cumulative final exam. The students must pass the mid-term exams with a 90% passing rate. The students may take the exam as many times as needed to achieve a 90% passing grade. Multiple choice questions will be based on course modules and assigned readings. The final exam will be cumulative, primarily incorporating exam questions from the mid-term exams. The student must achieve a passing grade of 70% on the final exam. The final exam is administered at the UW testing center at Schmidt Hall Room 440. Drop-in testing is available on Wednesdays 9-12 noon or students can schedule an individual appointment at 543-1171. Student ID is required. The fee for the final exam is $20.
