Natural Remedies and Complementary Medicine, 7.5 credits

90 credits within health care or pharmacy. And proficiency in Swedish and English equivalent to Swedish B/Swedish 3 and English A/English 6.

On completion of the course, the student should be able to account for the most commonly used forms of complementary medicine, their research and regulatory status, and to respond professionally to the large proportion of patients who use, or have questions about, these methods. After completing the course, the student should be able to describe and problematize the use of complementary medicine methods from a national, international and cultural perspective.

The student must be able to:

- Describe the most common complementary medicine methods including herbal medicines, mindfulness, yoga, massage and acupuncture as well as areas of use, regulatory conditions and underlying theories.

- Critically review scientific evidence regarding effectiveness, safety (incl. quality problems and interactions) and mechanisms of action for herbal medicines and complementary medicine methods.

- Compare the importance of different types of scientific studies in the field in relation to the concept of evidence-based care.

- Problematize the use of complementary medicine methods incl. herbal medicines from a national and international perspective and in relation to culture and gender.
 

The course focuses on the most commonly used forms of complementary medicine methods such as herbal medicines, mindfulness, yoga, massage and acupuncture incl. mechanisms of action, clinical research and legal aspects. Emphasis is also placed on knowledge about the placebo mechanism and interactions between herbal medicines and other medicines.

The students are trained to search for and evaluate scientific studies in the field, to relate to national and international directives and, based on this, to respond to patients' questions.

To support learning during the course, the following teacher-led/teacher-supported resources are provided: Lectures, on-site and online, as well as in discussion forums via the learning platform. Non-teacher-led studies take the form of self-study, reflection, quizzes, individual assignments with peer assessment and reading.

Written individual work. A student who is not approved after the regular test session has the right to participate in five additional test sessions.

In the event of special circumstances, or if a student with a disability is in need of certain adjustments, the examiner may decide to depart from the syllabus regulations on examination form, number of examination opportunities, possibility of completion or exemption from compulsory educational elements, etc. Content and intended learning outcomes as well as the level of expected skills, knowledge and abilities must not be altered, removed or lowered.

Examination will be provided during a period of two years after a possible shut-down of the course. Examination can be carried out according to an earlier literature list during a period of one year after the date of a renewal of the literature list.

Access to the internet and basic computer skills are required as a large part of the course is given via an online learning platform. The course participants will receive an introduction to using the learning platform in connection with the start of the course.

The course evaluation is carried out according to the guidelines established by the Board of Education.

Teaching language: Swedish. Teaching in English may occur.