Perspectives on complementary and alternative medicine
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| 3 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
Why are the issues surrounding complementary and alternative approaches to health so controversial? This course will appeal to professionals and practitioners from all areas of health and social care, and to anyone with a personal interest. It will equip you with the information and analytical frameworks to debate current key questions:
- what do people want from health services?
- how can complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) be integrated into mainstream provision, and are there benefits in doing so?
- how do factors like knowledge, training and regulation relate to safety and standards of CAM?
- is there any evidence of CAM’s effectiveness?
Course content
This exciting course is divided into five blocks. The first block of work looks at the political, historical, ethical and legal contexts of CAMs. The next block examines who uses CAM and how and why the therapeutic relationship is perceived as important. Next the social, political, cultural and economic factors that influence the provision of CAMs are explored. How knowledge, training, regulation and professionalisation work to establish credibility and accessibility are then considered. Ensuring safety and standards is a critical issue for all. Finally the last block evaluates the evidence underpinning CAM practices.
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:
- select relevant information from a wide range of sources (including electronic data), and apply it to theoretical and practical situations
- review, evaluate and critically compare research findings examining efficacy and effectiveness of CAM and orthodox healing practices
- reflect upon and critically evaluate personal experiences of health in relation to CAM
- understand your role in a multi-professional context and practise critical self-reflection.
A variety of media are used to teach and learn about these issues, including CD-ROM, the web and published research and analytical texts. Throughout the course you’ll have opportunities to examine your own attitudes to health and health care, including any involvement with complementary and alternative forms of care. The course will stimulate lively debates about this controversial and topical subject area.
Entry
You are not required to have done any study before in the area, but this is a Level 2 course. Our Level 1 course An introduction to health and social care (K101) (or the discontinued courses K100 or KZX100) would be ideal preparation. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service. Advisers can also tell you about materials that can help you to gain confidence and study skills before you start the course.
Preparatory work
You will receive guidance of how to get started online in your first course mailing. This will provide you with information on using your computer for OU study and working with the Computing Guide. For example, it explains how to access and use your course website and online discussion forums. If you have time before the course starts, you can work through this and explore all the online services available to you.
Qualifications
K221 is an optional course in our
- BA/BSc (Honours) Health Studies (B17)
- BA/BSc (Honours) Health and Social Care (B18)
- BA/BSc (Honours) Nursing Studies (B47)
- BSc (Honours) Nursing Practice (B53)
- Diploma of Higher Education in Health and Social Care (E40)
- Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care (G05)
- Diploma in Health and Social Care (D10) (until 31 December 2006 this was awarded as Diploma in Health and Social Welfare)
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change. This course will be mapped against the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Large print versions of the course materials can be provided on request. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials and CD-ROM (with video and audio clips).
You will also have access to a course website through which teaching and library resources are available. Electronic versions of most of the printed course materials are provided on the course website.
You will need
A DVD player.
The audio-visual components of this course are delivered on a DVD that will play on a standard DVD player and television. If you want to view this on a computer, it will need a DVD-ROM drive and software for viewing DVDs.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you can use an Apple Mac or Linux computer if you can run Windows using Boot Camp or similar.
Materials to buy
Set books
- Lee-Treweek, G, Heller, Spurr, S, McQueen, H & Katz, J (eds) Perspectives on Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Reader, Routledge £25.99 - ISBN 9780415351591
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. Part of your tuition is delivered online so some of the contact with your tutor will be through email and online discussion forums, although phone communication may also be used. You are encouraged to take part in online tutor group forum discussion and to attend face-to-face tutorials. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
The end-of-course assessment (ECA) is a project that takes the place of an examination. Assessment is an essential part of the teaching, so you are expected to complete it all. But if you unavoidably miss or do badly in an assignment some courses allow you a ‘substitution score’. You will be given more detailed information when you begin the course.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2010. We expect it to be available at the same time once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care and Science.
Study explained
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- Financial support
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- Study explained
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Student Reviews
Thoroughly enjoyed this course, it gave a very interesting insight into CAM that would appeal to many. What I particularly ...
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My favorite course to date. A great course for anyone interested in CAM. ...
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