Table 4.
Theme Analysis of Open-Ended Question (19.6% Response Rate - 20 Faculty Responded of 102 that Completed the Survey)
| Theme 1: Research is important to the profession |
| “All clinicians should utilize EBM, clinical and empirical judgment” |
| “All forms of evidence are important in treatment decisions” |
| “I actually agree to the concept of incorporating scientific research into TCM developments” |
| “I am of the view that research is essential to gain inroads into the practice of acupuncture as integrative medicine” |
| “I would be very interested in seeing more basic research in CAM” |
| “Overall I am positive that CAM research is beneficial and important to the profession” |
| “I believe that incorporating research into the curriculum, as well as educating students to enable them to critically evaluate research articles will strengthen the entire profession as well as elevate it in the eyes of traditional allopathic medicine” |
| Theme 2: Biomedical research paradigms are not compatible with Chinese medicine |
| “TCM has a long history and does not need to be “validated” by western research methodologies whose assumptions do not match those of TCM” |
| “The primary obstacle to successful acupuncture research is the demand that studies follow the standard model of theorem, experiment or study, control, and blinding” |
| “Current models of research (i.e., how we are asking the questions) are the major impediment in CAM research” |
| “Research and assessment of Chinese medicine should be done with paradigms and markers common to the medical tradition” |
| “There is no question that assessment of treatment outcomes is important but it must be done in the context of the medical paradigm one is practicing under” |
| Theme 3: Chinese medicine could get co-opted by biomedicine |
| “I do not believe integration is possible, more likely absorption into this corrupt and limited paradigm” |
| “TCM practitioners must work to defend our medicine from those who would seek to limit our scope of practice” |
| “Modern trend of integration is to westernize Chinese medicine” |
| “There is still a danger zone where integration can mean assimilation for us. We also are in danger of having methods co-opted” |
| Theme 4: Research isn't relevant to the practice of Chinese medicine |
| “Research cannot validate our medicine, it is already been validated through centuries of practice” |
| “I think some people will excel as researchers but I do not believe it should be an integral element in Chinese Medicine training” |
| “The medical community ignores classic literature and lends no precedence or validity to ancient scholars who developed the medicine” |
| “I do not think that research outcomes have any significant effect on the actual clinical practice” |
| “Research is value, nonetheless, it is possible to be a strong practitioner without knowledge of research methodology” |