ABSTRACT
The term ‘complementary medicine’ is worth reflecting upon. A complement is something that is different, yet integral, to that which it complements. The modalities of complementary medicine have provided a useful lens to identify some of those shortfalls and a mirror to reflect differing perspectives that may, in time, help restore balance to the healing project. Biomedicine has long cleaved to the view that scientific method is the best way of gaining knowledge about the body and its workings. The science of clinical validation has been brought to its highest pitch through the randomised controlled trial (RCT). This method of clinical evaluation was formally incorporated into the methods of biomedicine in the 1940s. It represents the ultimate standard for determining with certainty whether a specific medical intervention alters the natural progression of a given condition or disease entity. The University of Arizona College of Medicine has, since 1975, incorporated elements of complementary medicine into its undergraduate medical program.
