General Is writing about herbal medicine a risky topic for a secondary?

[LizzyM]

I'm prewriting some secondaries right now, and a common prompt is "how you add diversity to med school and medical community." My mom studied traditional chinese medicine in college and TCM/acupuncture was a large part of my childhood growing up. I also took some classes on ayurveda/TCM at a community college out of personal curiosity, and these appear on my transcript. I want to make it clear that I don't necessarily support the use of traditional modalities, but cultural sensitivity is vital to prevent alienating patients and make sure they disclose everything they are taking/feel comfortable discussing all aspects of their health. Even after moving to a southern state and scribing for a PCP, there were so many patients interested in herbs as well. What is the general consensus on topics of this sort?

You can say that you grew up in a community where Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture were widely practiced and this was a large part of your childhood. You can also say that through this experience, and with the patients you've seen as a scribe, you have become increasingly aware of many patients' interest in herbs and other treatments outside of mainstream medicine and you recognize the importance of being familiar with the products and practices that patients may be using and non-judgmental in taking their histories so that they do not conceal information that is important in making a diagnosis or managing their ongoing care.

For your own edification, you may want to learn more about the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine NCCIH It has an annual budget appropriation from Congress of over $120 million per year for the past 14 years.

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