What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)? The
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(NCCAM), a component of the National Institutes of Health,
defines CAM as "a group of diverse medical and health care
systems, practices, and products that are not presently
considered to be part of conventional medicine." Alternative
medicine is the use of these modalities instead of conventional
medicine while complementary medicine is the application of
these modalities in conjunction with conventional medicine.
Other synonyms for conventional medicine include allopathic
medicine, Western medicine, orthodox medicine, and biomedicine.
Conventional medicine is practiced by those that have earned
M.D. or D.O. degrees, and by other "allied health professionals"
including registered nurses, physical therapists and
psychologists. NCCAM defines integrative medicine as the
combination of "standard medicine with CAM practices that have
been shown to be effective". For others, integrative medicine is