A–Z of Complementary Medicine and Alternative Medicine. A Guide for Health Professionals

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This is a quick reference guide that considers a myriad of complementary and alternative therapies (CAMs). Therapies covered range from the more well-known acupuncture and herbal therapy, to the less well recognised, animal assisted therapies. The book is intended for all health care professionals, and briefly ascertains what the intervention is, what it does, if there are any contraindications, precautions and interactions.

This book is enlightening and contemporary, and the biography clearly demonstrates the extensive experience of both authors. Although it is intended to be a quick reference guide Mantle and Tiran (2009) also offer fascinating accounts of the historical origins of some of the therapies described in the book.

Each chapter is written in a user friendly way as entries are grouped under therapies in alphabetical order, with sub-sections covering the individual therapies in each category. It is helpful that these are also in alphabetical order. As well as providing a bibliography for each therapy there are also numerous sources of additional information such as web links.

Although the contents page offers a detailed breakdown of some of the therapies to be explored in the book there are some exceptions. This may be due to some of the entries, such as Herbal remedies, having extensive lists of subcategories. In addition, it is unclear as to which sub-section some remedies have been categorised under. For example, Reiki is categorised under ‘Traditional systems of medicine’ yet a person unfamiliar to that term would not easily identify this. There is no other way of identifying this unless you look through the whole of the book. As such an index would be a welcome addition for easy access to some of the therapies.

All health care professionals are the intended audience for this book and as such there is little in the way of nursing focus. Student nurses need to be mindful that although a bibliography is provided for each sub-category, the evidence is not appraised and so it is up to the student to ascertain the quality of the evidence in the bibliography. By its very nature the book does not provide a critical appraisal of the evidence supporting the use of complementary therapies and this is clearly indicated by the authors.

I do not think it gives the details necessary for pre-registration nursing students and lecturer use. However, this guide has the potential to be a useful source of information for anyone who displays an interest in CAMs. Although the authors’ intentions for the book are clearly stated and in the main delivered I think that nurses require a text clearly aimed at them as they are the primary administrators of medicines and treatments. As such they need a more comprehensive resource and not merely a quick reference guide.

Nurses need to remain mindful of their accountability. Given that nurses must adhere to their NMC Code and standards for medicine management, local policies and guidelines, there is a need to provide a text specifically for the nursing profession.