Complimentary medicine educators face increasing demand for distance education courses. Advantages and disadvantages of teaching and learning complementary medicine by distance, and strategies for meeting distance education challenges are discussed.

Acupuncture is evaluated from the perspectives of evidence-based medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, clinical casestudies and the practitioner as a healer. Consideration of multiple perspectives is desirable in optimising the integration of thismodality into medicine systems worldwide.

The very existence of acupuncture today could be considered fortunate, considering the oppressions it has endured during the past 120 years. Saks (1995) sees acupuncture in late nineteenth century Western societies being pushed to the brink of extinction by orthodoxmedicine’s rejection of the technique. Fruehauf (1999) describes how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) within China suffered oppression throughout the first half of the twentieth century, initially under the Republican revolt led by Sun Yat-sen in 1911. Legislation to restrict TCM in China in 1929 was only halted due to street protests. Mao Zedong’s admonition of’old doctors’ in 1942 would for the next 25 years serve as the Red Guard’s main license for the persecution of the theory, culture, education and practice of traditional medicine.In Australia, O’Neill (1994) describes a significant breakthrough in TCM’s quest for government recognition of the profession as being linked to the actions of one of its perceived opponents, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC). When the NH&MRCargued against registration of traditional (non-medical) acupuncturists because of concerns that their practice was unsafe, the practitioners themselves proposed that registration would instead address these concerns. The argument had shifted from one of scientifically proving the efficacy of TCM, rendered largely invalid because of the significant proportion of medical practitionerspracticing or recommending acupuncture, to one of public safety. Safe standards became linked with education and training, with both undergraduate education for beginning practitioners and postgraduate training for practicing professionals, wanting to include acupuncture as part of an integrated treatment regime, moving into the universitysector (Easthope 2002).

The new millennium sees people living longer than ever. Demographers tell us that today's young adults can expect to live past 80. Biologists inform us that increasingly older people will live healthier lives. They predict a 'compression of morbidity' that will result in older patients experiencing long, healthy and active lives with short periods of severe disability or debilitating illnesses before death (Fries 1984). The buzz word in the gerontology field these days is 'active life expectancy'. Kart (1997 p105) defines this concept as 'the period of life free of limitations in activities of daily living'. People are asking the question, 'how many years can we expect to enjoy?'Not surprisingly, the emphasis of many health programs and policies, and increasingly more so in the future, is on longevity and quality of life. Scientists argue that lifestyle habits improve the quality of life and may prolong life (National Institute of Aging 1993). A study on centenarians found them to have a positive outlook and sense of optimism (Poon et al. 1992), highlighting the importance of mind and body connections. As Tirrito (2003 p 83) notes health is linked to life satisfaction and well-being and 'people who have good health are happier, have a better sense of well-being, have friends, and tend to be satisfied with life'. This message is increasingly being appreciated by consumers. More and more people are recognising that lifestyle offers one of the greatest paybacks in terms of improving health and quality of life.

Complementary medicine professionals need to be aware of the historical, social and economic context in which the current health care system has evolved, and reflect critically upon their multiple roles within this system. Confident and informed advocacy for the practice of complementary medicine is facilitated by this awareness. This paper briefly identifies some of the key issues relevant to the practice of complementary medicine in a context of biomedical dominance.

Objectives: The study investigates the demographic profile, caseload and treatment for depression provided by homeopathic practitioners in Australia. Design: A postal survey comprising a self-administered questionnaire which included a combination of close-ended and open-ended response categories. Setting: The questionnaire was mailed to 128 homeopathic practitioners working in the metropolitan areas of Sydney, Australia. Results: The demographic profile of the respondents showed that most were in the 45–50 year age group, and female practitioners comprised 68% of the sample. Symptoms of depression reported in the homeopathic practice had parallel description of symptoms listed in the ICD-10. Overall, treatment of mental health disorders, such as depression, grief, anxiety and phobia were a significant feature of the practice caseload of the respondents. Eighty-four percent of the respondents had patients presenting for homeopathic treatment that were also receiving some form of external therapy, most commonly antidepressant medications. Sixty percent of the respondents incorporated 'concurrent' therapies in the treatment approach, most commonly counselling, nutrition and lifestyle management. Conclusion: The paper shows that most homeopathic practitioners provide a pluralistic approach to management of depression which is in accordance with principles of holistic care. The implications of the research findings are discussed.

Objective: To pilot test the reliability and validity of a newly developed tool measuring nursing and midwifery staff stress and burnout. Design: Descriptive survey. Setting: Public hospital, aged care facility and university. Subjects: For the pilot study a total of forty nine (n=49) nurses and midwives, selected by convenience sampling, were sent an initial pilot questionnaire. The return rate was seventy per cent initially and the return rate on the second mail out was forty nine per cent. Main outcome measure: To determine reliability and validity of a new tool that explores nurses' and midwives' perceptions of stress, burnout and control over their working environment. Results: Face validity, test-retest reliability, internal consistency and principal component analysis were established. Overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.87 indicating good internal consistency for the stress/ burnout element of the questionnaire. The test-retest reliability intraclass correlation coefficient reported 0.30-0.90 for all six sub scales which were developed for both parts of the questionnaire. Conclusion: The pilot study indicates that it is possible to construct a valid and reliable instrument to assess nurses' and midwives' perception of stress and burnout.