Word of the day

Word of the day: "Quackademic medicine." I love it.

Dr. R.W. explains.

I very well may have to steal that term. As they say about artists, good ones borrow but great ones steal. (Just living up to the arrogance of my namesake...)

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A few days ago, I was amused by a term coined by Dr. R.W. The term, "quackademic medicine," was meant to describe the unholy fusion of non-science- and non-evidence-based woo that has infiltrated academic medicine to a disturbing extent over the last decade or two. There was a lot of reaction,…
I've been writing about a phenomenon that I like to refer to as "quackademic medicine," defined as the infiltration into academic medical centers and medical school of unscientific and pseudoscientific treatment modalities that are unproven or disproven. I didn't coin the term. To the best of my…
I was depressed yesterday. I've been on vacation this week (staycation, actually, as I stayed at home and didn't go on any trips); so you would think it would take a lot to depress me. It did. Scott Gavura over at Science-Based Medicine wrote about how another once-proud academic medical center,…
I detest the term "integrative medicine," which is what promoters of "alternative medicine" pivoted to call "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM) when they decided that they needed to lose the word "alternative" altogether. After all, no longer were CAM practitioners content to have their…

What we need is a few unpleasant and painful deaths at the hands of some CAM's. Well documented across the news and full of anecdotal evidence, sob stories and lawsuits (juicy)

This seems to be the only way these days to deal with greed from the industry and gullibility from the consumers.

Will it happen? Probably... once CAM has enmeshed itself into the proper medical establishments of course. Leaving the usual ruins in it's wake.

Medical establishments beware of your new false friends.

By Richard Eis (not verified) on 24 Jan 2008 #permalink

My 'crusade of the year' this year (other than getting a Democratic Congress that will deBushify the country) is to get Skeptics (and especially SkepDocs) to stop using the term 'CAM' or 'Alternative medicine.'

'Medicine' is what you do, Orac, and Dr. R.W. and Flea and my own doctor. It is NOT what quacks, homeopaths, and woomeisters do!

I would suggest/beg at least the skeptical community to stop using 'CAM' and, if you HAVE to have a 'polite' name, to start calling their methods either

ATP (for Alternative Therapy procedures) or

ATM (for Alternative Therapy Methods or Modalities).

After spending much of my life watching the 'good guys' (scientific, political, etc.) cede the 'linguistic high ground' in various ways, I think this is one we can start stopping.

Ask yourself, would you allow Creationists to call their work "Alternative Geology" (or Biology) or Holocaust Deniers call their books "Complementary History"?

No?

Then WHY LET QUACKS GET AWAY WITH THE SAME THING?

If you agree with me, pass it on, and maybe start requesting SkepCirc hosts specifically to do this.

Crack Emcee - such a vociferous critic of all thing things NewAge as yourself should know how to spell it correctly. There is no space in the middle. It is spelled Newage - rhymes with sewage.

By Freddy the Pig (not verified) on 26 Jan 2008 #permalink

Freddy,

Man, I know you're right, but then I'd have to go over my entire blog and re-fix every reference. On the other hand, looking at it printed there, it just "makes sense" to do so.

Damn.

When I have the time,...thanks.