Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is slowly becoming better known all over the world. CAM encompasses various types of therapies, such as yoga, reflexology, chiropractic therapy, herbal therapy, ayurveda, meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc. The evidenced-based research, recognition of disconnect between patients and also the positive and negative aspects of CAM modalities are reasons behind the increased attention it has gained in medicals schools all over the United States. (Hart, 2009, p. 287).
The major concern behind CAM is that it covers a rather broad range of therapies, most of which have not been able to establish any proper scientific basis. This results in a lot of objection from the researchers and collegiate officials that it does not qualify to obtain its place as important learning in the medical school curricula. However, cancer patients have said that they have benefited from CAM therapies, during and after their exhaustive treatments. This shows that there is scope for some CAM methods to be legitimate.
The point to pay close attention to is, that these patients went through what is called integrative medicine. Hart definition of it is, integrative medicine can be defined as an approach to practice of medicine that makes use of the best- available evidence, taking into account the whole person (body, mind, and sprit), including all aspects of lifestyle.(as cited in Kligler et al., 2004) . Attitudes of medical students towards CAM seem to be slightly more enthusiastic, at Georgetown University School of Medicine, in Washington D.C. Ninety-one percent believed that CAM should be includes ideas and methods from which allopathic medicine can benefit from. Seventy-five per...
... middle of paper ...
...t preventative therapies which will help to keep people in good shape. These will benefit the entire healthcare system as a whole. It will reduce the expenditure of healthcare, as we will be looking at preventative measure taking precedence. I truly believe that evidence based CAM methods and humanistic approaches should become a part of the medical school curricula. This will make a big impact on healthcare in the future.
Works Cited
Hart, Jane (2009). CAM and Medical Education. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 15, 287-291
Klinger B,Maizes V, Schachter S, et al. Core competencies in integrative medicine for medical school curricula: A proposal. Acad Med 2004; 79; 521-531
Trask, J. Chapter 8 Alternative Methods [Power Point slides]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Website: https://compass.illinois.edu/webct/urw/lc5116011.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
I am excited to be submitting my application to Georgetown University School of Medicine, as this school’s mission and values reflect my own beliefs on the role of a physician. I believe that there is no fixed template to healthcare; medicine and health will vary across time, regions, and individuals, and as future physicians, it is crucial for us to recognize that. While standard science education is certainly critical, a broadened approach that draws on other knowledge and our own life experiences is just as essential to delivering quality healthcare. I believe that Georgetown Medical School’s tradition of “Cura Personalis” and its
According to Sackett, (1996) evidence–based medicine is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about patient care. Straus, Richardson, Glasziou, & Haynes (2005, p. 1) described evidence-based practice (EBP) as “the integration of the best research evidence with clinical expertise and unique patient values and circumstances.” According to Straus et al, (2005, p.3) those practicing evidence based medicine must follow five specific steps: a) Include the need for data into an answerable question, b) Track down the best evidence, c) Critically appraise the evidence for validity, impact, and application, d) Integrate the critical appraisal into clinical practice, and e) Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing steps a-e-and seek ways to improve them. Subsequently, without current best evidence, clinical practice cam become out-dated to the detriment of patients, this is an untenable circumstance and one which should never be allowed to happen.
Acupuncture, ayurveda, chiropractice, homeopathy, meditation, osteopathy, and yoga are just a few of the many types of medicine practiced all over the world. According to the western establishment, all these forms of medicine are called alternative medicines. However, some of the aforementioned techniques have been in continuous use for over six thousand years, predating western medicine by over four thousand years. Yet, still many M.D.'s reject alternative forms of medicine. One of the buzzwords in medicine in recent years has been "holistic medicine". Physicians are becoming more aware of the need to treat the whole patient rather than just certain symptoms. Due to this realization, a small percentage of doctors are turning to ancient forms of medicine as a guide to alternative treatments. As alternative forms of medicine emerge in the western world, Christian scientists need to determine the moral, religious, and scientific validity of such techniques in order to gain a more holistic approach to medicine.
In today’s world, many people assume that the latest medical technology and treatments are always the best option. However, all over the world, different techniques for curing diseases and aliments are being used. These methods fall under the category of complementary and alternative medicine.
These alternative treatments include acupuncture, meditation, and therapy among many others.There is growing evidence that the desire for alternative medicine is expanding because people undergoing procedures in today’s health care system has had unmet needs as well as feelings of being uncared for (Acari & Flanagan, 2015). Alternative medicine is able to provide patients with treatments that provide relief for hard to cure problems such as back pain, neck pain, and arthritis. Many of these alternative treatments have been shown to be successful for various problems. The use of complimentary and alternative medicine as well as the open ended communication that holistic nursing provides is gaining popularity from patients who are fed up with traditional care and hospital
Ross defines and differentiates between the terms healing and curing. She recognizes the fact that healing and curing are very intertwined and it can be hard to distinguish between the two terms. There are differences between the definitions in scholarly and general settings. She references an ethnographic study of healing versus curing conducted by anthropologists Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in 1999 with native groups in New Guinea. The results of the study looked at how energy used by the different types of tribal healers to either cure or heal a patient. Eastern medicine focuses on how energy interacts with the healing process in connection within the mind. Whereas Western medicine is focused on the mind and the body separately. The practice is considered a holistic approach to finding cures. According to Ross (2013), healing is more a therapeutic process targeting the whole body and specific illness including emotional, mental, and social aspects in the treatment. The act of curing is a pragmatic approach that focuses on removing the problem all together. The life experiences of a person playing into how well certain treatments will heal or cure what is ailing them. These aspects can not be defined with textbook definitions. The interaction that the healing process has with energy is a variable in the success rate. Uncontrolled emotions can have a greater impact on the inside the body than a person can realize. The exploration of energy interaction within the body can be used for greater analysis of health care systems. (21-22). Are Western healthcare facilities purposely “curing” patients just so that they return are few years later? Is Western Medicine built upon a negative feedback loop? The terminolo...
Furnham, A. & Forey, J. (1994).The attitudes behaviors and beliefs of patients of conventional vs. complementary (alternative) medicine: Journal of Clinical Psvchologv. 50(3), 458-469.
Even with all today’s advances in medicine, 30% of adults and 12% of children use healthcare outside of the conventional or mainstream medicine. When non-mainstream medicine is used in place of conventional medicine it is known as alternative. When non-mainstream medicine is used with conventional medicine it is known as complementary. A combination of conventional and complementary is known as integrative medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine, also known as CAM, is the use of medical products and practices that are not part of standard medical care. It is most commonly used by people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by an event. Symptoms usually include behavior
Complementary and alternative therapies are relatively new and essential options in health care, they help to increase the quality of life of patients and provide them with numerous possibilities to ensure growth of their health, beyond current medicine. Recently, these therapies, such as massage therapy and acupuncture, have become more prevalent in research. Consequently, their substitution with standard medicine in the healthcare system has been supported by the literature. The literature that supports these methods has explored why complementary therapies are needed, the different and distinct features of each therapy, and they also examine the education and knowledge those implementing the services must have. To accurately analyze if complementary and alternative therapies are valuable to the health care system, this paper will aim to learn why they are becoming predominant and why nurses should use these therapies’ to assist in improving the health of individuals. To determine the main attributes of these therapies, a variety of resources that extensively discuss complementary and alternative therapies will be examined and the paper will also examine the benefits and weaknesses they have on improving health. Lastly, this paper will aim to determine if these services should be implemented by nurses as alternative options for their patients, as nurses should have substantial knowledge pertaining to implementing these therapies.
Wadjaka presents the evidence that is a significant shift , Supported farther as she detailed the type of folks or alternative healing practices used in the United States today including acupuncture, faith healers, herbalists, reiki masters, and chiropractors..( Stamps-Duston 2016) believes both simple and complex alternative practices a simple example is “an apple a day keep the Dr. away” “ or a walk around the block as a prescription” to more has some solid evidence based research making it a prescription that “Does no further harm”. The number one guiding light rule of western medicine is “do not further harm”. It serves as a useful reminder to Dr’s of the age-old importance of the adage ‘primum non nocere’ or ‘do no further harm’. Giannoudis, P. V.
For example, anyone in the health care field will need to work with others to provide the optimal level of care, thus an emphasis needs to be placed on team leadership. Health care costs continue to rise, thus continuing medical education courses need to emphasize being a good steward of resources and the focus needs to move from the health of an individual to improving the health of the population overall. Furthermore, as technology continues to increase in importance in the medical field, all health care professionals must have a better understanding of telehealth platforms and electronic health records, among other
Why Reflection and Continuing Professional Development is important for Complementary Therapy Reflective thinking is one those qualities which the practitioner has to develop as an important tool for every day’s tasks. John (2013) suggests that through writing and reflecting on practice, practitioners learn to pay attention to their own written self-assessment practice, therefore becoming more aware of patterns of thinking, feeling and responding to situations that will contribute to becoming more inquisitive and thoughtful. Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle inspires to think analytically about the phases of an experience or activity that should use headlines to structure the reflection. Such as, description (referring to what happened), feelings (referring to what were someone thinking and/or feeling), evaluation (referring to what was good and bad about the experience) and analysis (referring to what sense can someone make of the situation). Thinking in this way will help to identify what was the experience about and what the therapist learned from it.
Over the centuries, several treatment methods have been utilized by humans for remedy diseases when they caught. Two of them are modern medicine and traditional medicine. Traditional medicine, which is also called alternative treatment, is older than modern medicine. This effective treatment had been used for many centuries before modern medicine was found. On the contrary, modern medicine has been used since the 1900’s (Lyons). In this system, drugs’ tests are carefully done in the safe laboratories, and their side effects are identified before they are given to the patient. Moreover, the effects of the pills are written on the leaflets which are found in the drug packages to warn the patients for these effects. However, sometimes the side effects are not blocked, so people have to take another pill to get better. It makes people take more chemicals into their bodies. Even traditional medicine, give its place to the modern medicine when its beginning times, it is used efficaciously like modern medicine at the present time. In course of time, people will gain reliance on traditional medicine again, since alternative medicine is more efficient and powerful in order to get better and soothe the diseases than modern medicine. In fact, in traditional medicine, there are fewer drugs, side effects, holistic therapy that people can be availed.
Those in the medical field are on the brink of a new era in health care. Medical schools are graduating some of the brightest students in the world who are putting their tech-savvy skills into practice. And though Generation Y physicians are facing the brunt of the health care changes, this new wave of physicians are open to new ideas and new modes of thinking, and therefore are able to bring a fresh new outlook to health care.
Modern medicine is finally starting to accommodate traditional medicine, though traditional medicine is still overlooked or regarded as a primitive form of treatment, providing nothing but placebo effects. According to the American National Cancer Institute, modern medicine is: