Paradigms of Health Care

3345 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Advantages and disadvantages of using traditional medicine

Paradigms of Health Care Openings: In this paper I will be discussing the two most prevalent models of health. These two models of health are not, of course, total opposites. Similar to terms such as gay and straight they are two definitive labels placed upon a broad spectrum that is hardly definitive. There exists in this case as well a large clouded middle between the two limiting labels. These are collections of thoughts about how to go about continuing life. These two paradigms in modern healthcare I hope will one-day come to know one another. For now let us say that in generally speaking there are two different approaches or models of medicine and they are allopathic and holistic. Allopathic is another term for our modern western medicine, which in the United States is the dominant one and the one most familiar to the masses. The other, the holistic model, also known as alternative, is commonly associated with older ideas that originated in the East. Allopathic and Holistic: This first paradigm of thinking when it comes to medicine is the modern-day allopathic approach. This model of care has behind it an idea that there is a separation between the body and mind. The mind is seen as secondary to the body. Illnesses that are seen as psychosomatic are to be fixed in the mind and perhaps the patient would even be referred to a psychiatrist. The training of a medical doctor in this approach rests primarily on looking to quantitative information like research and charts. It does not matter who the observer is the same results should be achieved. This approach views the other as being outdated and sometimes even uncivilized. The second paradigm of thinking, the holistic model believes that there is a c... ... middle of paper ... ...e in charge of. My journey has been from allopathic to holistic and currently in a corroboration of allopathic therapies from my own General Practitioner and a number of holistic ones that I have through my own research came to use. For me it seems that I have thrown out many greater evils of drug use and drinking to these lesser evils. I see this now as a process that if I were not meant to experience I would not be. Becoming dependent upon anything I think is in no way good no matter if that thing were called religion, addiction, hobby or love. I believe that the seeking of balance is a must. And one cannot forever deny who he is. As Shakespeare said "To think own self be true". A lesson I am currently trying to employ and so unfortunate it is that "Once the mind has been stretched from a new idea it can never again return to its original state" ~ Einstein.

Show More
Related

  • Alternative Medicines: Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Aromatherapy, Chiropractic

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    An ancient Chinese proverb proclaims, "Nature, time and patience are the three great doctors". Nowadays more and more people choose to be treated by methods that are not based on Western systematic techniques that are the knowledge and practice of medicine which is usual in the West. These methods are known as “Alternative medicine”, which consists of homeopathy, acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic medicine and others. Chinese medicine is also gaining popularity among people. The alternative way of treatment has verified its efficiency and is methodically founded, but, unfortunately, has its little disadvantages and needs a scientific base. For that reason, the alternative medicine is not generally available in all countries, and people have to pay for their individual treatment. Whereas some people consider it an ambiguity and do not dare try it because they consider it might be quite dangerous or insecure, some others just think about it as nonsense and pay little or no attention to it. People who feel anxious or doubtful of it claim that if non-traditional medicine had really worked, then appropriate doctors would have used it. Nevertheless, since the early 1980s, the alternative medicine has become increasingly popular, and although it is not officially accepted by the medical base, some doctors do accept that such methods can be effective in treating some types of illnesses. Moreover, usual medicine has its boundaries, since some illnesses are untreatable and some others which are caused by mental troubles cannot be cured by its methods (Kowalski, 1998).

    Read More

  • Alternative Medicine and the Christian Responsibility

    2211 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Homeopathy Vs Integrative Medicine

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    The famous spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi said, "Homeopathy cures a greater percentage of cases than any other method of treatment. Homeopathy is the latest, most refined method of treating patients economically and non-violently” (Malik). However, Homeopathy is only one of the many natural forms of treatment that patients are utilizing in an effort to avoid conventional medicine. A clinic practice model that combines conventional medicine with Naturopathic, Complementary and other forms of alternative medicine all in one setting, is the new health paradigm called Integrative Medicine. With the public’s growing concern of being over-medicated by costly and sometimes violent conventional medicine, I am going to explain the movement towards

    Read More

  • Informative Essay: What Is Traditional Medicine?

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    The philosophy and practice is composed of many different systems of traditional medicine, which are all influenced by prevailing conditions, environment, and geographic area within, where it first evolved into WHO (2005). Although it is a common

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Medical Integration

    2193 Words  | 5 Pages

    William Collinge quotes Chuang Tzu in his American Holistic Health Association Complete Guide to Alternative Medicine saying, "Heaven, Earth and I are living together, and all things and I form an inseparable unity" (13). Tzu's comment contrasts the traditional American dream of individualistic power and solidarity, but no matter how ethnocentric or arrogant the Western society can be at times, the influence of the world is still present. The health care system is a prime example of how the unification between world cultures brings benefits to society. The Western culture has been developing and refining scientific methods of health care for centuries. Illnesses that were incurable in the past are now treatable with drug medications and by complex surgeries. But along with the absence of the old illnesses, come new ones. People are living longer and chronic and degenerative illnesses are more common. Due to the development of new illnesses, Western medicine has been consulting the traditions and treatments from other cultures for aid in diagnosis and health care. In The American Holistic Health Association Complete Guide to Alternative Medicine, William Collinge states that, "the joining together of conventional and alternative traditions may well permit us to have a more balanced quality of life. At the least, it has helped to bring the concept of health back to medicine" (Collinge xxi). Collinge's use the word "balance" in his description of the quality of life is interesting, because a form of alternative medicine whose central focus is on the balance of the body is Chinese medicine. Due to the onslaught of new chronic and degenerative illnesses, Western culture initiated the search for ...

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Homeopathy

    1986 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are many different uses of alternative medicine and that can be used in a variety of situations. Some people may be skeptical of alternative medicine since they are not aware of the facts and statistics. By homeopathy becoming more popular people will not be as skeptical. “Despite the successes of many alternative therapies, the phrase "alternative medicine" has not acquired a completely respectable air. To many, especially doctors trained in conventional medicine, "alternative therapies" seem unscientific and dangerous” (Badertscher). As the author shows that although alternative medicine may seem skeptical to people, there are many reasons to prove that alternative medicine is an overall better solution. Badertscher also explains the many benefits to his view of alternative medicine of seeking to work with the body 's own natural healing processes” (Badertscher). For example, a person may suffer from chronic back pain may decide to go to a chiropractor instead of using medication such as oxycodone. In this Badertscher shows the benefit that using the body’s natural healing does and that it puts the person in control of their

    Read More

  • The Concept of Health and Ilness

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    In terms of what is looked for in the Biomedical model, it is believed that there is one aetiology of the disease or illness exhibited in the patient who is then treated as a passive host of the illness where only the medical technology provided by the medical practitioner can hope to cure or at least care for the patient. While at one point in time this method of treatment seemed apt due to the knowledge of the world of that period, it is not a holistic approach of intervention because the main thought behind this model, as discussed by G. L. Engel (1977:129), is that because a disease or illness is characterized by “somatic parameters, physicians need not be concerned with psychosocial issues which lie outside medicine’s responsibility and authority.” This implies that following the Biomedical model, medical practitioners do not take into account the living situations, economic standpoints, racial, gender and ethical viewpoints or the community involvement factor of the patient seeking help.

    Read More

  • Exploring the Boundaries between Alternative Medicine and Biomedicine

    2708 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...t claims his or her health is improving. This tension has been decreasing as more physicians are being exposed to the idea of alternative treatments that are being used complementary to allopathic prescriptions (Kaptchuk and Eisenberg 201). The discussion of such models continues to occur. The increasing acceptance of CAM by physicians shows that as doctors are more involved with alternative practices, and keep their patients’ interests in mind, tensions against alternative medicines can be resolved. The boundary between alternative and conventional is not always defined; it is flexible and has been increasingly more malleable as time progresses and more light is shed on alternative practices. Fontanorosa and Lundberg are correct in implying that all these forms of treatment are indeed medicine, but scientific boundaries cannot encompass the realm of the alternative.

    Read More

  • Holistic Medicine

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alternative medicine can also be defined as the result of a series of important changes occurring within the American health care system today. For example, health care practitioners are coming to the realization that conventional biomedicine cannot solve many of America’s health problems. Therefore many doctors have begun to accept the idea that Holistic Medicine is based on, that is, that health involves more than just the physical body. They have also found many alternative medical treat...

    Read More

  • The Strengths and Weaknesses Within My Medicine Wheel

    2025 Words  | 5 Pages

    Fain, N. C. & Lewis. N. M. (2002). Wellness: The Holistic Approach to Health. Journal of

    Read More

  • What Is Natural Medicine Argumentative Essay

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    I intend to help readers question their healing practices and the state of today’s formal medicine—to influence thought, education of the reality and exploration of the natural medicine realm.

    Read More

  • A Holistic Approach to Ambulatory Care

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Journal of Dietary Supplements discusses the increased use of “Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)” and how it is becoming a need among physicians to educate and train themselves so that the idea of Integrative Medicine is a realization to the public (Litchy, 2011). This holistic approach allows the ability for conventional medicine to be incorporated with alternative interventions which, further enables the patient to decide which route of care best suits their specific preferences.

    Read More

  • Alternative Medicine is Better than Modern Medicine

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Alternative Medicine Essay

    2885 Words  | 6 Pages

    As increasing rates of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are becoming intertwined within traditional western practice, it has begun to present itself as a social conundrum. It is believed that the first practices of alternative medicine date back to the mid eighteenth century where as ancient Egyptians were using forms of traditional medicine in the early 5th century BCE. Because it has not been practiced as long as traditional western medicine, it has been framed as a social phenomenon. Its growth is curious in that it is beginning to surface in “countries were Western science and scientific method generally are accepted as the major foundations for healthcare, and “evidence-based” practice is the dominant paradigm” (Coulter & Willis 2004). Current US policy and government regulations, like the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, have allowed for CAM to become an integrative part of modernity. This paper examines how the defining of CAM has influenced past and present societal reforms and how the lack of a singular, all encompassing definition was once problematic in CAM’s ability to converge with traditional western medicine. However, due to the growing appeal of CAM’s treatment methods, economic and political factors have paved a path a successful integration into modern medicine.

    Read More

More about Paradigms of Health Care

Open Document