Positivism in medicine restricts the medical methods being used to the idea that all ailments are objective and quantifiable, and any subjective elements are not useful (Lyng 1990:10). This restriction limits to the healing only of the physical body and the mind, with the mind regarded as being on a spectrum of what the human mind is capable of with chemical imbalances and neurological pathways being disturbed. Holism sees the body and mind as a continuum of the whole individual and this makes it difficult to try to treat one while ignoring the other (Lyng 1990:78), which can be both a pro and a con for treatment depending on the circumstances presented. Both biomedicine and holistic medicine have their advantages and disadvantages, but holistic medicine is starting to become integrated into our highly biomedical society in the West more and…
In the pursuit of health and well-being, many Americans along with the world, have used Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) over the past decade. In July 30, 2009, National Health Statistic Reports demonstrated on a test conducted in 2007 “that about 38.3% of adults (83 million persons) and 11.8% of children (8.5 million children under the age of 18 years) have used Complementary and alternative medicine” (NHSR, 2009). In this paper, I will define the terms alternative medicine, complementary medicine, and integrative medicine and clarify how these terms differ. I will also describe how conventional medicine plays a role in these three terms. After, I will review the philosophy of CAM and how it relates to or is different from conventional Western medicine. Followed by describing one CAM treatment modality within one of the five NCCAM domains and give an example of how such a therapy could be used as an alternative therapy, a complementary therapy, and an integrative therapy for a specific medical condition. Then, I will explain how each example meets the definition of alternative, complementary, or integrative therapy and support the rationale for each section. Lastly, I will conclude with the results of scientific studies, if available, that show a clinical benefit from the examples selected.…
Complementary and alternative approaches share a belief in the body's ability to heal itself. Some of them use an understanding of the working of the body, which is not studied by practitioners of conventional medicine, based on Eastern understandings of energy meridians and fields.…
Throughout the years, health care has changed and developed into this vase source of information. Historically, health care has derived from the simplest form to the advanced sciences. With the ideas of health and illness always changing the methodology of the health care process must change as well. Throughout the history of health care there has been a multitude of events that have changed the course of the process of diagnosing and curing infectious diseases as well as viruses. For example, in the twentieth century there were trends that began such as life expectancy increases which meant that the people had to recognize the necessity to take better care of themselves to promote a lasting, healthy life.…
The preindustrial period represents a very primitive one for health care, when there was little science, little education of health professionals, few institutions, and a general lack of sophistication.…
As CEO of Ashford Medical Center, the board has authorized you to work with the Medical Director, the Chief of Staff, and Medical Staff in the development of an exciting new program to attempt to meet the medical, health, and nutritional needs of the community for the next 10 years. What conflicts might you anticipate as you attempt to adopt a post modernist/complexity science strategy?…
Various healing practices also offer insight on cultures and provide a reason to a person's ideals. A stance…
Today, the United States has what many consider to be the worst health care system in the world. The United States has the most expensive system as it accounts for nearly 17.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (The World Factbook, 2013). This amounts to a cost of $8608 per person (Health Expenditure per Capita, 2013). The extreme cost of health care make it the leading cause of bankruptcy throughout the United States, and the reason why there are over 48.6 million people who are uninsured with no access to health care at all (Howard, Access and Underserved). This high cost has not translated…
Contemporary Western biomedicine (WDM), a healing approach based on modern Western science that emphasizes technology in diagnosing and treating health problems related to the human body, is an ethnomedical system…
This paper compares the philosophies of three diverse faiths, that of: Buddhism, Islam, and Christian Science, comparing them to Christianity. We will look at basic beliefs, spiritual perspectives on healing, beliefs about healthcare, and components of healing such as prayer, meditation, and rituals followed. We will also look at what is important to know when caring for a person with different beliefs and cultural views, so that we may treat them with respect, dignity and promote the healing process.…
In this paper the author will explain what is faith and religion, and compare the philosophy of Sikh, Buddhism, and Jewish religions with that Christian and the author’s religion, include spiritual perspective and elements of healing, how necessary is to permit patient to practice their religious beliefs and rituals, and last, describe how this information could be incorporated into the daily health care professionals routine.…
Progressive Era is when the world was going through a political and social change. Health care was starting to become more organized and structured, the creating of new medicine was becoming for popular than using old remedies and public health awareness was growing by providing information to the people.…
Spirituality is piece of human existence that is hard to assimilate. Every individual welcomes spirituality differently based on their set of values and experiences. Spirituality is multidimensional and we have proof of its benefits in healthcare and healings. Each person gets their spiritual experience and beliefs from their relationships with the family, the individual and their faith exposure (Anandarajah & Hight, 2001). The intent of this paper is to recorgnize the Author’s spirituality inclination with regards to healing and its important parts. I will first present my Christian viewpoint and method to healing, then the Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim faiths viewpoints will be compared to the Christians approach to healing. In the conclusion, I will summarize my findings from the comparison of these religions and concepts, then apply them this writer’s health care practice.…
Posthumanism can be used with reference to a wide range of discourses, including medicine, art, intelligence and even death. In medicine, issues concern…
Healthcare in my community has been a major issue since the new millennium. The main reason has been that some people feel they do not deserve to have health care. Although people will continue to debate, the issues have recently been brought to justice. President Obama signed a new legislation into law on March 23 and March 30, 2010. The goal is to repair the nation’s health care system and guarantee access to medical insurance for millions of Americans (Health Care Reform, 2010). This new legislation was signed by President Obama after a very close vote in the House of Representatives of 219 to 212 (Health Care Reform, 2010); These measures explain the significance of the issue. This new legislation will also provide rapid change for healthcare in 2010 and changes are likely to continue gradually beyond 2014. Health reform will make healthcare more affordable, make health insurers more accountable, and enlarge health coverage to all Americans. The health system will provide more stability for family budgets, the federal budget, and the economy. Some people will see this change as positive, while others will disagree. The most important quality of this new legislation is to make health care affordable for all Americans, and that is precisely what it will do. It will help about 32 million Americans afford health care who do not receive it today and will make coverage more affordable form many more. Under the plan, 95% of Americans will be insured (Health Care Reform, 2010). A positive feature is for those who have not been able to afford health care in the past, will now be able to get the health care they need. A negative feature is that it may exceed many physicians already large workload.…