Home work: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

Homework
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Homework
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is defined as ways to deal with a disease other than those that physicians utilize in standard medicine. CAM encompasses several methods, both tested and untested including mind/body/spirit, vitamins/herbs/minerals, physical touch, nutrition and diet, as well as biological methods. CAM can also include acupuncture, aromatherapy, homeopathy, Tai Chi, holistic nursing, ayurvedic medicine, yoga, spiritual healing and spiritual healing. CAM is most used by cancer patients. In essence, cancer patients want to do all they can to fight the illness, cope with the symptoms of the disease and manage the side effects of chemotherapy. Hence, most of them would turn to CAM approaches including dietary supplements, natural products like herbs, as well as mind and body practices for instance massage, yoga, and acupuncture. In informing the patient about these approaches, Falvo (2011) pointed out that an understanding of the patients as partners in the patient education process is imperative.
Some of the common misconceptions about CAM include: some people have been led to believe that that they can only do one or the other, but they cannot do both simultaneously. This is untrue since holistic and natural forms of medicine often aim to extend and work together with conventional/allopathic medicine, not to replace it. Another misconception is that CAM is inherently safe and risk free. This is untrue since some CAM approaches are not risk free. There can be toxic reaction caused by contamination, toxicity or interaction with other drugs and/or herbs. Some of the methods of including the use of CAM in patient education are: teaching patients about their use of CAM, or offering guidance and information. Doctors should help their patients make informed choices regarding healthcare and have to be receptive when they discuss CAM with patients that ask for information. Other methods entail using effective interventions that are both natural and less invasive; and allowing the patient to decide how to go on with treatment basing upon their beliefs, values, as well as available evidence.
The safe use of CAM entails the following: (i) Selecting Complementary and Alternative Medicine practitioner carefully and finding out his/her experience and training. (ii) Having the awareness that some dietary supplements could interact with other supplements or with drugs, might have their own side effects, and/or might be containing harmful ingredients that are not listed on the label. (iii) One should inform his/her healthcare providers about the CAM therapies he/she is using (Falvo, 2011). Conventional medicine and CAM can be integrated by:
Protecting against practices which are dangerous and permitting helpful, harmless practices.
Promoting and using safe and effective practices
Partnering with patients and encouraging communication regarding CAM....