One Big Happy Fa-med-ily :)
Remember what CAM means? Let’s recap!
Complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM is a category of non-Western medicine or treatments that fall outside of mainstream medicine. The difference between complementary and alternative medicine is that complementary medicine is used together with mainstream medical care; whereas, alternative medicine is used instead of mainstream medical care.
But what is integrative medicine? How does it apply to CAM?
Integrative medicine is when health care providers and facilities offer both types of care. In other words, it is basically combining Western medicine and CAM to form one big happy family called integrative medicine!
So, what is the point of recapping? How would this apply to future medicine?
Recently, the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) changed its name to the National Center for Complementary & Integrative Health (NCCIH). The article can be found here. According to the National Institute of Health, “the change is made to more accurately reflect the Center’s research commitment to studying promising health approaches already in use by the American public.“ The mission of NCCIH is to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and integrative health interventions and their roles in improving health and health care (NCCIH). To read more about their mission and goals, click here.
From what I learned in this class, I think NCCIH changed their name in order to accurately inform the public of their scientific research on complementary and integrative medicine. As stated above, integrative medicine combines CAM and Western medicine. By changing their name, NCCIH clearly promotes not only the research of alternative medicine, but how CAM and Western medicine work together.
I learned how to connect modern Western medicine with CAM. For example: when my mother received a bone fusion operation, she still had to take pain medication since the surgery only reduce the pinched nerve. She seek complementary medicine such as acupuncture and chiropractic, in order to reduce the intake of pain medicine. Another example is my boyfriend who prefers doing yoga to help relieve soreness after going to the gym. He tells me all the time that yoga helps with his physical posture if he slightly injured himself when using the gym equipment.
I do feel there is a place for integrating CAM therapies because of how beneficial it is for people who are going through health issues. My mother is a very good example since she has been able to manage her condition for over 5 years now. As long as the patient is satisfied, the news will most likely spread about how CAM therapies can help others. Hopefully there will be more research about how to integrate CAM and Western medicine.
The main challenge I can see for integrating CAM therapies into mainstream Western medicine is if people are not well-educated, or did not do their research before trying CAM therapies. I think it is extremely important when trying anything new to do the research. Another challenge could be that the CAM therapies made a condition worst, which can lead to lawsuits or even death. This beings me back to research! Before seeing any practitioner, patients should make sure that the therapist is certified and educated. Just like purchasing a new laptop, do the research to make sure it accommodates your needs.
For the most part, all of my questions are answered in this class. I really did learn a lot from my own research as well as fellow peers and professor. It has been a really enjoyable summer course - didn’t even feel like work! I like how everything ties together and how many branches of medicine there is. In the end, it is all one giant tree! Thank you so much for reading and the lovely experience. :-)
Disclaimer: This was created by students for a class and is not intended to provide any medical advice.
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