Safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine

Safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine

Complementary and alternative medicine or CAM can be integrated in holistic nursing (Edelman, 2014). Holistic nursing is part of my every day duties as a public health nurse working with a primary care physician. Keeping CDC guidelines in mind I explore which health measures the patient has completed or needs to complete. In efforts to assess the patient as a whole I complete the review of systems, a template in our electronic medical records, which includes physical, emotional, spiritual and environmental assessment questions. Most contributory to CAM is the assessment of any over the counter medications or home remedies they may be using.

During each caring moment or encounter or visit we complete these assessments and any changes are addressed. This is an opportunity to evaluate if any of the CAM that patient was using is working or safe considering their conditions. Orders are given for conventional treatments along with the complementary and alternative suggestions made by nursing staff or physicians and sometimes interdisciplinary health care team members. Every encounter presents an opportunity to evaluate if the interventions have improved the patients condition or complaint. We compare notes and change treatment plans if necessary.

Reply 2 Elizabeth

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (https://www.nccih.nih.gov/) gives consumers a way to research different aspects of complementary and alternative medicine (Kudzma & Mandle, 2013, p. 331). From there, you can find providers, research lots of topics, learn about herbs, botanicals, and other supplements, and help determine safety and effectiveness of some alternative treatments. It’s important to always check with your physician before starting any treatments or supplements to determine whether they could have adverse effects or drug interactions with things that you’re already doing or taking. These treatments are typically not as researched as allopathic medicine. Chiropractic care is considered complementary, and I have to say that it’s helped me over the last year since I was in a car. When I start to get sore, I feel noticeably better after I leave the chiropractor, and I didn’t really believe in it before I started going. I don’t like stopping my life to take a pill or depend on something like that to get relief, especially if it’s going to be more than just an ibuprofen for a headache here and there.

Discussion 2

COLLAPSE

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Discuss some of the psychophysiological aspects of stress. Which evidence-based stress management interventions do you apply to clinical practice? How effective are they?

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Reply 1 Kristine

Psychophysiology of stress is how the mind and the body are affected by the effects of stress. Once stress initiates, the hypothalamus is triggered to respond and activate hormones that increase heart rate, decrease digestion activity leading to loss of appetite and production of glucose from the liver. The stress management intervention I use in clinical practice is Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR). The intervention reduces stress and anxiety by interchangeably tensing and relaxing the muscles around the face, chest, abdomen, legs, and arms (Mander et al., 2019). The mental aspect of progressive muscle relaxation requires the patient to focus on tension and relaxation impacts on the body. Some of the benefits of PMR include a decrease in social anxiety, reduction of salivary cortisol levels, a decline in blood pressure levels, and heart rate. The exercise also helps reduce stomachaches and headaches and improve the sleep (Mander et al., 2019).

Reply 2 David

One of many psychophysiological aspect of stress is because a person believes they are in a situation where they feel they can’t control the situation, threaten, and/or unable to cope with the problem; which may lead to alcohol/drug abuse, physical harm to themselves and others, and sleep disturbances. One evidence-base stress management intervention I apply to clinical practice are support groups. “Support groups bring together people who are going through or have gone through similar experiences. For example, this common ground might be cancer, chronic medical conditions, addiction, bereavement or caregiving” (Mayo Clinic 2020). When people are stress, they believe they’re alone and no one understands what they’re going through. A good way to relieve some of that feeling is to talk to someone that has/is going though a similar scenario. People always give hope to others that are going through same problems. People want to know that they’ll get through the tough times and they’re not alone. I believe mental support is, if not, important as physical health. Also having someone to talk to in a support group is effective as any other medical treatment.

Safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine