Report Example on Patient Using Complementary & Alternative Medicine

Introduction

Complementary and alternative medicine abbreviated as CAM epitomizes a range of diverse therapies and treatment methods based on practices, skills and knowledge derived from philosophies, experiences, and theories (Garland et al., 2013). CAM methods are used to improve and maintain healthiness as well as diagnose, avert, treat, or relieve mental and physical illnesses. CAM healthcare products and practices are mainly used outside the standard care.

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Patient Who Uses CAM the Most

According to Bishop and Lewith (2010), patients using CAM frequently have been found to be females, middle-aged, affluent, and highly educated. They also claimed that various research studies, including the US (101) and the UK (1), reported that males are more unlikely to use CAM more than females. For instance, in one of the US studies, 31% of males and 39% of females used CAM methods in the preceding year.

Common Misconceptions About CAM

Although research has attested that CAM can be helpful to patients, many people have some mistaken beliefs about it. Falvo (2011) outlined the following misconceptions of CAM.
Patients using CAM were assumed to be naive, poorly educated, gullible, and from a low social-economic class. It was thought that most individuals who utilized CAM were immigrants.
Health professionals held a common delusion that patients who used Conventional care did not utilize CAM.
Patients who suffered from terminal or severe disorders were believed to use CAM more due to desperation to inverse the illness process.

Methods of Including the Use of CAM in Patient Education

Patient education regarding CAM should emphasize on knowledgeable choice, safety, and mutual decision-making. Falvo (2011) claimed that health professionals could include CAM inpatient education by providing factual and unprejudiced data to patients that can enable them to make knowledgeable and logical decisions for harmless use of CAM. Health care providers can also initiate dialogues with patients about the use of CAM and allow them to discuss the topic by conveying a supportive and non-judgmental attitude. In cases where safety is not considered, the health professional can clarify reasons for opposition without ridiculing the method.

Safe Use of CAM

In all forms of treatment, it is crucial to consider safety in advance. Each complementary practice and product should be carefully deliberated on its own. Patients using CAM methods should inform health professionals for the sake of their safety. Falvo (2011) claimed that the use of patients' own mental and physical resources for good health and healing could have adverse effects on the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. In addition, some CAM methods can expose patients to impending danger either directly or indirectly. Therefore, if health professionals are informed earlier, they could help patients determine safer methods that can be more beneficial for their specific conditions.

Ways in Which Conventional Medicine and Cam Can Be Integrated

Conventional medicine may be combined with CAM to enable patients to attain a sense of jurisdiction over the effects of their health conditions and make the best use of strategies for self-care. When health conditions are viewed from the perspective of individual patients and the effect on their lives, CAM can be useful in complementing conventional medicine and helping patients to live with their conditions. In addition, health professionals can address the use of CAM methods when providing patient education (Shirwaikar et al., 2013). Effective patient education concerning CAM methods may enhance the relationship between the health professional and the patient and provide crucial insights that can be used to improve patient care.

Define Ethical Theories, Ethical Principles, and Values

Ethical theories are systematic efforts to comprehend moral concepts and vindicate moral theories and principles. They offer an overarching framework of principles and rules that serve as a basis for judgments. Ethical principles provide considerations that health professionals should evaluate before making important decisions. Values are fundamental beliefs that motivate or guide actions or attitudes. This helps in determining what is more important (Falvo, 2011).

Examples of Ethical Issues

Ethical issues in patient teaching include health professionals providing biased or untruthful information, making unreliable and invalid judgments on what the patient should learn, making choices that patients might not have chosen, and failing to inform patients on alternative methods of treatment (Falvo, 2011). Through effective patient and healthcare professional relationships, healthcare professionals can approach patients in an honest, fair, and unbiased manner. They are also able to provide patients with adequate information as well as alternative methods of treatments and make decisions based on the patients' needs and interests and not theirs. Poor relationships may lead to non-compliance by patients and affect their overall health outcomes.

Purpose of Informed Consent

According to Falvo (2011), the main purpose of informed consent is to safeguard the autonomy of an individual. Informed consent places patients in a position that protects and promotes their right to make choices regarding their own welfare. It protects them from being in a position where choices are based on the views and values of the health practitioner instead of their own. Moreover, informed consent enables patients to acquire information regarding procedures as well as the consequences of performing or disregarding the procedure. Therefore, patients are able to obtain all the necessary information they need to make their own decisions.

Conclusion

There are several factors involved in determining the ability of the patient to give informed consent. The first one is the ability to comprehend the presented information. The patient should be able to understand and recall what is told and know his/her role in making decisions. Secondly, the patient should be able to express his or her decisions. If the patient is not able to maintain a constant choice or point out any choice, his/her competence should be questioned. The patient must also be able to comprehend the situation at hand, and the consequences of the choices presented. Lastly, the patient must show the capability to make a decision through a logical process (Falvo, 2011).

References

Bishop, F. L., & Lewith, G. T. (2010). Who uses CAM? A narrative review of demographic characteristics and health factors associated with CAM use. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 7. doi: 10.1093/ecam/nen023

Falvo, D. (2011). Effective patient education a guide to increased adherence (4th ed., p. 483). Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13572

Garland, S. N., Valentine, D., Desai, K., Li, S., Langer, C., Evans, T., & Mao, J. J. (2013). Complementary and alternative medicine use and benefit finding among cancer patients. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 19(11), 876-881.
doi:10.1089/acm.2012.0964

Hoskins, K., Grady, C., & Ulrich, C. M. (2018). Ethics education in nursing: Instruction for future generations of nurses. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1), 1-4. http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-23-2018/No1-Jan-2018/Ethics-Education-in-Nursing.html

Shirwaikar, A., Govindarajan, R., & Rawat, A. K. S. (2013). Integrating complementary and alternative medicine with primary health care.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/948308