CAM—Application and Caution

The term "alternative medicine" implies that CAM treatments fall outside the realm of medicine.

Using the Internet, research on the following practices included under CAM:

• Chinese medicine
• Herbalism

From your experiences and knowledge in the health care field, answer the following questions:

• Does the promotion or lack of promotion of CAM techniques confirm this gap in healing modalities? Explain how?
• Why might traditional health care providers be reluctant in suggesting or implementing CAM techniques?
• The side effects of traditional medicines are becoming increasingly referenced, especially in the media. Conversely, one rarely hears about the cautions of selecting alternative treatments, leading individuals to seek more natural treatments found in CAM practice. What is the problem of polarizing healing techniques in this way?

You will apply the knowledge and techniques of CAM models, specifically traditional Chinese medicine, including herbal medicine for a selected illness. Using the perspective of traditional allopathic medicine, answer the following questions:

• What is the overall philosophy behind the treatment methods?
• According to the treatment paradigm, what are the possible causes of the patient's symptoms?
• What additional information may the practitioners require?
• What interventions may be utilized through these methods (how will the condition be treated)?
• What are the benefits and risks of using these methods of treatment?

Based on your understanding, create a 5 page Microsoft Word document that includes the answers to all the above questions.

Your response should adhere to the following guidelines:

• It should have 5 pages not including a cover page, an abstract and a reference list.
• There should be a title or a cover page.
• The title or the cover page must be followed by an abstract of 100–200 words.
• The paper must use the APA style for citing sources and references.
• The paper must have a minimum of eight current references. Note that primary, peer-reviewed references are preferred.l

Note: Peer-reviewed refers to the articles reviewed and approved by author's professional peers who are experts on that topic.

Support your responses with reasoning and examples.