A patient asks, What is the major difference between conventional ...

[nenivikky]

A patient asks, What is the major difference between conventional health care and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)? The nurse's best reply is that conventional health care:
 
  a. focuses on what is done to the patient, whereas CAM focuses on body-mind interaction with an actively involved patient.
  b. has been tested by research so less regulation is needed, but CAM is religiously based and highly regulated.
  c. is controlled by the health care industry, but CAM is the people's medicine and not motivated by profit.
  d. is holistic and focused on health promotion, whereas CAM treats illnesses and is symptom-specific.

Question 2

A patient diagnosed with depression tells the nurse, I want to try supplementing my selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor with St. John's wort. Which action should the nurse take first?
 
  a. Advise the patient of the danger of serotonin syndrome.
  b. Suggest that aromatherapy may produce better results.
  c. Assess the patient for depression and risk for suicide.
  d. Suggest the patient decrease the antidepressant dose.

[chevyboi1976]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
Conventional health care focuses primarily on curative actions implemented on a mostly passive patient, whereas CAM focuses more on the mind-body aspects of health, along with the active involvement of the patient. Conventional health care is largely grounded in scientific research, and its various components are heavily regulated; the opposite tends to be true of CAM. Some forms of CAM have their roots in religious or cultural practices, but this is not characteristic of CAM as a whole. Both conventional health care and CAM can focus on health promotion and treatment of illness. Although critics express concern about the role of profit in conventional health care, the profit motive can also apply in CAM.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: A
Research has suggested that St. John's wort is a mild inhibitor of serotonin reuptake and could lead to serotonin syndrome; this risk is increased if the patient is taking other medications that increase serotonin activity. Assessing the depression would be a secondary intervention. Aromatherapy has not been shown to be an effective adjunct or treatment for depression. Although a dosage reduction in her SSRI medication might reduce the risk of serotonin syndrome, this intervention is not in the nurse's scope of practice.