How to write a CAM Assessment in nursing

CAM definition

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) refers to the non-conventional medicine that utilizes diverse treatments with indigenous origins that are used alongside conventional treatment. CAM has increasingly been used in Europe, with more people visiting traditional primary care physicians since the 1990s.CAM treatments include chiropractic, acupuncture, and homeopathy.

Patient who uses CAM the most

CAM use is associated with various demographic, health, and socioeconomic factors. According to Fjær et al. (2020), most patients who use CAM are highly educated middle-aged females from higher socioeconomic groups. Health statistic reports from Europe indicate that the use of CAM is more popular among women with health issues and higher educational attainment. Moreover, first-world countries have a higher health expenditure integrating CAM treatments into their healthcare system; thus, patients from these countries are more likely to use CAM treatments than patients from poorer countries.

Common misconceptions about CAM

Complementary Alternative medicine cannot be used as a primary medical regime as these medicines are only alternatives. Another misconception about CAM is that indigenous doctors do not use conventional healthcare interventions. Some people believe that holistic medicine is not mainstream. Additionally, some believe that CAM is safe for all and has been inspected for purity and safety by relevant government authority figures.

Methods of including the use of CAM in patient education

There are diverse types of CAM that can be utilized in contemporary medicine to maximize the patient’s health outcomes (Racz et al., 2019). Exploring CAM through professional patient education programs is therefore critical in integrating CAM in healthcare systems as it simplifies the intricate medical concepts to simpler medical terms to facilitate the clinical decision-making skills of patients and their families. Critically, the content of CAM sought during patient education must be evidence-based. The content should be found in critical thinking, reading, and literature analysis. Moreover, promoting willingness for open communications about CAM, including experimental studies, enhances the inclusion of SAM into medical regimes to enhance patient outcomes.

Safe use of CAM

Like other medical interventions, cam use demands safety considerations to preserve and maintain an individual’s health. The safety measures differ in each CAM treatment thud each CAM treatment should be considered individually (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2022). When implemented appropriately, psychological CAM interventions like yoga and meditation can effectively restore healthy people’s physical and psychological health. The CAM treatment must be free of contamination to prevent deterioration of the patients’ health and free of drug interactions as this may hinder the effectiveness of both the complementary medicine and the CAM (Marupuru et al., 2019). Additionally, nutritional CAM should be tested for safety to prevent adverse reactions in the patient and maximize the dietary supplement role.

Integration of conventional medicine and CAM

CAM can be integrated into conventional medicine through prayers and guided meditation, creating a soul-bod connection. The contemporary nursing practice utilizes evidence-based research, clinical programs, and education to support CAM, such as progressive relaxation that helps patients rest, thus enhancing their recovery. Supplementary CAM regimens like acupuncture and massage therapy physically help bodies regain vitality and mobility, thus critical in patient’s comprehensive nutritional intervention.

Ethical theories, ethical principles, and values definition

Ethical theories are statements that guide our behavior in nursing when faced with medical dilemmas. Ethical principles are the objectives that each ethical theory aims to achieve to succeed, such as autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence in healthcare. Moreover, ethical values provide guidelines for making medical decisions.

Examples of issues in patient education and compliance and ways in which effective professional/patient relationships and poor professional/patient relationships can impact these issues

Ethical patient education includes the effective forms in which a patient consents to critical decision-making on medical issues about compliance and medical preferences to preserve the patient’s autonomy. Ethical issues like conflict about treatment objectives may contribute to poor professional/patient relationships leading to patients’ lower compliance with medication and thus poor health outcomes. Effective clinician/patient relationship facilitates understanding and thus discussions on the suitable intervention.

Purpose of informed consent

The purpose of informed consent is to protect the patient’s autonomy. The consent form facilitates transparency and accountability between the clinician and the patient by ensuring continuous communication between the patient and healthcare provider.

Factors determining a patient’s ability to give informed consent

The factors determining a patient’s ability to give informed consent include the patient’s competency in decision-making, reasonable disclosure of the medical procedure, effective alternatives to the presented treatment, advantages and unpredictabilities related to each alternative, associated risks, emphasizing the patient’s role in decision making and finally assessing the patient’s understanding of the factors above. These factors enhance the clarity of the medical procedure while assisting the patient in maintaining autonomy as reasonably possible.

Sample informed consent form

MEDICAL CONSENT FORM

……….has my permission to perform the medical procedure for ……… when I cannot make decisions, or in case my health is at immediate risk.

Guardian’s name:

Cell phone:

Email Address:

Process of communication to use with patient and family for informed consent

Effective informed consent involves open communication, creating rapport, active listening, seeking consent to carry the discussion, listening and addressing the patients’ concerns, and detailing the potential risks and benefits associated with the medical procedure. According to Kennedy and Malanowski (2019), providing patients with mechanistic evidence is critical to deciding whether to take certain medications.

References

Fjær, E. L., Landet, E. R., McNamara, C. L., & Eikemo, T. A. (2020). The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Europe. BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 20(1), 1-9.

Kennedy, A., & Malanowski, S. (2019). Mechanistic reasoning and informed consent. Bioethics, 33(1), 162-168.

Marupuru, S., Axon, D. R., & Slack, M. K. (2019). How do pharmacists use and recommend vitamins, minerals, herbals and other dietary supplements?. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 19(1), 1-9.

Racz, A., Crnkovic, I., & Brumini, I. (2019). ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS ABOUT INTEGRATION OF CAM EDUCATION IN HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS TRAINING PROGRAMS IN CROATIA. In 6th INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL SCIENCES AND ARTS SGEM 2019 (pp. 399-406).

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Safe use of complementary health products and practices. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Retrieved July 17, 2022, from https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/safety