So yeah...this has absolutely nothing to do with WoW. If you were looking for helpful tips and analysis of instances and raids you were at the wrong place anyway because I have no idea! If you were looking for helpful and sage advice about playing your character you have again come to the wrong place. Being that this is the wrong place for any helpful WoW information, I suppose I shouldn't worry about being off topic anyway. Now, if you were looking for advice on eating a gnome you'd recently caught or beautiful haiku poetry from the various denizens of Azeroth you have come to the right place on the wrong day. On to my totally non WoW topic.
I'm currently putting together a ppt presentation about alternative medicine (CAM). I am in occupational medicine and work for a very large company. On occasion they let me out of my cave and ask that I give informative presentations to our employees. I have done diabetes, cardiovascular health, cholesterol, health maintenance, cancer and more.
My intention is not to endorse CAM, but to discuss it. To make our employees aware of what CAM is and how it may affect their health, particularly if they are taking medications or treatments for a chronic or acute condition. I was hoping to write a balanced, non-judgemental presentation that left people with an understanding of various theories in health as well as an awareness of their own health and that just because something is "natural", it doesn't mean it is automatically safe. The problem I'm having is the non-judgemental part. I am a raging empiricist and generally view CAM as a bunch of crap. I was telling friends and family that zinc for colds was a load of crap long before studies came out confirming that. Magnet bracelets are a bunch of crap. Colon cleansing is a bunch of crap. Alkalinated water is a bunch of crap. Those things that suck impurities out of your feet are a bunch of crap. Titanium bracelets and necklaces are a bunch of crap. Chiropractics.....crap. Yep you heard it here. The problem is that I think most CAM is a bunch of crap. If traditional Indian (ayurvedic) medicine worked, why do people not live as long. Why are lifespans up in nations that practice western (allopathic) medicine? Why have lifespans generally increased as western medical science has improved. Traditional medicine/treatment has been around for thousands of years, yet it has been with the advent of allopathic medicine that people live longer.
Does this make me a judgemental bastard? Probably. Does it make me a less effective medical provider? Maybe. Mind you I am never judgemental with my patients. I need to know if they are using any CAM and if they think I am going to scold them for it, they would certainly not reveal anything. I do try to be open minded and generally my feeling is (and me response to patients is) if something works for you, go ahead and use it (provided it's not bad/negative). If your chiropractic treatments are making you feel better, why would you stop? As long as it doesn't interfere with the successful treatment of other conditions, I'm okay with it. Hell, even placebos have a relatively high success rate!
So, I don't believe in most CAM therapies, but I understand the importance of being non-judgemental and keeping an open mind. How do I close down the pessimist long enough to create and give a successful presentation? Any advice on doing things you don't agree with or believe in? The topic is importance enough (about 38% of ppl report using CAM therapy) that it needs to be done, but I need to do it well and without alienating those that do believe!
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Here Mother Loving Here. Great post. Alot of CAM is crap. Here's the thing people underestmiate the power of the brain and body to heal it self. CAM is a panicea(sp?)
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you can be fair to bullshit though. If I had cancer, and all I did was shake a maraca over me, and it went into remission. Did the Maraca have super powers, No.
Having an open mind, and being gullible are two different things.