Growing up in American society, I have always
looked at the profession of “doctor” as having great esteem. Most children
today are welcomed into the world by a medical doctor. In the past it was
common for midwives to bring a child into the world, but with the growth of the
American medical system, the amount of medical doctors and biomedicine has
increased and become the new normal. We have gotten used to the idea of going
to the doctor’s office for any ailment that seems to be bothering us and have
expected to just be given a magical pill to solve the problem. I do not know if
it is because I live in the Seattle area, known to be more cutting edge and new
age, but in recent years I have seen an increase in naturopathic medicine and
the use of naturopathic doctors. People who in the past would just go to the
good old doctor’s office for medication are checking into new approaches to
achieve wellness like naturopathy. Many of the practices of naturopathic doctors
are actually the implementations of eastern medicine. While many people are utilizing the
alternative healing approaches, many are hesitant and even think this new
treatment is crazy business. In an article by a licensed naturopathic doctor,
Michael Stanclift, he tries to defend his profession as an actual science
since so many Americans are weary. “When I say ‘naturopathic doctor,’ to some
folks it conjures up ideas of magic wands, potions, and Kramer's holistic
healer friend on Seinfeld” (Stanclift). Because Americans are so set on their
own etiology of what healthcare should be, they misjudge any other treatments
since they are different and do not follow the status quo. In Lecture,
Alejandro focused a lot on how the current medicalization in the US has been
primarily caused by the need to be normal. Health is associated with normal and
in the US, biomedicines are normal.
In my own life I have seen how
American etiology affects people’s perceptions. In recent years I have opened
my eyes upon becoming a naturopathic doctor myself. When people ask me my
intended profession however, I am hesitant to tell them what it is because of
fear that they will mock my choice as being a false profession. My brother for
example thinks that naturopathic remedies are basically fake medicine. He does
not recognize it being a valid source of medical help. Janzen’s article, “The
Fabric of Health” contradicts this idea.
“Not only have
scholars documented the hundreds of applications of medicinal plants by
herbalist, healers, and lay people alike, but the Native American pharmacopoeia
has given to global medicine such important drugs as quinine, aspirin,
digitalis, as well as medicinally applied stimulants such as cocoa, coca, and
tobacco" (Janzen).
Many Americans do not actually realize that the medications they
are already using come from natural remedies. While, yes, biomedicines have
been modified in the lab, their active ingredients come from natural sources
that actually can help human health. Americans tend to either not realize this
or deny that the natural form of the drugs can actually be helpful. Another
thing to note is that naturopathic doctors do not just spend their time
prescribing the use of herbs and other natural products or medicines. The major
point of their field is to look at the overall health of a person and assess
how their lifestyle may be affecting their quality of health. In his article
Standclift says,
“We spend that time getting to know each
patient as a person. We ask about everything that's going on with them
physically, emotionally, and oftentimes spiritually. When making a specific
recommendation or prescription, we spend time explaining treatment options and
answering questions. We aim to teach our patients about their health, and how
they can care for it” (Stanclift).
So while a naturopathic doctor could be spending all their time prescribing
alternative medicine, their real overall goal is to give an overall assessment
of the patient and then to give them a way to fix it that is less invasive than
a typical medical doctor’s approach. Witchcraft and magical herbs do not have
to be in the picture.
Acupuncture has become a more commonly accepted treatment for different medical conditions. This type of therapy is an eastern medicine that can be recommended by a naturopathic doctor.
In eastern countries, the converse is true considering general
feelings towards biomedicine. Many countries that have historically used
natural methods of healing do not feel the need for biomedicines. Western
medicine has become the world standard, but it is not necessarily what every
human being wants to be treated with. The video in class demonstrated an excellent
example of this. In India, they are aware of biomedicines but they prefer their
natural remedies instead. They actually believe that their own therapies work
better. So while in America, we find biomedicine and medical doctors to be the “normal”
and therefore the correct form of healing; other areas of the world have a
completely different standard of what healing should look like.
My point of all of this is to bring up how in the US, many of us
have a false representation of the medical system. We have grown up in a
certain environment with standard medical practices. Healthcare has become “averaged.”
We must all fit a certain category and if we don’t, we must all go to a medical
doctor for treatment. Our view is skewed because of our perception. If we take
a more worldly view of healthcare, we might be able to see that there are alternative
methods that aren't necessarily inferior. In fact, many foreign therapies are
less invasive, have better response and have fewer side effects than typical
biomedicine. In the Seattle area, I see a rise in naturopathic doctors on the
horizon. My hope is that the trend continues to the rest of the country and
becomes more accepted as a valid profession and treatment source. It definitely
feels foreign, but that does not discount its validity. If I do decide that
becoming a naturopathic doctor is in my future, I hope that it releases a stigma
of respect and not something that I have to be embarrassed to share with random
people let alone to my family.
First off, I agree with Stacie completely. The fact of the matter is that western medicine is dominant in healthcare all over the world, and this is often associated with thoughts of western superiority. As we have studied in past weeks, the root of this “western mentality” is from colonialism and slavery. In almost every land that Europeans expanded to, the particular natives were perceived as barbaric, thus their cultural practices perceived as inferior. This is especially true for indigenous people groups in Africa and the Americas. Closed mindedness and lack of understanding due to language barriers were factors that added to biased cultural rankings. In present day, although there are available means for understanding different cultures via technological advances, many westerners are either biased against nontraditional medicine or simply are unaware of other practices, therefore their limited knowledge gave way to which practices they deem as legitimate or illegitimate.
ReplyDelete“Healthcare has become ‘averaged.’ We must all fit a certain category and if we don’t, we must all go to a medical doctor for treatment. Our view is skewed because of our perception. If we take a more worldly view of healthcare, we might be able to see that there are alternative methods that aren't necessarily inferior.” (Larsen)
Stacie states that the nontraditional medical practices that most of us westerners neglect because of biases may actually be better suited for certain individuals compared to the “treat all” methods of western medicine.
I have personal experiences with naturopathic medical practices because of my Korean ethnicity. Frankly, I was unaware of the skepticism surrounding non-traditional medical practices. Since I’ve grown up surrounded by two cultures, I’ve become familiar with both western medicine and traditional Korean/East Asian remedies. In Korea, acupuncture is a widely practiced treatment. In many cases, it is not even seen as an alternative method of treatment, but a first choice. I know that my parents have undergone acupuncture when they suffered muscle or joint pain. In fact, acupuncture is accepted as a treatment for a variety of conditions such as headaches. In another case, my brother and I had severe dry skin/eczema when we were growing up and my parents would regularly buy herbal medicine for us to drink. There was no question as to whether the treatment worked or not since it was an obvious choice to provide the rightful medicine for our conditions.
Because I am a Korean-American, I am accustomed to two very different cultures, which consequentially shapes my perceptions about my views on acceptable medicine. Because my parents never questioned the legitimacy of naturopathic medicine, I am inclined to do the same. I’ve learned that the relationship between western medicine and naturopathic medicine is not mutually exclusive one, meaning that just because I acknowledge acupuncture and herbal medicine as legitimate does not mean that I distrust in healthcare practiced by the United States, or vice versa. Had I not been cultured in my Korean heritage, I would probably be just as skeptical about non-traditional medicine as the average American citizen, and I would have not received beneficial treatment. Therefore, this proves that a variety of experiences and knowledge is key to openness and greater understanding, which is ultimately to the beneficial to the individual.
Ann Lee