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Western
Medicine
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR
THIS WEEKS DISCUSSION
The average time that a patient meets
with a doctor is 5 minutes. Share three key points that you learned from this
week’s readings that were a surprise to you. List each point and then explain
the practice in terms of allopathic medicine.
Be sure to cite all references (whether
from course readings or from outside sources.)
This
assignment must fulfill the basic requirements for weekly postings. Therefore,
it must be a minimum of one page (double spaced), citations required in APA or
MLA format, you are to use your own words
BELOW
ARE MATERIALS AND LINKS PART OF THIS WEEKS DISCUSSION I ALSO ATTACHED PDF
READINDS PART OF THIS WEEKS DISCUSSION
Topic II: Notes on Medical
Systems
‘Western
medicine’ or allopathic medicine refers to the treatment of health conditions
by licensed physicians, as well as nurses and/or other conventional healthcare
providers who employ methods developed according to scientific traditions. This
technique differs from Eastern or alternative medical systems in its approach
to treatment, which relies heavily upon industrially produced medications and a
strict adherence to the formal scientific processes.
The
main focus of this medical system is on rigorous safety and effectiveness
protocols to combat the disease. Western medicine practitioners discuss germs
as the cause for illness. Even though the patient can generally not see a
“germ” he/she believes that antibiotics, surgeries, chemotherapy or other
scientifically tested treatments will cure the symptoms. Treatments
and medications pass a strict review before a patient can receive them. Western
treatments often act quickly to eliminate symptoms associated with disease.
When
studying medicine, anthropologists are very aware that this is just one
dimension within a complex cultural system. Most notably, it is very difficult
to study medicine without studying the family system. Some cultures (for
instance, of the United States) are called “individualistic.” This means that
the focus is on the individual and his/her nuclear family (mother, father,
kids.) The average family in the United States has less than three children.
“Collective cultures” have a different definition of family. In these cultures,
such as in Greece, the family consists of many generations. Therefore, if a
nurse says only family members allowed in the room, to a person raised in a
collective culture, this may be a very large group of people. The study of culture
is essential when studying medical anthropology.
In
our society, we often hear politicians referring to “family values” but this
means something very different to an anthropologist. For details on caring for
Middle Eastern patients and kin, please visit:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1011016/Links to an external site.
In
addition to studying family dynamics, medical anthropologists investigate the
importance of politics, religion and economics within medical systems.
“Critical
medical anthropology” is a theoretical approach that focuses on the political
economy of health and health care. Political economy, from an anthropological
perspective, includes the study of producing and exchanging goods, and the
influence of government policy and capitalism on all aspects of life. When
applied to health and health care, these practitioners investigate the ways in
which health services are differentially allocated based on wealth within a
given society. In other words, these medical anthropologists seek to uncover
hidden causes of poor health as they relate to capitalism and economics. Paul
Farmer is an influential figure practicing critical medical anthropology
today.
Key Terms (in addition to the Fadiman text)
Note: Key Terms will not be graded, but will be used in the
exam. You should become familiar with their definitions:
Community
health care
Medical
partnerships
World
Health Organization (WHO)
Traditional
medicine (home remedies)
Gripas
Herbal
health care
Scientific
methods of Investigation (scientific studies)
Egalitarian
cultures
Hierarchical
cultures
If
you would like to learn more about how cultural anthropologists study politics,
kinship (family) systems, economics and religion please visit:
Studying the
traditional healing practices of Mexican American Women
Studying the Traditional Healing Practices of Mexican-American Women
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