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            I clearly expressed at the beginning of class to be a strong advocate for Western medicine. When asked “why,” I jumped to the conclusion that we were the best because we have the most advanced medicine. While I do still partially believe this, I understand now that it was a shallow mindset and only addressed one part of the picture.

I think it is important to differentiate what exactly we are treating when discussing the best form of medicine (traditional western vs. holistic). For acute conditions, such as broken bones, heart attacks, and trauma injuries, traditional medicine has the upperhand. It is the more efficient in treating the condition quickly and thoroughly. Also, western medicine is superior at detecting and preventing certain conditions. The technology available to those Americans (with health insurance, of course) is astounding.

            However, on another note, holistic medicine has proven to be an effective form of medicine as well.  Many chronic conditions, such as heart disease, GI disorders, headaches and sinusitis aren’t always treatable by popping a pill. They’re sometimes a permanent part of one’s lifestyle and often require “outside of the box” treatment in order to find relief.  This is when some natural remedies can be successful – either along with the traditional cocktail of pharmaceuticals, or alone. Over time, some holistic approaches may even ease the patient off strong medications that cause an array of negative, unpleasant side effects for the patient.  In this regard, holistic medicine is actually better than traditional western medicine.

            So, I have changed my conclusion since last week’s class. I now feel it is essential that the crack include the best of both Eastern and Western procedures. Multiple forms of treatment are often necessary in order to best heal the whole body – one’s mental health and physical health.  It often depends on the context of the situation, or what the doctor is aiming to treat. For example, perhaps in the West the main purpose of the doctor is to fix the symptoms in order to re-gain physical health, while in different parts of the world the purpose of the doctor is different – maybe it is to rid the person of the “devil” or whatever their culture believes is making them ill. Then, specific results/reactions from the patient (whether or not the person is ‘healing’ according to our standards) shows that their healers have done their job. In this case, their culture’s medicine is the best, and Western medicine is completely out of the picture. I guess it’s all about the frame of reference…

Conventional western medicine is not the best in all cases. The crack explains why multiple systems of medicine exist.