Wednesday 17 December 2014

Watson Hears a WHO!

By Kim M. Watson, RN, MScN

 
Hi, my name is Kim Watson, an emergency department nurse and a holistic practitioner here in Ontario. Welcome to my first blog post. When the PRIM Executive asked me to be a blogger, I jumped at the chance! This is where my passion lies; I have a vision for an Integrative Healthcare focus for Canadians. I know it is the next best thing that will happen to help transform healthcare in Canada! I advocate for an integrative system, not an alternative to the conventional medical system; one which is open to a holistic approach that looks at each of us as individuals to meet our needs on our path to wellness (as a physical, mental, emotional, spiritual & social being) while utilizing our present system at its best.

First a little about me: I have been a Registered Nurse since 1976; yes 38 years this year. I presently work in an Emergency Trauma Unit in Windsor, Ontario. I am also a Holistic Practitioner who provides biofield therapies, which are better known as energy work. I am a Reiki Master, Healing Touch (Level V) and Therapeutic Touch (Level II) practitioner; and I have taken other courses in this field of care such as Medical Intuition and Sacred Geometry. In 2001, I took my first formal course, though this ‘other world’ approach to care has been something in my life since I was a child. Presently I am the President of the RNAO-CTNIG (Registered Nurses Association of Ontario’s Complementary Therapies Nurses’ Interest Group), and the Ontario Representative of the CHNA (Canadian Holistic Nurses Association); as well I am a member of many other professional associations that represent various aspects of an integrative healthcare approach, like the AHNA (American Holistic Nurses Association).

 
One of my first memories is of my Grandmother, better known as Baba, using her garden as her medicine chest. One example of her gift of healing was with the use of nature when I was eight, just before we moved to Montreal. My parents had gone ahead to find a place to live and we stayed on my grandparent’s farm. Well I must have slept wrong and found my neck stiff and my head was almost lying on my shoulder. My mother told my Baba to take me to the doctor and not do any of her own stuff. The doctor gave me a prescription for pills that I took faithfully for 3 days with no relief. Baba finally was fed up with my crooked head and moans, and cooked up this awful smelling mixture of things from her garden. She applied it as a poultice to my neck. In less than 30 minutes I had complete relief! I was so pleased that I could even forgive the horrendous smell – my neck was healed! I thought my Baba was a bit of a good witch, she had magic that really worked! Well, when I worked at the Hospital for Sick Children in the 70’s-80’s, I can remember making up similar poultices as my Baba made which had been ordered by our physicians on the Isolation Unit; we had a small burner in our medication room to cook the concoctions frequently used with abscesses or skin conditions. I recently spoke with a nurse who currently works there, and yes, they still have the stove!

 
Well, like Horton in Dr. Seuss’ book ‘Horton Hears A WHO,’ Watson hears a WHO! I am hearing the cries of many that are ignored within our healthcare system. Over the last few decades, I have heard the increasing cry for the use of complementary therapies in care, not only by the patient and their families, but also from the nurse. I have witnessed an increase in the number of patients who are seeking out and experiencing various types of complementary therapies, herbs and vitamins or treatments as part of their healthcare due to reported benefits from their use, and frustration with the outcomes of our current conventional care. According to the Fraser Institute (2007), nearly three-quarters of Canadians (74%) had used at least one complementary therapy at some time in their life; and more than one-half (54%) reported using one within the last year. In 1996, the College of Nurses of Ontario published its first practice guideline to help guide nurses to determine when and whether it is appropriate to incorporate complementary therapies into their nursing practice; and to provide guidance as they collaborate with their clients/patients to help them to make decisions about their use. With our neighbours to the south (USA), a holistic approach and use of complementary therapies is rapidly gaining strength through integration within many acute care protocols, programs, and pathways. I figure we are about 12-15 years behind many places in the states. Multiple professional associations have been established and are networking through practice and research, like the TTNO ~ Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario and/or IN-CAM, known as the Canadian Interdisciplinary Network for Complementary and Alternative Therapy that helps to conduct research and share their findings. 

 
As we move forward into a new ‘consciousness’ we must be ready to lead and be led in this new approach to care. Open your mind to how, where and what we must do to do so, learn more about this holistic approach to integrative healthcare with my blog posts; listen carefully and see if you too can hear a ‘WHO.’ My posts will discuss a variety of topics along this line, such as my vision for the use of complementary therapies as an open of care and the role we all can play in making this a reality.  I will also share some of my stories whether it is on the healing work I have done, or to perhaps discuss formal work I have done like a RNAO Advanced Clinical Practice Fellowship on “The Introduction and Integration of Complementary Therapy in Acute Care” (August 2009 – February 2010), or perhaps I will point out some currently released research, or a good book!

 
So stay tuned in, and I guarantee you, the ride may be a bit bumpy, though it will be fun!

 
Blessings, in love and in light, Namasté, Kim

 

 

Saturday 13 December 2014

Integrative Approaches to Healthcare Are Necessary, Not Optional Today


By Brenda Pearce, RN

How many times have you turned on television, and watching a program originating from the US, see commercials for medications showing wonderful happy people living a full and vibrant life, and then hearing in very fast, forced speech longer than the actual commercial about all the interactions and side effects of the medication?  It is not a joke!  These are real and very scary outcomes that have happened to real people as a result of taking that particular medication.  This is the norm of our healthcare pharmacopeia.  High stakes and high risks.

If you do not take note of these outcomes and the seriousness of these risks, you could become a statistic too.

What value do you put on your own life, if our healthcare system doesn’t.  This may not be intentional on the actions of your physician, but can be a sad result.   There are big dollars at stake on the side of the R&D of medications that are supposedly meant to our highest and best, sometimes repurposed from their original intention due to negative results, or have been offered in our country when they have been outlawed in other countries.  Or, clinical trials are being done when the drug has not been approved in our country…   It scares me as a health professional to administer medications which may not benefit a client, or may cause other conditions causing a pharmacopeia spiral of more and more medications to be required.

I wonder how we can incorporate holistic practices in synergy with health conditions to improve life, reduce medication dependence.   For instance as a Reiki practitioner, I know that Reiki will help to reduce, fear, pain and anxiety, and if physicians feel the need to prescribe an antidepressant, or antianxiety medication, that they could prescribe a referral to a Reiki practitioner as well.  This may reduce the long term dependence on these medications.  There are side effects of increased suicidal thoughts or other devastating thoughts, that are possible with medication prescription, yet no one ever died because of a Reiki session!   Yes, so many people benefit from the hands on effect of someone energetically raising their vibrational energy set-point.

I feel that this is a time when many, many people are asking more questions, or seeking options in their healthcare choices, this opens us up to amazing times of choice and empowerment.

PRIM opens the door to creating a happier healthier partnership with our healthcare systems.  Let’s embrace this time of open dialogue.  Vanessa’s Law is a VERY proactive start to this change within Canada.   Canadians are seeking and Canada is speaking out! 

 

Thursday 23 October 2014

Integrative Medicine Will Save Lives and Billions!


By Nina Rakhra



The first article in the book Safety First: Dispelling Myths about Complementary Therapies is called Safety considerations in the prescribing of drugs. This article makes it clear why we so desperately need integrative medicine. It talks about the risks with prescription drugs and how adverse drug reactions are the 4th leading cause of death behind cancer, heart disease and stroke. The numbers are staggering and they go beyond just the number of people who die from the side effects of medication.  

What I also found incredibly disheartening is just how much taxpayer money is needed to keep a broken health care system going. People are not getting healthier and the costs to taxpayers are getting higher. Right now, close to 50% of the money that the Government of Ontario collects through taxes and federal transfer payments is spent on our health care system. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce projects that it will be 80% by 2030 if things do not change.

This is a huge problem and integrative medicine is a big part of the solution! A 2005 University of Arizona study compared the economic benefits of using complementary therapies to conventional treatments. After looking at 56 economic evaluations, the authors found major cost savings for several health conditions including treating migraine headaches with acupuncture, manual therapy for neck pain, self-administered stress management for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, biofeedback for people with bowel problems, and healthier diets for cardiac patients.

If complementary therapies are safe, effective and can save taxpayers money, it only makes sense for integrative medicine to be a big part of the solution to our health care crisis. Realistically, with prescription drugs costing more than $30 billion a year and sure to continue rising as baby boomers age, integrative medicine would save governments and private health insurance companies billions of dollars.

Just think about how great it would be if doctors and other health care professionals built strong relationships with their patients and focused on getting people healthy instead of mainly having the symptoms of their health conditions treated with prescription drugs.  People would be healthier and wealthier. Sounds good to me! 

It is time to transform health care in Ontario and integrative medicine is key!!!
 

Sunday 28 September 2014

Chelation Therapy Is Safe and Effective

By Nina Rakhra

I just finished reading 
SafetyFirst: Dispelling Myths about Complementary Therapiesin the Resources section for physicians on the PRIM website and realized just how safe and effective chelation therapy really is!
 As my journey for understanding integrative medicine broadens, I have realized just how safe and effective chelation therapy really is! Think about it, a major reason for using chelation therapy is to get something into your blood stream that will take something poisonous out as quickly as possible. There doesn’t seem to be a better way to do that than intravenously! Right?!


The Safety First article by Dr. Richard Nahas on Intravenous Chelation Therapy (pages 32-34) did a great job describing the history of chelation therapy including how it was first used in Germany in the 1930s to help shipyard workers who had lead poisoning. An agent called EDTA (ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid) was administered intravenously and it would bind to the lead and eventually excrete it from the body.  Chelation therapy has since been used to help treat several health conditions including other heavy metal toxicities and heart disease!

Here it goes: chelation therapy works!!! In video testimonials on the PRIM website I listened to Andy Brazda talk about how chelation therapy helped him overcome angina! I was so interested that I then took a look at Glyn Bancroft talk about how it helped him get rid of heavy metal poisoning. I also read the testimonials and one of the most striking statements came from James Awad;

“I had a 74% blockage in my main artery and needed to have a stent put in immediately. I left the hospital that day and life seemed so dark through my eyes. While I was talking with friends, I was guided to Dr. Hui. I have never looked back since then. After a very thorough examination by Dr. Hui, I started my chelation treatment and immediately started feeling better. On my annual visits to my cardiologist everything is perfect. Now, 12 years later, I still don’t need a stent!!!”

There is no doubt that chelation therapy is safe and effective! Although there is a slight roadblock, this method is battling against conventional medicine and many doctors who believe in surgery for treating heart disease. I would hope in my future and children’s lifetime that most doctors look more into chelation therapy to help all individuals seek different medical approaches!

As a young person who is trying to stay healthy, if I ever find out that I have a major heart problem, I will definitely visit Dr. Fred Hui or another integrative medicine practitioner first. Most definitely, surgery will be my last choice!!!

 

Monday 21 July 2014

Understanding Integrative Medicine

By Nina Rakhra


Hi everyone! This is my first blog post for PRIM so I decided to start by describing my understanding of what integrative medicine is.


At the beginning of my health journey (if interested stay tuned – my health journey will be another blog post!) I was not too sure what integrative medicine is. After doing some intense Google searches and looking at different definitions, I decided to talk with a few family members and friends who have experienced the benefits of integrative medicine. What I learned from them, and based on my own experiences with integrative medicine, is that it is a combination of conventional medicine, which focuses on treating the symptoms of diseases using medication, radiation or surgery, and more natural complementary therapies that focus on helping people heal from one or more health conditions.


So why is integrative medicine so important I thought. Well, Integrative medicine addresses the underlying causes of an illness and does not focus on just treating the symptoms with, for example, prescription drugs, which often have unimaginable side effects! It promotes the health of the whole person - mind, body and spirit, which is reflected in many of the PRIM testimonials.


What seems clear is that integrative medicine is a partnership between the patient and practitioner in the healing process. That to me the one of the best relationships one can have within their health journey! The underlying causes of illnesses are determined and, rather than just treating symptoms, practitioners can recommend the use of both conventional medicine and complementary therapies to create a healing response.

As someone who has been successfully treated with integrative medicine, I finally get it. I get why it is so important to bring awareness to integrative medicine! When I met with my doctor the discussion went from simply talking about a medical condition to figuring out how to get me healthy, overall. It was not a discussion about the symptoms of an illness but about the possible underlying causes of my condition. My doctor wanted to help me get better by diving deeper into my condition!

Although integrative medicine is new to a lot of people, this type of medicine is really quite old and there are many different types of practitioners. Medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists and many other people practice a variety of complementary therapies! While helping patients get better, they understand the importance of making lifestyle changes that will benefit their lives for the long run!

As someone who is just starting to understand how important integrative medicine is to improving our health care system, I will be looking for a qualified integrative medicine practitioner for any personal health issue in the future. I do not want to just have the symptoms of an illness treated. I want to use my own natural healing system to be cured and to stay healthy.

I now understand what integrative medicine is: simply GOOD medicine!

Friday 4 April 2014

Total Health Show 2014 - April 4,5,6 in Toronto
http://www.totalhealthshow.com/showInfo/index.cfm?CFID=10051363&CFTOKEN=57482087

PRIM Volunteers are busy preparing for the show today.