Role of Clinical Nurse Practitioner in CAM
engage in CAM use as a means of boosting their immunity for better outcomes in managing cancer. The second reason for CAM use by patients is to prevent cancer due to the belief that the Complementary and Alternative are effective in the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases. The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine is mainly due to shared believes among the users, such as the use of acupuncture in Asian culture due to the traditional values. The prevention of diseases through Complementary and Alternative Medicine is mainly believed to enhance the quality of life by preventing disease complications (Chong, 2006).
The third reason for CAM use among patients involves patient determination to be actively involved in the treatment and management of diseases such as cancer. Cancer patients are determined to promote their self-esteem by taking part in the development of treatment plans outside the normal interventions initiated by the doctor. As such, cancer patients are tempted to try alternative treatments that are easily available. There is also the issue of reducing disease severity using CAM. Cancer can cause chronic pain that increases patient suffering when opioids are not available. As such, cancer patients are more likely to seek alternative treatments to manage chronic pain (Chong, 2006).
Role of Clinical Nurse Practitioner in CAM
Nurse Practitioners have the responsibility to enhance the integration of CAM into standard medicine. The first role played by Nurse Practitioners is creating a supportive environment for patients suffering from conditions while using CAM. Nurse Practitioners engage patients in face to face discussions to collect information on the use of CAM to manage the condition with a sense of compassion and respect to individual autonomy. Secondly, Nurse Practitioners encourage other caregivers to respect patient choices about CAM use and to avoid negative response when patients report the use of alternative medicine. Patient assessment by Nurse Practitioners should capture information on the use of CAM for the management of illnesses to facilitate decision-making on care plan development (Chong, 2006).
The third responsibility of a Nurse Practitioner is to promote patient education on the use of CAM when managing illnesses. Patients who report using CAM to reduce disease severity require information about the possible negative effects of the medication on the standard treatments and proper guidelines for using a combination of CAM and standard treatments based on evidence-based recommendations (Chong, 2006). Patient education by Nurse Practitioners should include information on the effectiveness of the medication and adverse effects that can occur.
Comparison of Research
According to Jong et al., (2012), the use of CAM is a common practice among patients suffering from chronic diseases. The study found similar findings on the main reasons that influence patients to use CAM. The study reports that patients use CAM to enhance the immune system, prevent chronic diseases, and to manage disease symptoms. Secondly, the article reports similar findings on the main issues that prevent the discussion of CAM between patients and caregivers. The reported issues include a lack of awareness on CAM effects, failures by caregivers to inquire about CAM, and lack of proper communication during patient assessment. The study recognizes the important role played by Nurse Practitioners in ensuring that patients utilize CAM properly when while using standard treatment interventions. Similarly, Jong et al. and Chong articles provide similar recommendations on the role of Nurse Practitioners to enhance CAM use through a supportive environment for discussions and patient education.
The main difference between the two articles is the addition of CAM practitioners with the role of handling patients with plans to use CAM, which is reported by Jong et la., (2012). The integration of CAM into standard medicine requires the development of a CAM practitioner profession with competencies to handle patients based on CAM guidelines.