Dr. Oz says energy medicine the next big thing

[passionflower]

Dr. Oz was on Oprah the other day espousing the values of alternative care. He mentioned that energy medicine would be the next big thing. I was reading some of the comments regarding a recent post on the nursing dx for energy field and I quote: "hard to believe", "hooey", "frivolity", "trivialize" "garbage" and "not worth the paper its printed on".

I was wondering if these comments were because you don't believe in energy fields affecting our health, or because you don't like the nursing diagnosis. If it is the latter, in what way would you change it? If Dr. Oz is right and energy medicine is "the next big thing", maybe we would do our field justice by being in on the ground floor? In the past, a lot of things that seemed to be "hooey" turned out to be right on. Does anyone have any experience with using energy medicine? If so, what was it like?

[birdy88]

This is a great thread! I strongly believe that there is so much more to the human body or the universe for that matter that we don't know about. Nobody disputes the facts that we have a physical, emotional and mental side to ourselves, well I think there are other dimensions that only few people in this world have really touched on- spiritual gurus for example. I think we have capabilities that are definitly unexplored. There's a great book that I read that helps put facts behind something that seems unexplainable. Its called The Way of Qigong, the Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing. It was really interesting, i recommend it.

[PLTSGT]

Thanks for a great thread!

It is so true that society may find this alternative form of treatment as bunch of hooey, and the truth is a lot of today's modalities were considered as looney back then.

[surfchic]

Thanks for opening this discussion. I have been practicing yoga for many years and been teaching yoga to my patients, family and friends (practically anyone I come in contact with), so energy med sounds very interesting to me. I do believe in quatum physics and that we are all energy, and vibrate in different energy levels. I'm excited to join AHNA and get certified.

What job opportunites out there are available for a Holistic RN?

Thanks and abundance to everyone!:)

[Atheos]

Thanks for a great thread!

It is so true that society may find this alternative form of treatment as bunch of hooey, and the truth is a lot of today's modalities were considered as looney back then.

The main reason society sees alternative treatment as hooey is that for so long and still a lot of it is hooey. Not to say that alternative medicine is all hooey, just that so many scam artist companies profit on hooey alternative medicine that people are wary.

If you tell me yoga helps or that acupuncture can deal with pain better than western medicine I would like to see papers and experiments.

I'm sure everyone is aware what is happening or has happened to the majority of the cancer patients that eschewed 'Western Medicine' and tried 'Eastern Medicine.' Death is not a result I would want.

Of course, if we could see proof then maybe society would accept it. Or maybe not I still smoke... Maybe just do it to me before I am aware of what you are doing and when it works I'll believe :chuckle

[zenman]

Of course, if we could see proof then maybe society would accept it. Or maybe not I still smoke... Maybe just do it to me before I am aware of what you are doing and when it works I'll believe :chuckle

Research psychologist Oakley Gordon:

"But I am a 'professional intellectual', my intellect is how I communicate with my discipline. I don't seem to be able to help trying to make sense intellectually out of the experiences I've had in Peru, or trying to establish that there is some 'truth' in them. But translation, even after the fact, from one way of understanding to the other cannot be done. Translating heart knowledge into prose kills it (poetry is better suited), and searching for 'proof' of its truth leaves one grasping at the wind."

Eve Bruce, M.D.:

"I had witnessed complete healings of many diseases through shamanic techniques: chronic back pain, migraine headaches, allergies, alcoholism, infertility, gender difficulties, cysts, tumors and cancers, to name a few.'

She also says, "The very fact that the effectiveness of shamanic healing is not completely explainable by our scientific view of the world gives us a clue that an important breakthrough in our knowledge and understanding is possible."

I recently read an article on double-blind studies and it relates the story of two exact studies published at the same time, in the same medical journal that showed opposite results! What's a person to do that believes only in the double-blind bible!

[hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN]

Double blinds.

Mechanisms.

That or it's nothing but snake oil and cheapens our profession.

The scientific method applies to everything in life. Those that say otherwise have something to gain from deceit. Period.

[Atheos]

Double blinds.

Mechanisms.

That or it's nothing but snake oil and cheapens our profession.

The scientific method applies to everything in life. Those that say otherwise have something to gain from deceit. Period.

Indeed. In this world the scientific method is king. Everything else is bunk.

[zenman]

Indeed. In this world the scientific method is king. Everything else is bunk.

Having participated in double-blind studies as a patient and gathering data, I know much of what is published is already bunk. It's the best we have but every study must be taken with a grain of salt especially since no study can measure consciousness. So, in essence, they are still lacking...

Once your view of reality is rocked, you realize that the scientific community does not possess all the required knowledge.

[Atheos]

Once your view of reality is rocked, you realize that the scientific community does not possess all the required knowledge.

I agree with you. Remember science has all the answers. We just don't have all the science.

[hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN]

I agree with you. Remember science has all the answers. We just don't have all the science.

Couldn't have said it better, myself.

[CORELLC]

I am so glad that you posted this thread, passionflower. As an infusion nurse, I always believed that health was interventional. Many of us have seen patients discharged from the hospital with the comment, "We've done all that we can do...take your mom/sister/brother home." Yet, the patient recovers in spite of what was said - often beause we stopped intervening and allowed the body to do what it should do! I, too, believe that Energy Medicine is not only the next big thing - but that it is already here - and here to stay. Over 40% of US hospitals alone have CAM departments as a result of patient demand. In my work throughout Eastern Europe and the Far East, I realized that in other countries, especially in Japan, the physician is paid to keep the patient well. Think of the plethora of immune system disorders that we see today; these were once rare. Why do so many people have compromised immune systems? Why do we have so many kids with ADHD/ADD/Autism disorders? What are we doing - or what have we done - to our environment that has created so many health challenges? If nurses and nursing are truly going to be at the core of health - then nurses and nursing need to begin caring for themselves so that they may care for others. They need to walk the walk and talk the talk. They need to contribute to the evidence-base for wellness practice, and they need to recognize that Energy Medicine is here to stay! It is time to:

- Recognize the emergence of a new and exciting branch of academic medicine

-Prepare professionals to identify the biological effects of magnetism

-Address the use of pulsating magnetic fields

-Discuss the growing trend toward energy medicine

Polls tell us that we, as nurses, are the most trusted healthcare professionals. As professionals, it behooves us to be on the cutting edge of trends in healthcare - not just sickcare - and to experience wellness ourselves so that we may share it with others. Have a wonderful, energized day!

[Josh L.Ac.]

Just to clarify, acupuncture has little or nothing to do with "energy".