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Nurse Practitioners’ Role in Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Active or Passive?
Author(s) -
Cattell Elizabeth
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
nursing forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.618
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1744-6198
pISSN - 0029-6473
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-6198.1999.tb00989.x
Subject(s) - alternative medicine , medicine , health care delivery , clinical practice , process (computing) , health care , complementary medicine , nursing , medical education , computer science , political science , pathology , law , operating system
Complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies are emerging as a significant force that is shaping the delivery of health care in the United States. The physician‐scientists of conventional medicine are slowly easing into the process of evaluating and integrating CAM therapies. After all factors are considered, should the role of NPs in this process be active or passive? This article explores reasons why NPs should or should not take an active role in evaluating and integrating CAM therapies. It proposes a role that NPs could have in determining the influence of complementary and alternative medicine on their clinical practice. Key words: Alternative medicine, complementary medicine, nurse practitioners