Prompt #7: Contemplating Controversy- Diajah Williams

Controversy is in everything around us, including ourselves. In the medical field, controversy is prominent and there is a never ending list of hundreds of debates that have been around  forever.

The purpose of medicine is undoubtedly to prevent, treat and  cure of us sickness and disease. We get that. But the issue comes down to the safest and most effective way to do so. One of the newer debates in medicine is modern medicine versus herbal (all natural) medicine. The controversy comes from weighing the "pros and cons" of each side; on which side do the pros outweigh the cons best? To come to a consensus, investigation of both sides of the spectrum is vital.

HerbalMedicine

To start, about 50% of today's medicine and over-the-counter prescriptions are derived either directly or indirectly from plants. New medications don't simply get made in the lab. Researchers trawl through wildernesses, waterways, wetlands and some other common environment they can discover, searching for samples of new plants and other natural products to test against samples of viruses and bacteria that are issues is modern day medicine. 

But so what, right?

Well the argument is that natural/ plant-based medicine is really the basis, or the backbone of modern medical practices anyways. Therefore, sending it through the lab and altering its properties takes away from the actual goodness of a natural substance, making it more effective, maybe, but also much more dangerous than its natural state.

Not only is herbal medicine arguably the backbone of modern medicine but it comes with several advantages. A few are as follows:

• Less side affects: Most natural prescriptions are very much endured by the patient, with side affects than pharmaceutical medications.
• Effective with chronic disease: natural drugs have a tendency to be more powerful for long-standing health problems that don't react well will modern medicine
• Lower cost: Herbs cost a lot less than pharmaceutical drugs Research, testing, and showcasing add extensively to the expenses of modern medicine
• Greater Availability: Herbs are available without a prescription. You can grow some simple herbs, at home and in some parts of the world, they may be the only treatment available to the majority of people.

And where there are advantages, there are also disadvantages, these include the following:

• Lack of Regulation:  Herbal medicines offer little statutory protection, because many are not regulated by the FDA like drugs are. Toxicity is an issue with these medicines. 
• Patience Needed: Herbal medicines require steady use over a longer amount of time than most professionally prescribed medications. They have not been worked on in a lab for adequacy, and, because of this purity, it requires some serious time to actually work.
• Adverse Interaction with Prescription Drugs: Because of the lack of regulation, there is no way to tell (without research or a doctors word) how herbal medicine will interact with regular medicines people take on a daily basis. The thought that this medicine is "herbal"often lands people in the hospital for failing to understand the dangers of mixing medicine, natural or not.

Herbal medicines tend to "fix" more than one problem at a time. For example, if you have a cold, you might turn to garlic, a natural cold suppressor. While you are taking this garlic for only a cold, you are also unknowingly reducing your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. This holds true for several other herbal medicines as well. Also, numerous herbs contain an assortment of vitamins and minerals that your body needs. it's much better to get your Recommended Daily Vales from a natural source than from a supplement.

                                                                                         
                                                                                                                     ModernMedicine

Modern medicine is the most advanced and utilized medicine in the world. It is effective and works much faster than almost all herbal remedies. The reason it is so strong and effective is that they are isolated systems programed to solve a specific problem. Side effects may occur but they are always worth the good the medicine does. 

Advances in medicine are responsible for avoiding disability and death caused by disease, lowered overall treatment costs, and has lowered death rates for, stroke, heart disease, cancer, and several other deadly diseases.

Since 1970, the death rate from heart disease has dropped almost 60% and deaths from stroke dropped 70%.  Deaths due to cancer have dropped 16% since 1990 and the death rate from HIV/AIDS has dropped over 75% from its highest point in 1995.  Furthermore, the average life span of Americans went up from from 69.7 years in 1960 to about 80 years in 2007.

Furthermore, the 5-year survival rates for cancer increased by 26% since 1984. And while HIV/AIDS was the 8th leading cause of death in the US in 1996, today, it’s not even ranked in the top 15, all thanks to modern medicine.

Modern Medicine also has other advantages that include but are not limited to the following: 

• Trauma treatment: Modern medicine practices are best matched for dealing with traumatic conditions such as car accidents and heart attacks.  
•  Eliminates symptoms: Through the elimination of uncomfortable symptoms, patients can resume their normal lives almost immediately after treatment.
• Advanced medical devices: Whenever there is something internally wrong, these modern devices let us know. Without them, several infections, diseases and deaths due to ignorance would occur.
• Accessibility: Patients can go online and post their key symptoms and then get some treatment suggestions based on what they posted.  

Some disadvantages of modern medicine include:

• Side effects: drugs have side effects that can seemingly unbearable, causing them to take even more medicine.
• Focus on symptoms: Sometimes, it is only necessary to treat the symptoms for the individual to feel normal. The underlying problem may not be treated.
• Standardized: Medicines are typically "one size fits all." While this usually works out, there are always people who fall outside of that norm.
• Expenses: Getting access to modern medicine is rather easy for places that offer healthcare but for those who can't get it, modern medicine is far too expensive.

Doctors have access to highly accurate diagnostic equipment nowadays and they are trained to recognise and diagnose disease, keeping the world we live in safe and healthy.

Given both sides of the spectrum, what do you think? Pro-Herbal or Pro-Modern? 

Leech. “11 Proven Health Benefits of Garlic (No. 1 is My Favorite).” Authority Nutrition. Authority Nutrition, Nov. 2015. Web. 28 Jan. 2016. <http://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-health-benefits-of-garlic/>.

Sullivan, Thomas. “Modern Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine: Different Levels of Evidence.” Policy and Medicine. Policy and Medicine, 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 29 Jan. 2016. <http://www.policymed.com/2011/08/modern-medicine-vs-alternative-medicine-different-levels-of-evidence.html>.

Veeresham, Ciddi. “Natural Products Derived from Plants as a Source of Drugs.” Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology & Research 3.4 (2012): 200–201. PMC. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.

The Future of Dentistry - Jake Hardin

The Future of Dentistry

     Technology is getting more advanced as the years go by and with these resources we are able to        do many things we thought were impossible just a few years ago. As you might have noticed, many other fields including the auto industry and medicine have been growing substantially each year,        whereas most things to do with Dentistry tend to lag behind in these different advancements. This is when Digital Dentistry comes into play, which could be defined as anything digitized that makes work easier, more efficient, and a whole lot more cost friendly. One thing that most people do not realize is that adjusting to these new improvements in technology can be tough at first. If a specific practice decides to purchase a new laser for example, but does not get the needed training to learn how to properly use this new machine, then more likely than not it will result in a high failure rate. This is why it is absolutely critical to get the training needed so you can have the best outcomes possible. To make the visual of how Digital Dentistry has more advantages than disadvantages, I provided a list that clearly states how these new technologies will be beneficial in the long run.

Advantages of Digital Dentistry:

  The efficiency of anything from teeth cleaning to getting implants will skyrocket significantly, both in terms of cost and time.

     Using machines and digitized devices means the accuracy and success rate will be much higher as well.

   Since these different technological advancements are more accurate, it is safe to say that the outcomes of whatever procedures are occurring are far more predictable.

There is one thing that comes to mind regarding some of the limitations of Digital Dentistry, that is the cost. At first it will seem like spending a large sum of money on this specific device or machine won’t be worth it, but if you use it correctly, your return on investment can be much higher than before. This leaves me saying that after doing research about this topic I truly believe that this is the future of Dentistry. With the proper implementation and education about these different technologies, better care of patients will be guaranteed, getting surgery will be less of a pain and burden, and the overall experience at the dentist will be much more satisfactory.

The information I obtained for this blog post was from the website:

http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v204/n9/full/sj.bdj.2008.350.html

Beuer, F., J. Schweiger, and D. Edelhoff. "Digital Dentistry." Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, 10 May 2008. Web. 28 January 2016.                 

On here you can find articles about this field, including new studies, past articles about dentistry, and many updates and current issues going on this year. 

My Path to a DNP and Why-Bradley Robinson

My goal as a student is to complete my undergrad in kinesiology and then pursue a nursing degree. From there I plan to continue in school and earn a Doctorate in Nursing Practice or Doctorate Nursing Practitioner (DNP). In total this will take me around eight years if all goes as planned. Now some might say that is a crazy process and that there is easier ways to get a DNP and I would say those people are right. The easiest and most common way is to simply get a degree in Nursing right away and then a DNP. This would cut the schooling down by at least one to two years. My reason for not being able to go straight into nursing is that I am on the football team. Now this does not affect me now or next year, but my junior and senior years I would be unable to complete clinical trials due to my busy schedule. Clinical trials is when you go and basically intern at hospitals and doctors' offices getting hands on experience. Thus being my reason for changing my major from pre-nursing to kinesiology. 

Kinesiology is movement science, it’s the best option due to the similar classes it shares with the nursing college curriculum allowing me to learn similar information to later help me with nursing.  I will be able to complete my degree in kinesiology as an undergrad student in four years and then once I complete my football career I will be able to take an advanced nursing route that will last around one year. From there my plan is to work as a nurse in either an office or hospital while I'm also earning my doctorate degree. I'm not fully set on this decision and am also considering a route as a anesthesiologist, but that's another blog. My reasoning behind a DNP is simple, the career path options are plentiful. The different job paths can include:

·         General medical and surgical hospitals: Working in a hospital with a doctorate in nursing means playing a bigger role in influencing patient treatment plans. Many nurses conduct research and help to create new policies for better health care in the hospital.

·         Public health offices: Many doctorate-level nurses become experts in public health,

 which is a great place to put your expertise to work. You'll be able to influence 

policymakers and health officials and help craft smart, research-based solutions

 to health issues.

                                                                                                                                         

·         Research facilities: If you choose to earn your PhD in nursing, you might find work conducting research on health issues facing people today. Nurses with PhDs research causes behind modern medical issues or work to find cures for current health problems.

·         Independent practice: Starting your own practice is no easy task, but as an advanced

practice nurse holding a doctorate degree, it's entirely possible. The benefit to launching your

 own practice is that you can dictate your own hours and decide what type of treatment you want

 to deliver.

·         Physicians' offices: If launching your own practice isn't for you, but you like the idea of working in a smaller office, a doctorate in nursing makes you eligible for higher-paying management roles in another physician's office.

http://www.allnursingschools.com/nursing-careers/dnp/career-paths/ 

"Reach the Pinnacle of Your Career with a Doctorate in Nursing." Doctor of Nursing Career Paths. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2016

With all these options I am able to commit to a major, but still have different decisions to make as I go along with my education.