needed this today

"Every clinician must recognize that every treatment has a cultural component. Western medicine is founded on a scientific basis, but we must recognize that this scientific basis holds no inherent guarantee of quality or efficacy.  While we may teach you the importance of evidence-based medicine, there are many therapies for which we have not yet accumulated evidence of effectiveness, so should you dismiss all therapies that are not yet proven?  One suggestion is to proceed with an open but enquiring mind - be sceptical (i.e. question things), but not cynical (i.e. dismiss ideas and find fault with them). The culture of Western medicine places diagnosis as a central goal, whereas other approaches, including Aboriginal medicine, see it as less central and pay more attention to finding a safe environment in which the patient may recover. For conditions such as mental disorders, this latter approach may prove more effective than struggling to attach a label to the disorder.

Here are some background notes intended to make you aware of some common Aboriginal healing practices that you may hear mentioned by Aboriginal patients you treat. You should at least have a general understanding of what these involve.

• Aboriginal medicine contains innumerable folk remedies, many of which have formed the basis for pharmaceutical treatments that we use routinely in Western medicine
• Traditional approaches to healing are holistic and consider mind, body and spirit. Medicine is distinguished from healing, which goes beyond mere treatment of sickness. As Donald Warne points out, it is somewhat ironic that modern physicians say they provide health care when they really treat diseases (Warne D: Traditional perspectives on child and family health. Paediatr Child Health 2005;10:542)
• The healing relationship is based on a series of virtues: respect; humility; compassion; honesty; truth, sharing, hospitality and divine love.
• Traditional Aboriginal care recognizes many more routes to healing than does Western medicine. Seven routes are commonly mentioned: Talking, Crying, Laughing, Dancing, Sweating, Yawning, and Yelling (giving vent to your feelings , rather than yelling at someone)."

Links:
Review of Aboriginal health systems in Canada (pdf article from J Aboriginal Health, 2004)
NAHO has an overview document on traditional knowledge and medicine
Dr Janet Smylie produced policy guidelines for the development of indigenous health resources
Aboriginal traditional medicine: where does it fit? A comparison between Aboriginal and Western healing
American Medical Students web site on Cultural Competence
Basic facts and figures on the Health status of Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Determinants of health status of Aboriginal peoples
An Australian web site on Aboriginal healing