Summary:
With the rising cost of medical expenses, dangerous side effects from medications, and often-ineffective outcomes from conventional treatment, healthcare providers and patients are seeking alternatives for health promotion, disease prevention and treatments. Many hospitals, managed care plans and conventional practitioners are now incorporating complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies into their practices, and schools of medicine, allied health, nursing and pharmacy are beginning to teach CAM. Patients report that they believe CAM will improve their health when used in combination with conventional medical treatments. Further, when conventional medicine has no answers, patients often turn to CAM for new options. As conventional medical practitioners become more comfortable with CAM, they often refer patients to selected CAM providers.
Objectives:
The goal of this continuing education program is to familiarize respiratory therapists (RTs) with current practice uses of some of the most popular complementary and integrative healthcare modalities. After you study the information presented here, you will be able to —
- Identify the importance of integrating complementary and alternative medicine with conventional medicine.
- List three reasons why patients seek complementary healthcare treatment.
- Distinguish 10 different complementary therapies.
Approval Information
This CE course is approved for respiratory therapists from 1/10/2012 to 1/10/2014.
This program has been approved for 1 contact hour of Continuing Respiratory Care Education (CRCE) credit by the American Association for Respiratory Care, 9425 N. MacArthur Blvd., Suite 100, Irving, TX 75063. AARC Sponsor ID: 9514012. This is a non-traditional course.
If you are a respiratory therapist, remember to give us your AARC member number when filling out your license number information.
Gannett Education is also approved by the Florida Board of Respiratory Care (provider #FBN 50-1489).