Western Medicine Essay

Today, immigrants go to doctors to receive Western medical treatment almost as if they are going to a repair shop. Essentially, patients are treated merely as machines infected with a virus, and a patient outcome is viewed as either positive or negative based on whether the disease is cured. For the last 40 years, Western medicine has established its bioethics into four principles: autonomy, non-malfeasance, beneficence, and justices (Tsai). In other words, a medical provider has to respect each patient’s decision, while also making sure he or she receives the most benefits and the least harm from the treatment. Supposedly, Western medicine is based on these four principles, but the failure to provide cultural attention to patients by extension …show more content…
An integrative approach would treat the patient as a whole, considering the patient’s mind, body, and spirit (Kam). In other words, the medical provider would provide various alternative treatment that considering the patient’s identity by serving his or her needs to promote a well psychological and physical health. In fact this concept can be observed with Martha Mcinnis, a 68 year old patient who was treated for breast cancer, high cholesterol, clogged arteries, osteoporosis…, but felt dissatisfactions with Western medicine (Kam). Through Martha’s experiences, she felt she was a “sum of her illnesses” not a her own identity (Kam). This case shows how Western medicine can leave a bad impression on patient who are treated just for the disease. After the western medical treatment, Martha pursued Integrative medicine at Duke Center where she was offered nutrition, fitness, yoga, and other practices to improve the quality of her life” (Kam). Following this approach rather than ignoring patient’s cultural background and identity will upheld the principle of beneficence because the patients will receive treatment beyond the diseases. Moreover, patients like Martha will be more satisfied with the medical