Pearls, Pills, and the Global Perspective

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Posted by Brooke Pugh (217.44.30.60) on 21:59:03 04/12/04

Dear Family;
I've been on a nursing placement for University
this past Autumn, and the amounts of medications that some of the British elders take are astounding...some patients can be on anywhere from ten to twenty drugs
at a time. I think back to my own Dad's medicine box,
and marvel he can even still walk, at his young age
of seventy-six. If the United States is busy recommending that patients ask their doctors to prescribe drugs, for psychological departures from the norm, and doctors in the United Kingdom put their patients on enough drugs to flag up on falls assessments for elderly patients, could somebody more
experienced than I am please tell me WHAT that says about our medical wisdom, and our healing wisdom??

In my short tenure as a student nurse, and my previous experiences as a healthcare worker in the US,
I stand appalled, and angry at Western medicine, because it is palliatizing the entire world...take a pill for this, don't worry, perfectly safe...and yet,
in Britain, the government is looking, through EU directives, to ban the sales of health supplements,
simply to give certain European commerical interests more leverage in the pharmaceutical markets...Healing is something one does with pearls, not pills. Pearls,
wisdom, patience, time, love, laughter, and indeed, joy, will need to be part of our overall approach to
Medicine, than chemicals will...Chemicals will need to take a backseat to the other things...Acute hospitals here, I have experienced, with few brilliant exceptions, run on a hamster wheel, with patients being whisked hither and yon. Nursing, when it comes right down to it, is about CARING for patients, with a lot of technical training thrown in...I'd rather HEAL than cure. Once I've attained my diploma, I'm off out of the ratrace, into something else more fulfilling, like Community nursing!!
Medicine isn't JUST about pills!

Despite my ranting, I wish the entire family a great
and wonderful holiday, whatever paths you take, or wherever you may live, on this our planet. Namaste.

Brooke Pugh, St/N

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Comments:	: Dear Family; : I've been on a nursing placement for University : this past Autumn, and the amounts of medications that some of the British elders take are astounding...some patients can be on anywhere from ten to twenty drugs : at a time. I think back to my own Dad's medicine box, : and marvel he can even still walk, at his young age : of seventy-six. If the United States is busy recommending that patients ask their doctors to prescribe drugs, for psychological departures from the norm, and doctors in the United Kingdom put their patients on enough drugs to flag up on falls assessments for elderly patients, could somebody more : experienced than I am please tell me WHAT that says about our medical wisdom, and our healing wisdom?? : : In my short tenure as a student nurse, and my previous experiences as a healthcare worker in the US, : I stand appalled, and angry at Western medicine, because it is palliatizing the entire world...take a pill for this, don't worry, perfectly safe...and yet, : in Britain, the government is looking, through EU directives, to ban the sales of health supplements, : simply to give certain European commerical interests more leverage in the pharmaceutical markets...Healing is something one does with pearls, not pills. Pearls, : wisdom, patience, time, love, laughter, and indeed, joy, will need to be part of our overall approach to : Medicine, than chemicals will...Chemicals will need to take a backseat to the other things...Acute hospitals here, I have experienced, with few brilliant exceptions, run on a hamster wheel, with patients being whisked hither and yon. Nursing, when it comes right down to it, is about CARING for patients, with a lot of technical training thrown in...I'd rather HEAL than cure. Once I've attained my diploma, I'm off out of the ratrace, into something else more fulfilling, like Community nursing!! : Medicine isn't JUST about pills! : : Despite my ranting, I wish the entire family a great : and wonderful holiday, whatever paths you take, or wherever you may live, on this our planet. Namaste. : : Brooke Pugh, St/N
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Dr. Carl A. Hammerschlag, M.D., CPAE, psychiatrist and author, is a professional keynote and motivational speaker. He speaks on a variety of topics including healthcare, mind body and spirit, health and wellness, mental healing and leadership. He has delivered motivational and keynote speaches to corporate and business clients around the world.