The United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet in terms of morbidity and mortality rates, we rank 39th in the world. Among the facts that contribute to this miserable statistic, thousands of people die each year from potentially preventable hospital errors, and infections like MRSA (a virulent type of staph infection) are rampant in hospitals.
I have been a registered nurse for 34 years, taking care of health on the medical floors; in the emergency room; in pediatrics; substance abuse; and psychiatry. Unfortunately, the above statistics are never far from my mind.
From the beginning, I was responsible for patients suffering from a variety of illnesses at the same time. I began to wonder, “What could this person have done to prevent the disease from progressing to this point?”
I didn’t have to look far for the answer: I was faced with the evidence on a daily basis. Patients who viewed life positively tended to recover more quickly than patients who appeared depressed or unmotivated. I saw a clear relationship between mind and body, mind and health.
I began to investigate the connection between emotional, spiritual, and physical health. My studies opened a new universe of thought outside the world of allopathic medicine. The result: I flew quite a bit to get the education I felt I needed in the areas of holistic and energy medicine.
However, my new skill set left me facing a drastic dichotomy: I was now better able than ever to care for my patients, but within a system at odds with the very core of my expanded approach.
There was a time when I thought about leaving the traditional hospital environment, where I had spent most of my professional life, but a soft voice from within spoke to me and said, ‘Look around you, look and see all the suffering here. yourself in your own backyard. Start here ‘, so I did.
While the hospital experience can be overwhelming and frustrating, I continue to resist the urge to leave, quietly, but persistently pushing the boundaries of the protocol and introducing more holistic / alternative healthcare where and when I can.
With my attitude and practice focused on prevention, I have watched (and continue to watch) our government throw money into a wretched and bankrupt system in which prevention has little or no place and the real cause of disease is rarely addressed.
Health professionals are literally “misnamed”: they do not care about health, but more often about symptoms, illness, and death. And, most of the time, this is not your fault. I share my profession with many dedicated people trapped within a system where they simply cannot win.
“Those who think they don’t have time for healthy habits will sooner or later have to find time for sickness”, ~ Edward Stanley 1823-1893. Unfortunately, within the limits of our current system, many patients still have few options.