Patients’ Use of Natural and Alternative Treatments to Manage Chronic Disease: Emerging Trends in Healthcare – Vanessa Ruiz

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Imagine a patient, who has been admitted to your floor, has family bring in bottles of vitamins and supplements that he has been taking. Have you felt equipped in these circumstances to really know what these natural treatments were for? Could they be beneficial? Have you felt confident in the medication teaching with these patients? With the rising trend in natural therapies, nurses and allied healthcare professionals need to be equipped with the knowledge of alternative therapies to be able to assess for medication interactions and side effects, and advocate for patients on natural or conventional therapies.

During this enlightening recording, you will also learn natural approaches to common conditions (diabetes, coronary artery disease, post-surgical management, hypertension…) as Dr. Vanessa Ruiz, Naturopathic Doctor and Registered Nurse, shares from her expertise to propel your own practice forward!

Consider This Patient Story…

A 64-year-old female patient presented with intermittent subconjunctival hemorrhaging for two months. Prior medical history positive for Hypertension with V/S 138/82, P 82. She had been taking Diovan twice daily. PT/INR, aPTT, platelet count and von Willebrand factor were WNL. Platelet aggregation was decreased. When asked what supplements were new to her, she reported taking daily multivitamins, magnesium citrate 500 mg daily and vitamin E 500 IU daily.

The patient was advised to discontinue vitamin E due to its risk for increased bleeding. After cessation, subconjunctival hemorrhaging resolved within a few weeks. Patient case studies, like this one, will be interspersed through the day so you are ready to advocate well for patients when you return to work!

1. Differentiate between conventional and natural management of common illnesses.
2. Determine the risk/benefit ratio between conventional and natural approaches to illnesses.
3. Explore chronic disease management using nutrition, nutritional supplementation, botanical medicine, physical medicine and energetic medicine.
4. Evaluate the appropriateness of using natural therapies in chronic disease.
5. Explore the clinical efficacy of vitamins/minerals in the management of chronic disease.
6. Analyze patients’ use of vitamins and herbs for common side effects and medication interactions.
7. Choose reputable educational resources to further your knowledge of natural therapies.

Emerging Trends in Healthcare: Natural and Alternative Medicine

• Making the case for natural medicine: When it’s effective; when it’s not
• Explore different alternative modalities
• Water therapy and energetic therapies
• Vitamins as cofactors for biochemical pathways
• Why minerals are important to therapeutic protocols 

Explore Evidence-Based Natural Management of Common Illnesses

• Diabetes: Optimal diets and supplements for reducing HgBA1c
• Arthritis: Management of chronic pain through physical medicine, water therapy, nutrition, herbs and vitamins
• Hypertension and Congestive Heart Failure: Explore nutritional protocols, exercises and herbal supplementation to be considered in the treatment plan
• Hypothyroidism?: How nutrition, lifestyle factors, vitamin and herbal interventions can optimize thyroid hormone function
• Insomnia: Improve sleep duration and quality through vitamin/herbal supplementation
  • Herbal/vitamin side effects with commonly used sedatives
• Cancer: Supplements to avoid when a patient is on chemotherapy and interventions to minimize side effects of chemotherapy
• Asthma: Nutritional and herbal interventions to minimize asthma exacerbations
• Common Colds/Influenza?: Analyze herbal supplements that minimize symptoms, boost immune system and reduce duration of colds
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome?: Explore optimal diets, herbs and vitamins to manage IBS
• Depression/Anxiety?: How to manage mood through nutrition and herbal interventions
• Hypercholesteremia?: Nutritional protocols and supplements to minimize LDL/VLDL and maximize HDL.
  • Which supplements interact with commonly-prescribed medications.
• Surgical Management?: Which herbs/vitamins to avoid pre/post-surgery and interventions to optimize surgical healing

Furthering Your Education on Natural Medicine

• Supplementation: Why quality matters
• Continuing education: Best educational resources to learn more about natural medicine
• Incorporating natural therapies into your own life
• Understanding scope of practice and safely practicing using natural therapies