Perspectives Inaugural Issue (Winter 2013)

PERSPECTIVES • WINTER/SPRING 2013 16 was not an integral part of medical training. Don’t we now make more use of herbs in our “prescription medicine?” Aren’t we now incorporat- ing more understanding of nutrition (and the use of natural foods) on a disease-by-disease basis in our medical training? The ancient Greeks worshiped the body and encour- aged sport for maintaining good health. They professed a sound body equals a sound mind. Quite recently, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) pro- posed a philosophy in which exercise should be con- sidered as another medicine. The point being that natural exercise can be selectively preventative and/or curative. The ACSM philosophy is like a three-pronged program that would educate the public, practicing cli- nicians, and those that educate clinicians on the values of exercise being considered medicine. When we look at TCM or the Traditional In- dian (Near-Eastern) Medicine, we see that they recognized how close a healthy mind/spirit was to a healthy physical condition and how closely re- lated an unhealthy body was to a disturbed mind/spirit. More and more, during the past half century, we see a closer recognition of the mind, behavior, and the many ways that behavior affects the physical self, and vice-versa. Aren’t we becoming more and more concerned with including the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in the training and practic- ing of our clinicians? We do not believe in, nor subscribe to, the existence of “meridians” (in TCM) as conduits for energy or Srotas (the counterparts inAyurveda, a form of Indian Medicine). However, we concern ourselves with the effects of our medicines on the energy levels of our patients; or the ef- fects of our patients’ energy levels on their treatments and general health. From a totally different perspective, shouldn’t we have some idea as to how our patient must have been treated before coming to us? After all, we are recognizing our existence to becoming more global. We, as clini- cians, are bound to see more and more patients who have been/are being treated by “complementary” or “alternative” medicines. Wouldn’t it be in our patients’ best interests if we understood more about these medicines, and even “complemented” their treatment when or wherever possible? Do we continue to learn and practice medicine in our “traditional” understanding? If this were the case, we’d either still be “leeching” as a cure-all; and/or we’d never have come up with, for example, dialysis. Is our western medicine, as we know it today…the only way to go? PA • FORT LAUDERDALE Dr. Grosz Essay...