Holistic Nurses-The Future of Health Care

HOLISTIC NURSES—THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE ©
C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.

Nurses rescued medical care during the Crimean war. Thanks to Florence Nightingale,nthe death rate from battle wounds dropped dramatically and our superb system of nursing care was instituted. Interestingly, at the same time she introduced statistics! Since that time, nurses have provided the CARE in the medical system. The only major innovations in improving health and longevity in the last century, according to Dr. Thomas McKeown, were pasteurization of milk, chlorination of water, disposal of sewage and adequate protein. Dr. McKeown attributed 92% of our increased longevity to these Public Health measures. During the late 1970’s the Secretary of HEW suggested that the only improvement in health would be preventing disease. At that same time, with the founding of the American Holistic Medical Association, a Professor of Neurosurgery wrote “We are too busy taking care of disease to prevent it.” And Dr. Franz Inglefinger, Editor of the NEJM stated that with modern medicine, “We wind up barely on the positive side of zero.”

In July, 2000, the JAMA reported that the American Medical System is the number three CAUSE of death. And Dr. Paul Rosch, President of the American Institute of Stress, has suggested that the Medical System is the number one cause of death, with up to 780,000 people killed each year by drugs, surgery and hospitalization! Although modern medicine is remarkably good at helping individuals with acute illnesses and trauma, its success in chronic illness is at best far less successful.

In 1971, recognizing that the conventional medical system for managing chronic pain primarily perpetuated an invalid state, I set out to develop an effective rehabilitation approach to chronic pain that had failed all conventional medical approaches. My average patient had had 5 to 7 unsuccessful operations and was iatrogenically addicted to narcotics and to tranquilizers. Within one year, with no drugs or surgery, I had a 70% success rate in my first 400 patients. Over the next few years, introducing more and more “alte
atives” my success rate improved to 85%. Indeed, in working with over 30,000 chronically ill patients, 85% were off drugs, had marked improvement in activity, and had reductions of 50 to 90+% in their pain, as well as relief from depression.

With the exception of three modalities, none of the approaches I have used require a physician’s involvement. These three are TENS as well as CES, which require a prescription, and facet denervation in a small select number of patients with spinal pain.
The approaches which have been successful include good nutrition, magnesium lotion, education, a physical exercise program and a wide variety of stress reduction techniques.

These same approaches are superb at managing stress, as well as treating depression and anxiety. As Dr. John Knowles wrote in 1977,

“80% of serious illnesses seem to develop when the individual feels helpless or hopeless”
“over 99 percent of us are born healthy and made sick as a result of human misbehavior”n n John Knowles, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, DAEDALUS, Winter, 1977

As HEW Secretary Joseph Califano wrote in 1979,

“further improvements in the health of the American people can be achieved –through a renewed national commitment to—prevent disease and promote health”
“This is a consensus of experts—”n n Joseph A. Califano, Jr, Sec. of HEW, HEALTHY PEOPLE, 1979

Disease prevention and health promotion require a major shift in priorities. If 99% of us become ill because of misbehavior, we must find a way to improve behavior. The situation is critical, with 65% of Americans being overweight or obese, at least 26% smoking, and only 3% having the 4 essential health habits, we have a situation at least as severe as the squalor of the Crimean war! Diabetes, hypertension, depression, anxiety, atherosclerosis, obesity, most cancers, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain and most autoimmune diseases are all diseases that can be prevented as well as treated more effectively without drugs or surgery. The foundation for Health Care is preventing and treating these problems.

Holistic Nurses are by far the most competent professionals to help us develop a true Health Care System! It is time for them to rescue us from a Medical System that does virtually nothing to improve health.