Inroads to an Integrative Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used as an adjunct to, or integrated with western medicine is a new trend in the U.S. that registered nurses are increasingly using. Since many people seek the advice of nurses, it is important to understand how they decide to try TCM, and integrate their new knowledge and experience into their nursing identity, and practice. Identifying how nurses adopt, use, and discuss TCM demonstrates the important role nurses have in influencing dissemination of TCM within the U.S. population. While some research exists detailing nurses' use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) of which TCM is one, none focuses exclusively on nurses' TCM use. This book presents results of a qualitative case study undertaken in Minnesota to explore these nursing issues. Results will be of interest to those curious about expanding TCM use in western cultures and to nurses who seek to integrate TCM into the nursing assessment and triage process. Symbolic interactionists will find the application of some of George Herbert Mead and Erving Goffman's sociological concepts to nursing practice of integrative medicine.