C351 Professional Presence.docx - Running head PROFESSIONAL...

Running head: PROFESSIONAL PRESENCE AND INFLUENCE
Professional Presence and Influence
Melanie Inglefield-Cozard, RN
Western Governors University
C351

PROFESSIONAL PRESENCE AND INFLUENCE 2
Professional Presence
A1. Models of Health and Healing
Starting in the 1860’s, the Mechanical Era, or Era I of healthcare came to fruition. At this
time, science started to influence healthcare, but due to the limited understanding of most science
principles and the limits in technology, health care focused on mechanical treatment of the
illness, injury, or disease and on symptom control for the disease which doctors did not have the
tools or knowledge to treat, such as cancer, diabetes, and tuberculosis. The patient was simply
treated, operated on, or given limited medicines for pain control and sent home. This model of
medicine did not treat the patient as a whole or as a product of his or her environment. For
example, with Tuberculosis, “ There was no reliable treatment for tuberculosis. Some physicians
prescribed bleedings and purging, but most often, doctors simply advised their patients to rest,
eat well, and exercise outdoors” (Villeman, J., & Koch, R., 2007). The establishment of
sanitoriums was one of the first steps, and a revolutionary one at the time, towards a more whole-
body treatment of a disease. These places not only isolated Tb patients but also provided rest,
fresh air, and quiet. With this exception, Era I primarily did not address the mind and spirit of a
patient but only the body.
Era II, the Body/Mind model of healthcare, focused on advances in chemical,
pharmacological, technological, and genetic treatment of disease. It also started to incorporate
the idea that a patient’s thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes have a direct impact on that patient’s
health ( Koerner, J. G. ,2011). However, healthcare was still mostly focused on the “warfare
model” of medicine which involved curing the patient using any medicine or surgery necessary.

PROFESSIONAL PRESENCE AND INFLUENCE 3
As healthcare transitioned to Era III, the Body/Mind/Spirit model of healthcare, in the
1990’s, it began to recognize that all things are created on a molecular level and that a universal
energy field ties all living and non-living things together. The therapeutic potential of the mind
becomes increasingly clear, fostering a “knowing” that therapies and all people contain a
transcendent quality that cultivates healing (Koerner, 2011). In this model, the patient is viewed
as a whole person and are encouraged to be a part of their treatment plan. Examples of this
include the inception of patient’s direct access to their electronic health record, patient’s
participation in multi-disciplinary rounds and treatment plan creation, self-creation of and
exploration of advanced directives, including newly implemented Medicare funded time for
conversation with their doctors in regards to end-of-life-planning, and integration of alternative
therapies into their treatment plan, including acupuncture, special diets, use of non-conventional
medication such as marijuana usage, massage, and meditation.