The assessment of strategies is very important due to the opportunity to share the experience on the implementation of different complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. Besides, teamwork facilitates the process of sharing information and experience as well as introduces empowerment and challenge as integral elements of collaboration (Gardner, 2005).
Team A
Team A has incorporated acupressure and guided imagery to cope with the obesity and overweight problems as people that suffer from obesity want support for their weight loss (James, 2009). The selection of healing therapies was appropriate for the health condition and setting. Moreover, the team members managed to assign the roles in a way that excludes interpersonal communication as the only means of sharing ideas and providing constructive feedbacks was the chat room. In addition, the manners of acting in situations when different problems in participation of separate members occur were also established.
The team provides a clear explanation of the rationale for the proposed therapies. I think one can learn the organization of the process and appropriateness of implementation of alternative therapies from Team A that have chosen the least harmful way, the most negative consequence of which is the discouragement. I believe that the most important role a caregiver can take is counseling and active listener.
Team B
Team B has chosen acupuncture and hypnosis as the methods to cope with obesity problems. Though the team has presented a general overview of the problem, the roles assigned to each team member are not clear compared to the Team A identification. Besides, each therapy was explained in terms of the procedure and its effects; hypnosis is approached as an additional method of psychological influence to increase self-esteem and motivation for weight loss (Koithan, 2009).
However, the way of presentation in the project paper cannot be considered a well-structured one because paragraphs about mere obesity overlap with some insertions about child obesity which, to my mind, is a bit irrelevant to the problem under discussion. I believe that the outpatient setting is the most appropriate for hypnosis as patients can react in different ways to this therapy. Hypnosis can reinforce motivation, self-discipline, and the willpower necessary for weight loss (Koithan, 2009).
Team C
The third team has proposed the plan for the implementation of acupuncture and massage therapy to treat hypertension. The assigned roles are clear but are neither obvious nor stated directly in the corresponding section of the paper. However, the organization of the paper as a whole is excellent, especially the indication of therapy and feedback on its effectiveness. I came to know that hypertension can be decreased through massage therapy (Cambron, Dexheimer, & Coe, 2006). I also liked the way the sequence of sections led the readers from the general ideas on the implementation of certain therapies to their expected effects and possible negative consequences. Besides, strong evidence of the effects of therapies was given via the Sources of Evidence sections.
Three Steps
The first step in implementing complementary and alternative therapies is to weigh all pros and cons on the appropriate setting and complexity of therapies to approach the disease. The second step concerns the way nurses should act in case of certain complications or unexpected effects of this or that therapy. The third step incorporates the necessity of using more than one therapy in combination to reach the best results.
References
Cambron, J., Dexheimeer, J., & Coe, P. (2006). Changes in blood pressure after various forms of therapeutic massage: A Preliminary Study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 12(1), 65-70.
Gardner, D. (2005). Ten lessons in collaboration. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 10(1). Web.
James, K. (2009). People who were obese tried diets but felt they needed ongoing support to empower them to make lifestyle changes. Evidence-Based Nursing, 12(3), 92.
Koithan, M. (2009). Mind-body solutions for obesity. Journal of Nursing Practice , 5(7), 536-7.