Kaplan 1

Savannah Kaplan
Adam Padgett
ENGL102
8 February 2016
How has the practice of complementary and alternative medicine benefited peoples health
opposed to just pursuing conventional medicine?

Comment [AP1]: This is a really interesting question.

One Id be really interested in learning the answer to.

While healthcare has made significant strides in the last century, increasing the average
human life span by over 40 years, there have been much smaller strides made in the last couple
decades. Furthermore, there have been numerous recent reports about an increasing number of
expensive medical approaches or medicines that are not only ineffective, but lower the long-term
health of the patient. When people go to seek medical attention, most are only educated on the
option of conventional medicine. I am interested in the research question, How has the practice

Comment [AP2]: Youll need to define more specifically

what you mean by conventional medicine.

of complementary and alternative medicine benefited peoples health opposed to just pursuing
conventional medicine? to gather facts, become more educated, and present to people that when
it comes to medicine, there is more than the sole option of conventional medicine, and the use of
complementary and alternative medicine may ultimately lead to a healthier lifestyle. I have
personally practiced the use of alternative medicine in many different areas, and have a strong

Comment [AP3]: And likewise, what alternative

medicine means.

belief that alternative medicine is just as effective, if not more effective, than conventional
medicine. Therefore, having some background knowledge in the field, and having personally
seen beneficial results from the practice, I believe I am qualified to write about this research
question.
The first source I will be citing in my paper is the article, Complementary and Alternative
Medicine Use Among Adults and Children: United States, by Barnes, Patricia M., Barbra Bloom,
Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Richard L. Nahin,

Comment [AP4]: Publisher information?

Kaplan 2
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and National Institutes of Health.
This article goes into great depth describing the strengths and limitations, the different conditions
treated in adults and children, and uses of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM). I
specifically will be using the research projects and statistics these doctors and scientists reported.
I will use these reports to back up my views and opinions and to expose the audience to proven
examples of ways CAM has benefited peoples lives. There are seven authors of this article that
are all very credible. Some of the credentials listed of these authors were a M.A., M.P.A., Ph.D.,
M.P.H. Having such credible people write this article is important because the information they
are presenting to the reader pertains to the peoples health, required lots of research, and for

Comment [AP5]: Youre repeating yourself a good bit

here.

some readers it is a new topic being presented to them, therefore, the authors need to be
extremely accurate and convincing.
The second source I intend to use is, How Corrupted Drug Companies Deceive and
Manipulate Your Doctor, by Joseph Mercola. In this article, the author describes corruption that
goes on behind the scenes in the pharmaceutical and medical industry. I will present these studies
and findings in my paper to show how conventional medicine can potentially be dangerous, and
is not always the healthiest path to take when it comes to health. For example, Mercola writes
about how sometimes companies manipulate safely labels by not publishing undated results,
publishing favorable results multiple times, or the companies hire ghostwriters. This article
presents issues that people may not be well aware of, and encourages people to protect
themselves by staying up to date on latest health news. The author of this source backs up every
point with a reference, and presents and quotes many doctors and scientists who have done many
years of research and studies on these issues as well making Mercola a credible author.

Comment [AP6]: Publisher?

Kaplan 3
The final source I will be citing is a LexisNexis article called, Ivy League Medical School
Seeks Help in Md. for Alternative Medicine, by Robyn Lamb. I find this article interesting

Comment [AP7]: LexisNexis is just a database, not a

publisher. No need to cite the database.
Comment [AP8]: Article titles should be in quotations.

because it tells a story of how even after presenting the new idea of alternative medicine and how
it has been proven beneficial, a doctor claimed he couldn't afford to learn about complimentary
medicine. Knowing about it, the doctor said, would mean he would have to understand it, and

Comment [AP9]: Im not sure what this means.

that would make him liable (Lamb). This is a perfect example of the relationship some western

Comment [AP10]: Parenthetical should go outside the

quotation.

doctors have with complementary medicine. I find it important to incorporate a story into my
research paper for the audience to relate to, to prove that conventional medicine may be great in
some ways, but there is a mixture of greed and corruption in the medical and pharmaceutical
industries that go on behind the scenes, therefore, not always making conventional medicine the
healthiest choice when in comes to health. This article was printed in The Daily Record news,
making the story and author a credible source because the article had to go through many stages
of proof readings and approval before it got printed for this companys news.
The research question, How has the practice of complementary and alternative medicine

Comment [AP11]: Proof reading isnt quite enough. Also

dont think that just because something was published makes
it credible. There are still limitations to certain types of
publications as it pertains to the pieces credibility.

benefited peoples health opposed to just pursuing conventional medicine?, can be arguable in
many ways. My believe is that by seeking practice in complementary and alternative medicine,
one will ultimately live a longer and healthier lifestyle, but another could easily argue the
opposite view saying that conventional medicine is the best path to take when it comes to health.
In my paper I will have to present all the benefits of complementary and alternative medicine,
the successes, and statistics of how the practice works while keeping in consideration that some
people may argue the opposite. That is why my research plays a key role in this paper, to present
the benefits of CAM as well as educate people on the corruption that goes on behind the scenes
of pharmaceutical and medical industries that they may not be aware about. When it comes to

Comment [AP12]: Proof read a little closer.

Kaplan 4
my research question, I may need to work on the wording to incorporate the potential corporate
greed when it comes to medical prescriptions and procedures in the pharmaceutical and medical
industries, but my main point in this research paper is to educate people that there is more than
one option when it comes to our health, and ultimately the impactful benefits complementary and
alternative medicine can make on ones live.
Savannah,
I really like the inquiry you are pursuing here. You clearly seem to have a stake in the answer
and it seems like this topic will surely sustain your interest. I am concerned that you seem to
already have an answer to this research question, which is problematic, rhetorically, as it pertains
to possible bias on your part. When you ask an inquiry question, you shouldnt already have an
answer, you should be seeing to answer the question for the first time. So as you conduct further
research, I would like for you to try to maintain that sense of discovery, discovering the answer
as opposed to simply searching for support for a pre-formulated answer. Also, you have some
terms here that you need to define. So what is alternative medicine? You need clear definitions
so that you and your audience are on the same page, otherwise, I dont know what youre talking
about. Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

Kaplan 5
Works Cited
Barnes, Patricia M., Barbra Bloom, Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for
Health Statistics, Richard L. Nahin, National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine, and National Institutes of Health. "National Center for Health Statistics."
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children:United State
43.12 (2008): n. pag. DHHS, 10 Dec. 2008. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.
Lamb, Robyn. "Ivy League Medical School Seeks Help in Md. for Alternative Medicine."
LexisNexis Academics. Copyright 2016 LexisNexis., 1 Apr. 2005. Web. 08 Feb.
2016.
Mercola, Joseph. How Corrupted Drug Companies Deceive and Manipulate Your Doctor."
mercola.com. Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola, 18 May 2010. Web. 10 Sept.
2013.