Real-Life Decision Making
As they work to solve people's complex health problems, herbalists
have to make judgment calls all day. They have to decide how to treat a condition
in the best way. They also have to know when to refer a patient to a clinical
medical doctor for proper diagnosis or further treatment.
"Decision-making skills are critical," says herbalist Aviva Romm. "You
have to be able to decide so many things. One is obviously whether a client
is an appropriate candidate for treatment, whether they need additional care,
whether it goes beyond your own scope of practice. And then individual decisions
about treatment plans are really important."
Herbalist Shawn Schultz says knowing a patient's needs
and desires is as important as knowing the herbs when deciding which to use
in treatment.
"You have to determine, from past experience and the knowledge of the client
and your knowledge of the herbs, which herbs and amounts to use and how to
best deliver them," says Schultz. "You have to have all sorts of information
and use it to make decisions constantly."
You're a herbalist treating a woman with a urinary tract infection.
You want to suggest a certain kind of tea because you know it would force
her to drink a lot of water. The water and tea act as a cleansing agent, crucial
to flushing the infection out her system.
You suggest the tea but the patient says she can't drink tea because
she hates hot liquids. You explain the need for her to drink a lot of water
in treatment. She says she'd rather take drops of tincture mixed in water.
But the drops are very bitter tasting, and you doubt the patient would
drink the required amount of water if it tasted so awful. You could also give
her capsules, but that wouldn't force her to drink as much water as you're
suggesting in order to flush her system.
You need to make sure that she ingests enough herbs to attack the infection,
but also that she drinks enough water that the infection will be flushed out.
Knowing her tastes and how this would affect how she takes the medication,
what do you do?