Source #1

Maceina, Tomas, et al. “Clinical Decision-Making of Anesthesiology Residents in Emergency Medical Care.” International Journal of Psychology : a Biopsychosocial Approach, vol. 19, 2016, pp. 9–34., doi:10.7220/2345-024x.19.1.

 

Annotation:

Heuristics play a big role in determining what course of action to take when treating a patient before, during, and after a surgery. There are multiple types of heuristics, or methods used to solve problems through theoretical ways instead of fixed, learned ways. Decisions can save or result in the death of a patient, and heuristics are almost always necessary for anesthesiologists to make those decisions due to the fact that in emergencies, time cannot be wasted. Thus, the type and the way heuristics are implemented are monumental in saving a patient’s life. Since heuristics are used to speed up decision making in emergency situations, they can lead to wrong decisions due to a lack of time. The study conducted in this article attempted to find the relationship between the use of heuristics, the stress involved in a situation, and the experience of an anesthesiologist. In a less stressful situation, accuracy was shown to not vary between multiple situations. However, in stressful situations, the use of heuristics decreased accuracy of decisions. People with more experience had more accuracy, but the trend between non-stressful and stressful situations was about the same.

 

Potential Quotes:

“A large number of deaths resulting from erroneous decisions might be avoided if only a better understanding about doctors’ decision making processes is sought” (10).

“Heuristic information processing makes detailed analytic response comparison unlikely. Therefore, the probability to make erroneous decisions, i.e. cognitive errors, increases” (10).
“Anesthesiologists face various difficulties (e.g. limited time and lack of information about patients’ condition)

associated with provision of emergency medical care. All these circumstances provoke stress, which in turn may have an impact on the quality of decision-making” (12).

“There is empirical evidence suggesting that educational seminars on heuristics and cognitive biases increase medical students’ knowledge in medical decision-making area” (30).

 

Assessment:

This source is credible due to the fact that it is a scientific article published by authors from multiple known institutions in Lithuania. This means that they must have degrees or certificates that indicate that they have advanced knowledge within anesthesiology, and that knowledge is officially recognized. 

 

Reflection:

I could use this information when I am in medical college or in my residency. I would make sure to not use heuristics too much when I am in college or in my career so as to decrease the number of erroneous decisions I make. This will definitely be helpful when I am in the middle of a surgery and I am able to save a patient’s life with my correct decisions. The knowledge that I have gained from this article will also help me to become a better medical student and a doctor since I now know how a person’s mind works in stressful situations, so I will make sure to avoid the mistakes that commonly happen.

​

​

​

​

Source #2

Litchy, Andrew P. “Naturopathic Physicians: Holistic Primary Care and Integrative Medicine Specialists.” Journal of Dietary Supplements, vol. 8, no. 4, 2011, pp. 369–377., doi:10.3109/19390211.2011.623148. Galileo.

 

Annotation:

The article talks about how Primary Care Providers prescribe medications in order to alleviate symptoms, while naturopathic doctors(NDs) utilize a variety of different medicines, supplements, and lifestyle changes to remove the underlying cause of the symptoms. Recently, demand for natural medicine has been on the rise due to more interest in going the natural route, saving money, and trying to be more healthy. NDs use centuries-old remedies and techniques to help the patient, and recently there is promising evidence that these methods actually do work. Each patient receives a specialized plan with multiple lifestyle recommendations and supplements in order to help them with whatever underlying problem that they have.

​

Potential Quotes:

"Naturopathic medicine is defined by its philosophical underpinnings rather then methods or treatment modalities"

"Naturopathic physicians view symptoms as expressions of an underlying dysfunction of the psychophysical organism, and therefore, it is the dysfunction rather then the symptom that must be ultimately resolved"

"NDs address the complexity of individual patients, including physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, and spiritual factors"

"In conjunction with therapeutic diet and increased physical activity, the ND may offer a pharmaceutical agent to aid in glucose metabolism or reduce blood pressure if they deem this necessary"

"Treatment recommendations such as diet, exercise, and botanicals may initially appear simple and even antiquated. However, modern science is helping to elucidate the mechanisms of the therapeutic effects of these interventions.

 

Assessment:

This article was written by a doctor that specializes in holistic medicine. He used a variety of different credible sources in order to validate and back up his own claims. This shows that this article is credible.

 

Reflection:

Part of the article talks about the work that an ND does, and how he goes about doing so. I can analyze the techniques and look up the prescriptions, supplements, and recommendations that the author utilizes, and then use those techniques to describe how I can incorporate those methods in my future medical practices.

​

​

​

​

Source #3

Dossey, Barbara M. “Holistic Modalities & Healing Moments.” The American Journal of Nursing, vol. 98, no. 6, 1998, pp. 44–47. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3471759.

​

Annotation:

This article discusses with the reader how important holistic medicine is and how it can affect patients, as well as the relatives of the patients. Holistic medicine is described as “’consider(ing) the whole person, including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects,’" which helps to complement modern medicine in terms of healing patients. The nurses that the author has encountered are well versed in the nature of holistic medicine, and they use it whenever possible in order to help their patients. The article then proceeds to talk about how spirituality is a core part of holistic medicine.

​

Potential Quotes:

“His psychological and spiritual assessment… made him aware of a very profound part of healing.”

“At the core of many holistic modalities are spirituality and healing.”

“The human spirit becomes enfolded in one’s being and the perceptions of meaning can make the difference between life and death.”

​

Assessment:

I consider this article to be a very reputable source. She is a part of multiple health organizations and has a Higher National Certificate. These indicate that the author is very knowledgeable about the topic that she is discussing. Also, this article is found in the American Journal of Nursing, which means that this article must be highly credible for it to even be published with such a famous journal.

​

Reflection:

​I believe that this article will help me with creating my capstone project because it revealed to me a new side of holistic medicine: the spiritual side. Not all treatments have to be purely medical; even the little actions that correspond to a person’s beliefs or relationships can have a tremendous effect on the patient. Through this new perspective of looking at holistic medicine, I will be able to expand my horizons and create a capstone project that is much more cohesive and comprehensive than before.