A patient asks, "What is the major difference between conventional health care and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)?" The nurse's best reply is that conventional health care

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Conventional health care focuses primarily on curative actions implemented on a mostly passive patient, whereas CAM focuses more on the mind-body aspects of health, along with the active involvement of the patient. Conventional health care is largely grounded in scientific research, and its various components are heavily regulated; the opposite tends to be true of CAM. Some forms of CAM have their roots in religious or cultural practices, but this is not characteristic of CAM as a whole. Both conventional health care and CAM can focus on health promotion and treatment of illness. Although critics express concern about the role of profit in conventional health care, the profit motive can also apply in CAM.

A Patient Asks, "What Is the Major Difference Between Conventional