Free Essay: Ordinary Medicine Extraordinary Treatments, Longer Lives, and Where to Draw the Line

In the current evolving world, the trail between therapies and too plentiful medication is unnoticeable; it is hidden by an absolute hurricane formed by the therapeutic and biomedical diligences, besides certification corporations. In Ordinary Medicine, Sharon R. Kaufman explores what motivates that hurricane: a virtually obscure series of community, financial, and organizational potencies has formerly made amazing remedies appear reasonable, essential, and appropriate (p.3). Kaufman opposes that current treatments nature almost every American’s experience of growing older, and eventually, medication is declining its capability to perform healing.

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Sharon Kaufman succeeds in taking the vast, complex, and fundamentally hidden influences that scamper the American medical coordination and uncover the shutter that gives the impression of concealing the works of welfare organizations, workforces, and clients. She lays down the phase-in her overview, observing the communal, ethnic and financial aspects that have gotten the U.S. to this position where what was expended to be innovative; strange has turned into the paradigm of upkeep, and conventional.

However, the financial aspects endure being the most challenging problem for patient admission to medication. This challenge is underscored by the cumulative age of the U.S. residents with healthcare facilitating individuals in prolonging life, but not consistently in good health. The author has heeded many older patients, their general practitioners, and household associates to articulate their optimism, doubts, and perception as they encountered the route between adequate and too ample interference (p. 16).

Their accounts attribute to Ordinary Medicine. Well-intentioned relatives and patients persistent-and anticipating counteract with general practitioners bidding the patient’s most considerable attention, the formerly “extraordinary” therapeutic procedures to retain the practices. Kaufman illustrates how the health contraptions, sustaining market, and community anticipations turn into interrogations we fear inquiring, far less responding, concerning life expectancy and treatment, how extreme is extreme, how is person welfare cherished by prolonging lifespan without consideration of the standards of natural life?

However, the U.S. appears to have the crème de la crème of all to provide in therapeutic medications; heading a prolonged life is not a quality life. Medicinal anthropologist Kaufman courageously investigates the distressing dilemma of the new drugs: acquiring the treatment, we desire; however, we endure to meet worrying and prolonged after-effects. The author is at her courteous point when concentrating on the distressing problem of patients suffering from conventional treatment outcomes, such as an aging patient who ought to decide between life-prolonging medicines or palliative maintenance, attending the healthcare facility frequently irrespective of the selection.

The author discovers the cancer treatments, kidney dialysis, and organ transplants for adults from a child. In present-day older adults are the primary beneficiaries of remedy’s life-prolonging medicines. Kaufman appeals for not any exclusion than creating the principles of treatment the ‘outstanding subject of our federal dissertation concerning well-being attention amendment.’

She reveals the consequences of healthcare regulation on management welfares—that is, if a patient on the facility is fit for handling, benefactors are frequently ready to provide care. However, Kaufman remarks manner of discernment has directed people to stop scrutinizing concerns about attributes of natural life, responsibilities to our kin, and the unavoidable expectation that we will eventually pass away (p. 110).

Sharon Kaufman brings about her typical logistics and good accuracy, avoiding simple responses for an evaluation of the fundamental stupidity of our present-day dilemma. She consigns a lingering and challenging thought on the abnormal U.S. fascination with extremely digitalized durability (p. 114). Over and done with an assortment of ancient studies of discussions in well-being regulation and well-being finances, bioethical concerns, and influential ethnographic patterns, the author thoroughly validates the increase throughout the past few years of what she refers to as conventional treatment.

According to Kauffman, Ordinary Medicine, it is a specific medical technology that explorers and includes cancer therapies, cardiac defibrillator, kidney transplantation, dialysis, liver transplantation, among other living organ donation. The organ donation is made from an adult child to a parent. It is because, even though age is not a key discussion criterion, especially when considering to employ the use of such devices and treatments, it is a reality that older adults are the major consumers of medicine that support life-extending treatments.

According to Kauffman, saying no appears to fly in the face of progress in the field, mostly technological progress. It is because it has a primary value in Western medicine and has an enduring feature (p. 114). Additionally, Kaufman articulates that everyone aspires for more life; it is a fundamental desire. Through this, the value of life has been linked to the amount of it. Thus, the moral reason to proceed is attributed to the technical ability to intercede (p. 164).

The most compelling features of the book are the emotional and distressing voices of doctors and patients throughout. Kaufman quotes that she listened to multiple people, both physicians, older patients, and family members who came to visit and support them. They all expressed fears and hopes. Through this, the larger U.S societal discomfort while dealing with death is among the most powerful forces to be responded to.

According to a 73-year –old patient who was on dialysis, she declares the restriction and the extent to which death should be talked about. The patients say that no one knows how to prepare or handle death. Also, the patient clarifies that we should not think about it (p. 153). According to Kauffman, fear dominates some patients if they are told that their treatment is not helpful. According to another dialysis patient who was on the final stages of lung cancer, she describes how she felt betrayed by the oncologist after raising the idea of having her discontinued from dialysis. She was shocked to hear that her dialysis was not proving to be beneficial.

According to the patient’s response, it is proved that bringing up the idea of discontinuing their treatment is bad. She even talks about committing suicide and compares herself to whether the physician would do it his family members. She appears bitter while describing how she is hurt (p. 154).according to the author; some doctors are uncertain while recommending technologies to be used on patients with advanced age.

Some physicians find it difficult to explain to these patients about the criteria used when applying aggressive technologies. Even so, it is tricky for the physicians to sit down with the patients and tell them that they do not meet the criteria of the technology that they have heard about (p. 59). Also, most physicians find it difficult to explain to patients family members how the technology is vital as a treatment procedure, even though the aged patients do not meet the required criteria, or if it is not the right thing to do.

Kaufman describes that presently, doctors do not emphasize on the difficult decisions to be evaluated before continuing to accept the technology to be used on patients. They find it easier as they do not sweat, explaining to the patients the criteria. If the patients are free to go on with the criteria, they just continue with the procedures involved (p. 60).

Kaufman describes how medicine has a vital role in shaping ideas. However, she downplays the role of socio-cultural ideals in shaping medicine. However, she describes the link between society, medicine, and socio-cultural values. She portrays that our society is defined by the medical practices we have. Therefore, socio-cultural values are a powerful factor that specifies the type of medicine to have or aspire to.

According to Kaufman, talking willingly about death is among the solutions to handle some dilemmas exposed by Ordinary Medicine. It helps understand the transience of human condition. However, they are not the topics that cheer up the ideals of permanent personhood or those of ageless. Through this, it is hard for many anthropologists to describe what Kaufman explained in Ordinary Medicine.

Conclusion

As observed, the work of Kauffman on medicine acts as a driving influence in U.S. society. It helps to shine a light on the most vital societal forces which are present. It is a book that would allow and add knowledge on both graduate and undergraduate courses in sociology, anthropology, public policy, and public health. It acts as an addition to fields such as technology and science studies, bioethics, sociology, anthropology, aging, and dying, among others. It is a precise book, apart from classwork, Kaufman’s book should be read by healthcare policymakers, physicians, and medical ethicists. Therefore, it is a call for physicians to renew and rethink medicine’s goal.