Western biomedicine is powerful, but it is just one of many ways to understand the human body. This topic takes you on a global exploration of pluralistic healing traditions. You will learn how cultural competence is actively measured in clinical settings and compare the foundational assumptions of Western medicine with world traditions—including Traditional Indian Medicine (Ayurveda), Spiritualism and Curanderismo, American Indian medicine, and historic African American health beliefs. By evaluating complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), you will see how even an anatomical system, like the respiratory system, is interpreted differently depending on a patient’s cultural lens.
