76 ■ I: HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR ROLE DELINEATION
that “A vigorous curricular focus on the concept of role is particularly important for
the student pursing a doctorate of nursing practice degree.” An old adage in many
oppressed ethnic communities is: it does not matter what they call you. It’s what you answer
to. In other words, unless you know who you are, you will be defined by others. And, in
most instances, their definition of you is less favorable.
In a previous reflective response to the doctorate of nursing practice degree role
(Davis, 2011), I advocated that now is the time for radical change for the DANP. Have
we made the change? Are we mimicking other practice professionals or, are we adding
something that will distinguish us in practice? Nightingale would never have won the
recognition as the Mother of Modern Nursing had she duplicated the work of other
health care practitioners. Rather, she forged a new identity for nurses. I know that we are
trained differently, but how is that training understood, demonstrated, and embraced
in practice? Although I do not have the answers, I would like to pose an area of prac-
tice for consideration. This is a somewhat overlooked past role of the nurse, which is
creeping back into modern practice. It was once the requirement of all nurses to render
massage therapy to patients as part of the nightly duties. Now, massage, hydrotherapy,
and countless other complementary and alternative methods (CAMs) for health and
healing are making a remarkable comeback. The National Institute of Health reports
that approximately 38% of adults (4 out of 10) use some form of CAMs (nccih.nih
.gov). Not only that, a growing body of practitioners are questioning traditional med-
ical approaches to treatment (Barnard, 2007; Esselstyn, 2007; Fuhrman, 2012; Marcum,
2013; Ornish, 2010; Youngberg, 2012). Could it be that this is an opportunity for DAPNs
to participate in bringing the scientific evidence to the practice community for select
CAMs? In our curriculum, how much attention are we giving to the prevailing trends
of the population? By all popular estimates, CAMs are here to stay and will continue to
explode. My kind suggestion is that we seize the opportunity to embrace this emergent
practice opportunity while providing the clinical, scientific evidence for its use. To me,
curing is much better than treating. I wish you every success.
■ REFERENCES
Barnard, N. (2007). Dr. Neal Barnard’s program for reversing diabetes: The scientifically proven system for
reversing diabetes without drugs. New York, NY: Rodale.
Davis, S. (2011). Reflective response to role theory and the evolution roles in nursing. In
H. Dreher & M. Smith-Glasgow (Eds.), Role development for advanced doctoral nursing practice
(Chapter 2). New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
Esselstyn, C. (2007). Prevent and reverse heart disease: The revolutionary, scientifically proven nutrition- based
cure. New York, NY: Avery.
Fuhrman, J. (2014). The eat to live plan to prevent and reverse diabetes: The end of diabetes. New York,
NY: Harper Collins.
Marcum, J. (2011). The ultimate prescription: What the medical profession is not telling you. Carol Stream, IL:
Tyndale.
Marcum, J. (2013). Medicines that kill: The truth about the hidden epidemic. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale.
Ornish, D. (2010). Dean Ornish program for reversing heart disease: The only system scientifically proven to
reverse heart disease without drugs or surgery. New York, NY: Random House.
Youngberg, W. (2012). Goodbye diabetes: Preventing and reversing diabetes the natural way. Fallbrook,
CA: Hart Books.