In the mid-19th century, a revolution began to reform American medical education into science-based academic education that produced problem solvers and critical thinkers who could evaluate information for themselves. It paved the way for new teaching methods that favoured the latest scientific knowledge and understanding of scientific methodology and technique. 

 

Abraham Flexner, a US science administer and politician, was commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Washington, DC, to research the importance of including biomedicine and intensive laboratory experimentation in modern medical education, and identify the 'non-scientific' models such as folk psychologists, naturopaths, homeopaths, chiropractors, osteopaths, and eclectic forms of therapy that fiercely competed with the scientific model.

 

This suited Flexner, as he believed from his own experience, that medicine was a discipline governed by the laws of biology, chemistry, and physics, and he emphasised that mastery of medicine should be based on research and scientific evidence, not focused on bedside teachings and 'quackery'.

 

The influential 'Flexner Report', published in 1910, recommended a drastic reduction in medical schools and the extermination of those that did not conform to Flexner's 'golden standards'. ​The few institutions remaining held uncompromising academic models and were committed to medical research and academic excellence, public trusts run for the benefit of society that were able to maintain strong financial support for modern laboratory and hospital facilities. As mammoth philanthropic foundations, such as the Rockefeller Foundation, channelled tens of millions of dollars into these institutions in an attempt to build his vision, the majority of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) colleges and programs were forced to shut their doors or be prosecuted for practicing outside their scope. 

 

It is safe to state, the Flexner Report is responsible for the de-emphasis, skepticism, even dismissal people have about traditional CAM practices. Google 'Naturopathy' in Wikipedia to read the misinformation and negative influence the Flexner Report is still having today. With the rise of scientifically-based Western medicine, much of the traditional holistic approach of treating the client as a 'person' has transformed into rushed scientific reductionism that leaves them feeling more like a number. Many trained physicians ignore the benefits of good nutrition in favour of invasive treatments and pharmaceuticals that suppress dis-ease and cause unpleasant side-effect. Their medical institutions have taught them to understand and attempt to control bodily phenomena, not nurture and nourish the body. It doesn't help that society teaches us to ignore our bodies cues, to 'soldier on' and just get things done, under-valuing its innate wisdom. 

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We go about our daily lives in a mad rush with completely unrealistic expectations of trying to achieve a million tasks, neglecting and abusing our precious bodies through poor diet and lifestyles, whilst ignoring what our body needs and is trying to communicate to us. We hand our health over to general physicians expecting a 'quick fix', and it seems that they are quite content with prescribing a 'pill for every ill', keeping the pharmaceutical companies running the game.

 

It may be opening a pandora's box (that we'd rather keep shut) to mention that the mammoth trillion-dollar companies and foundations that 'run the world' hold shares in and control everything we buy, watch online, and use including the mainstream media, universities, and pharmaceutical companies that distort medical knowledge, mislead doctors and  politicians, and compromise that health of patients. This may be why some people believe that "the primary purpose of commercially funded clinical research is to maximise financial return on investment, not health."- John Abramson, M.D., Harvard Medical School. Could it be possible that to some, money is more important that people? Is that too painful a thought to consider? I'll leave that there...

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Please do not misinterpret this message to say that I de-value Western Medicine. I absolutely believe there is a place for it beyond the somewhat limited scope of Naturopathy, and I will always endeavour to work alongside scientifically qualified physicians and specialists for the benefit of my clients. The purpose of my message is to inform you fully of information that is not widely known, or known but not discussed for fear of judgement or censorship. To encourage you to stay 'awake', to insist that you stay responsible for your own health, to trust your intuition, and never give consent to medical treatments or drugs that do not align with your personal values.

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If the current times can teach us anything, it is to stop and re-evaluate what is most important in our lives.

For without our health, we have nothing.

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References:

• Abramson, J. (2005). Overdosed America: the broken promise of American medicine. Harper Perennial.

• Abramson, J. (2009). Good for business, bad for patients? https://abcnews.go.com/Business/Health/story?id=6762939&page=1

• Ludmerer, K. (2010). Commentary: Understanding the Flexner Report. Academic Medicine, 85 (2), 193-196. http:/doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181c8f1e7

• Stahnisch, F. W., & Verhoef, M. (2012). The Flexner report of 1910 and its impact on complementary and alternative medicine and psychiatry in North America in the 20th century. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative medicine, 2012, 1-10. http://doi.org/10.1155/2012/647896

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