Healthsteading is the Functional Medicine practice of Dr. James McAndrew in Tyler, Texas

My Philosophy of Medicine

First and foremost, I realize that I am just a tool of the Great Physician, God.  Without His healing intervention everything I do would not work.  Think about it, without His healing I could never use “temporary” or dissolving suture!

I make the cuts, but He is responsible for the healing, and He should get all the glory.

I also believe that the practice of medicine is a dialogue not a monologue. It is an opportunity to discuss a problem and come up with a mutually agreeable solution.  Part of my role in medicine is to teach about the disease process.  This fits well with my personality as every spiritual gift assessment I have taken puts me in the “teacher” role. I feel that a well-informed patient will better understand their condition and has the ability to more accurately describe their symptoms.

I believe that medical choices should be made with the best information possible.  For the most part, we should rely on good, objective, scientific studies and not on someone else’s personal experience or preferences.  However, having said that, I also realize that there is an art to medicine and sometimes we will have to make decisions without the benefit of scientific studies.  I will try to tell you when we are working off the “art of medicine” or the “science of medicine”.  In the practice of medicine, we are also treating people, not numbers or statistics.  Allowances must be given because sometimes the best treatment for a disease is not the best treatment for a specific patient (we don’t try to win a battle at the expense of losing the war!).

So, let’s talk.  Let’s see what is going on with you and let’s discuss what we can do about it.