The vast and intricate world of medicine has been evolving continuously daily. From the grassroots level of understanding of human health, the world of medicine and healthcare has transformed into a giant tree with its branches spreading out more systematically to address various health issues at its core.
Thus, two specialized approaches or forms of medicine, namely functional and translational medicine, have been gaining traction in recent years. This article will focus on how these two medicinal approaches work and benefit pediatric medicine and child healthcare. Moreover, we will also throw light on the MAPS Pediatric CME Conference scheduled to be held in the Spring season of 2024, where the core theme of the conference is functional and translational medicine in pediatrics.
With that in mind, let us delve a little into understanding what is functional and translational medicine in general, and then we will discuss its impact on pediatric medicine and child healthcare.
Understanding Functional and Translational Medicine
At its core, functional medicine is a biology-based approach to healing and treatment. It focuses on identifying the root cause of a health issue and then addressing it, taking into consideration the entire health and body of the patient. As such, it may include not only the physical health of the patient but also mental and emotional health. In some rare cases, the patient’s spiritual aspects or inclination and its effects are also taken into consideration to diagnose and devise a treatment plan accordingly.
Thus, functional medicine is extremely customizable and can be personalized to varying degrees based on a patient’s health issues and needs.
As such, it is quite similar to integrative medicine, where different forms of medicinal approaches and healing sciences come into play. However, functional medicine takes a more direct and scientific approach to consider other aspects of medicine and address various health issues.
On the other hand, translational medicine (or translational science) focuses on the aspect where the clinical findings are addressed, and a practical treatment plan is devised and applied to fetch pragmatic ground results for the patient.
In other words, translational medicine is an interdisciplinary application of medicine. The understanding, hypotheses, and questions derived from clinical research are often translated into application through this approach, helping apply scientific decision-making to see real, tangible improvements in health issues.
Functional and Translational Medicine’s Role in Pediatrics and Child Healthcare
Child healthcare diagnosis becomes all the more difficult because of children’s inability to express their issues clearly. Therefore, a pediatrician ought to have a good understanding of child psychopathology along with other aspects of medicine to find out the root cause of a child’s health issue.
Here comes the role of functional medicine, where a doctor does not merely treat the symptoms but goes all the way to find the root cause. Along the way, the doctor may also consider other aspects of the child’s overall health, since functional medicine works on the principle that the human body is a complex interconnected system, and an underlying issue can trigger or have effects on other parts of the body as well. Thus, treating it on the surface level would not address the underlying issue altogether.
This holistic approach to understanding health issues at a deeper level will be discussed at the MAPS Pediatric CME conference, scheduled to be held from March 14 to 16, 2024.
Translational Medicine & Child Healthcare
When the theory, ideas, hypotheses, and workings are developed, they need to be applied in reality to find out what exactly is the ground reality of our understanding of medical sciences so far. Thus, an ideal integrative approach to pediatrics would take the best of both the approaches, functional and translational medicine, where the findings from the functional approach are applied through translational research and application.
Thus, in the context of pediatric sciences, a translational approach will convert the scientific findings into practical applications to diagnose and treat child patients. The MAPS Pediatric CME conference would again be the ideal place where participants can find information, inspiration, and vision to understand the latest developments in pediatric medicine concerning translational sciences.
The MAPS Spring Pediatric CME Conference, 2024
The Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs (MAPS) conducts Continuing Medical Education (CME) conferences for special needs pediatricians. These conferences are held twice a year, viz., once during spring and the other during fall. The upcoming MAPS Pediatric CME conference will be held in the spring of 2024, from March 14th to 16th at Charlotte, North Carolina’s beautiful and picturesque Hilton University Place.
Being a CME event, these conferences are important for practicing pediatricians to be eligible for the CME exam, as mandated by the medical regulations of the State.
Furthermore, with its pool of experts from various medical fields gathering in one place, the MAPS Pediatric CME conference becomes a melting pot of intellectual stimulation and interesting discussions, allowing young aspiring physicians to network and collaborate with industry professionals.
Where academic excellence and nature’s inspirations hum along in the air, the beautiful and scenic location of North Carolina’s Hilton Resorts at Charlotte University Place offers the participants a chance to rejuvenate and refresh their minds from the daily humdrum of life as a busy medical professional.
If you are a medical health specialist, you must attend the MAPS Pediatrics CME conference, where medical experts and healthcare professionals will meet, network, and discuss the newer avenues to make child healthcare a better and nobler vocation and practice. Register early to secure your participation and avoid last-minute hassles.
