Introduction
Many theories support the importance of nurses’ holistic approach to the patient and how learning about it helps achieve the goal of holistic care. An important skill to use in holistic care would be communication skills with patients and other practitioners. It emphasizes that patients undergoing treatment will be treated not only in their bodies but also in their minds and spirits. Holistic care is a medical specialty that integrates the mind, body (Dossey & Keegan, 2016). This specialty has a theoretical basis in several grand nursing theories, primarily the science of unitary human beings. Holistic nursing is recognized by the American Nurses Association (ANA) as a nursing specialty with a defined scope of practice and standards. Holistic nursing focuses on mind, body, and spirit working together and how spiritual awareness in nursing can help heal illness. Holistic medicine focuses on maintaining optimal wellness and prevention, not just treating illness.
Discussion
Holistic nursing is based on fundamental theories of nursing, such as the work of Florence Nightingale and Gene Watson, as well as alternative theories of the oneness of peace, wholeness, and healing. Holistic nurses respect the patient as a decision-maker throughout the continuum of care. The holistic nurse-patient relationship is based on a partnership in which the nurse engages the patient in treatment options and health care choices. The holistic nurse strives to establish a professional and ethical relationship with the patient to maintain the patient’s sense of self-worth, integrity, and intrinsic value. Integrating care aims to treat the patient’s individual, cognitive, emotional, and physical problems and to understand the patient’s spiritual and cultural beliefs.
Holistic Education
Incorporating holistic nursing into education will help future nurses better understand the terms and approaches to this concept. Holistic nursing education incorporates all other nursing knowledge gained through reflective practice. In holistic nursing, nurses are taught five core values: caring, critical thinking, holism, nursing role development, and accountability. These values help the nurse focus on providing care to clients, their families, and other practitioners involved in patient care. Holistic nursing education is a continuing education program that will continue even after graduation to improve achievement (Frisch & Rabinowitsch, 2019). There is different training in commutation skills, and an example would be nonverbal and verbal communication with patients. It is to improve when it is right or wrong to use communication skills and how powerful they can be.
Integrated Nursing Self-Care
Through the holistic integration of self-care, self-awareness, and self-care practices by the nurse, the holistic nurse lives up to the values that patients are taught in practice. Holistic “nurses cannot promote healing if they are not themselves in the healing process.” To provide holistic care to the patient, it is also important that nurses take care of themselves. There are various ways that nurses can heal, assess and care for themselves, such as self-assessment, meditation, yoga, proper nutrition, energy therapy, support, and lifelong learning (Rosa et al., 2019). If nurses can achieve balance and harmony in their lives, it can help to understand how to care for the patient as a whole.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Florida Atlantic University has a program that focuses on all aspects of caring and teaches how to care for others and begin to assess your mind, body, and spirit. There is also Travis’ Wellness Model, which explores the idea that “self-care, wellness is the result of a continuous process of self-awareness, getting from others (education), trying out new possibilities (growth)” (Rosa et al., 2019). This model of concepts shows that the ability to understand one’s state of health can benefit patients and achieve the goal of holistic care.
References
Dossey, B., & Keegan, L. (2016). Holistic nursing a handbook for practice (7th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Frisch, N. C., & Rabinowitsch, D. (2019). What is in a definition? Holistic nursing, integrative health care, and integrative nursing: report of an integrated literature review. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 37(3), 260-272.
Rosa, W. E., Dossey, B. M., Watson, J., Beck, D. M., & Upvall, M. J. (2019). The United Nations sustainable development goals: the ethic and ethos of holistic nursing. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 37(4), 381-393.