Holistic care in nursing is a newer specialty classified as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
It is defined as an all-encompassing nursing practice to heal the whole person. Consider holistic nursing care to be a way of looking at the entire picture rather than just a patient with symptoms that may be treated with medicine.
Holistic care is founded on holism, which emphasizes that humans are whole creatures.
So, our minds and spirits affect our bodies. These components are always connected. Holistic Nursing care, pioneered by Florence Nightingale, addresses the physical body and the individual’s mind and soul to prevent and treat disease and promote optimal health.
What are the differences from traditional nursing?
In a few crucial areas, holistic nursing differs from traditional nursing. First, holistic nurses believe that if given the opportunity and resources, everyone can help heal themselves.
Second, holistic nursing seeks to rebalance the body’s energy system to aid patient healing. Third, holistic nursing includes principles such as aromatherapy, dietetics, meditation, yoga, and others in patient care to promote healing and health.
Finally, holistic nursing is based on the concept that a combination of conventional and alternative therapies can improve health and well-being.
An example of holistic nursing
An example of holistic care is the managing of the expectations of the family and a palliative care patient.
It assists them in comprehending the stages and phases of their ailment. Holistic care helps people understand that their sickness may be chronic or progressive and that the terminal steps of the condition may occur suddenly.
Holistic health care assists patients in accepting their situation and learning how to make the most of each day by living as well as possible. It also helps family members accept the prognosis and understand the stages of the disease and how they may best support their loved one.
How to become a holistic nurse
To become a Holistic Registered Nurse, you must complete a program like the TWU online nurse practitioner degree program.
Texas Woman’s University’s (TWU) online Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program is developed explicitly for BSN-prepared nurses.
You can become a holistic primary care provider through a transformative experience that focuses on advanced clinical expertise, all-encompassing patient care, clinical reasoning, critical thinking, and professional growth while preparing you for leadership roles that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Conclusion
The integration of holistic nursing and modern Western medicine broadens a nurse’s ability to provide the best treatment alternatives for each patient.
Nurses must have knowledge of diseases and a grasp of the physical and mental effects of illness on a person to treat patients successfully. Holistic nursing abandons the detached protocol of medicine in favor of personalized care.
As holistic nursing becomes more prevalent in healthcare settings, nurses will be able to blend alternative ways with traditional approaches to improve patient care.