Holistic Healthcare: An Overview

• Holism in healthcare is rooted in the philosophy of Florence Nightingale, emphasizing unity, wellness, and the interconnectedness of individuals, events, and their environment.
• Hippocrates, considered the father of Western medicine, promoted a holistic approach by teaching doctors to consider patients' life circumstances and emotional states.
• In holism, symptoms are viewed as the body's way of reacting to and curing imbalance or disease.
• The word "heal" originates from the Greek "halos" and the Anglo-Saxon "healan," which means "to be or to become whole."

Definition of Terms

• Conventional therapies include medical, surgical, pharmacological, and invasive/non-invasive diagnostic procedures commonly used in Western medicine.
• Complementary/alternative modalities are a wide range of healthcare practices addressing the whole person (body, mind, emotion, spirit, and environment), not just symptoms, and may replace or complement conventional treatments.
• Environment is the habitat where all living systems interact, encompassing the physical body, its surroundings, and cultural, psychological, social, and historical influences, including both external space and internal experiences.
• Healing is described as a continuous journey toward wholeness, seeking balance in personal life, relationships, and global connections, involving physical, mental, social, and spiritual recovery processes.

Aspects of Healing

• Physical healing involves restoring physical health and function through medical treatments, surgeries, medications, and physical therapy.
• Emotional healing involves processing and resolving emotional wounds, trauma, and distress, often through therapy, counseling, support groups, self-care, and activities that promote emotional well-being.
• Mental healing concentrates on restoring mental health and cognitive function using therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, meditation, and activities promoting mental clarity and resilience.
• Spiritual healing addresses a person's spiritual dimension through practices like meditation, prayer, connecting with nature, engaging in spiritual rituals, and exploring purpose and connection to something greater.

Healing Process & Holistic Nursing

• The healing process involves continuous change and self-evolution, marked by recognizing patterns that support or challenge health and healing, whether done alone or in community.
• Holistic nursing is described as all nursing practice that focuses on healing the whole person, emphasizing relationship-centered care and the interconnectedness of the mind, body, spirit, and environment.
• The goals of holistic nursing include holistic assessment, promoting health and wellness, assisting healing, preventing illness/injury, alleviating suffering, advocating for health equity, promoting environmental well-being, integrating complementary therapies, and supporting individuals in finding peace, comfort, harmony, and balance.

Holistic Nursing Practice Process

• Holistic nursing practice involves an iterative and integrative process with six simultaneous steps: assessing, diagnosing/identifying issues, identifying outcomes, planning care, implementing the plan, and evaluating.

Philosophical Principles of Holistic Nursing

• The principle of the person recognizes the unity, totality, and interconnectedness of everyone and everything, including body, mind, emotion, spirit, sexuality, age, environment, society, culture, beliefs, relationships, and context.
• It emphasizes that human beings are inherently good and unique, able to find meaning and purpose in their lives and possessing an innate capacity for self-healing.
• The person is honored in all phases of the healing process, regardless of expectations or outcomes.
• Recipients of holistic nursing services include clients, patients, families, significant others, populations, or communities.

Healing and Health

• Health and illness are seen as natural parts of life, contributing to learning, change, and development.
• Health is defined as balance, integration, harmony, and right relationships, exceeding the mere absence of disease, with healing possible even without a cure, focusing on health promotion, disease prevention, health restoration, and lifestyle habits.
• Illness is viewed as an opportunity for self-awareness and growth, with symptoms regarded as important messages.
• People are empowered to actively participate in their healing process by taking control of their lives.

Practice

• Practice is described as both a science (using critical thinking, reflection, evidence, research, and theory) and an art requiring intuition, creativity, presence, and self-knowledge.
• Holistic nursing practice is underpinned by values and ethics such as holism, caring, moral insight, dignity, integrity, competence, responsibility, accountability, and legality.
• Public policy and the healthcare delivery system influence health and well-being in society and the nursing profession.

Nursing Roles

• Nurses are part of the healing environment using warmth, compassion, caring, respect, trust, and their relationships.
• Holistic nurses use conventional and holistic modalities to enhance the connection between body, mind, emotion, and spirit.
• They collaborate with the person receiving care and their family, significant others, community, colleagues, and those from other disciplines.
• Holistic nurses participate in creating caring cultures, assist nurses in healing themselves, contribute to community improvement, and advocate for equitable healthcare access.
• Holistic nurses honor the ecosystem and the human relationship with it, contributing to its preservation.

Self-reflection and Self-care

• Self-reflection involves turning inward to examine thoughts, values, beliefs, experiences, behaviors, and inner wisdom, improving self-understanding and reflective practice.
• Self-reflection, self-assessment, self-care, healing, and personal development are necessary for holistic nurses.
• Holistic nurses value their calling to holistic nursing as a life purpose.

Standards of Holistic Nursing Practice

• Standard 1 (Assessment): Holistic nurses collect extensive data on a person's health or situation.
• Comprehensive data includes physical, functional, psychosocial, emotional, mental, sexual, cultural, age-related, environmental, spiritual, transpersonal, and energy field assessments.
• Standard 2 (Diagnosis): Holistic nurses analyze assessment data to determine actual or potential diagnoses/issues.
• This involves using complex data obtained during interviews, examinations, and diagnostic procedures.
• Standard 3 (Outcomes Identification): Outcomes are identified for a plan tailored to the individual.
• Realistic goals are set in partnership with the person, based on their current and potential capabilities and quality of life.
• Outcomes incorporate patient satisfaction, understanding, quality of life, cost-effectiveness, and consistency of care.
• Standard 4 (Planning): Holistic nurses create a plan that identifies strategies and alternatives to achieve outcomes.
• The plan is developed with the person, considering values, beliefs, spiritual practices, preferences, choices, age, and cultural appropriateness.
• Practice settings and safe spaces are created for both the nurse and the person.
• Standard 5 (Implementation): Holistic nurses implement the identified plan in partnership with the person.
• Implementation is safe, realistic, and timely while honoring the person's choices and unique healing journey.
• Self is used as an instrument of healing.
• Standard 6 (Evaluation): Holistic nurses evaluate progress toward outcome achievement.
• Evaluation is holistic, systematic, ongoing, and criterion-based, considering the healing process.
• Evaluation considers structures and processes prescribed by the plan.
• Standard 7 (Education): Holistic nurses maintain current knowledge and competency reflective of nursing practice.
• Standard 8 (Collegiality): Holistic nurses interact with and contribute to the professional development of peers and colleagues.
• Standard 9 (Collaboration): Holistic nurses collaborate with the person, family, and others in holistic nursing practice.
• Standard 10 (Research): Holistic nurses integrate research into practice.

Settings for Holistic Nursing Practice

• Holistic nurses practice in various settings where healing can occur, including private offices, ambulatory settings, acute care hospitals, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, home care settings, complementary care centers, hospice, schools, rehabilitation centers, and community health centers.

Holistic Ethics

• Holistic ethics encompass a Code of Ethics for Holistic Nurses.
• Nurses have a responsibility to model health behaviors and assist others in achieving harmony in their lives.
• They see the client as a whole, providing culturally consonant care.
• Nurses maintain client confidentiality and professionalism.
• Nurses work cooperatively with coworkers and take action in client's interest if care is endangered.
• Nurses maintain personal responsibility for practice and continued competence.
• They use all appropriate interventions and make use of research findings.
• Nurses help determine standards of nursing practice and may assume leadership to guide the profession toward holism.
• They support research and the development of holistic nursing theories.
• Nurses help establish equitable working conditions. Nurses have a responsibility to meet the health and social needs of the public. Nurses strive to provide an environment of peace and harmony to promote healing.