Introduction
Holistic nursing is a nursing practice that seeks to enhance the process of patient healing by trying to provide an environment that may aid a patient who has been affected in any way to embrace life as it is. Holistic healing is associated with the provision of compassionate, interactive atmosphere; have as a feature energy field doctrine, patient empowerment, systematic knowledge and personal relations in aiding the patient in becoming whole, integrated individuals. Unlike the modern medicine that has precise objective symptoms; holistic nursing is a medical sphere that considers the entire being for medication. Hence, currently there is a competition in medical centers when it comes to the practice of nursing; most medical facilities are shifting towards holistic nursing because it appreciates the entirety of the human being-interconnectedness of the body, mind, sensation, fortitude, socio-cultural, affiliation, context, and atmosphere.
Body
When it comes to the healing process, the humankind has an entirety in body, mind, feeling, and spirit. The holistic practice appreciates: the affiliation that exists between the body, mind and soul; the intrinsic integrity of human beings; the aptitude in seeking for meaning and reason in our lives and daily occurrences; and the role of the holistic practitioner in support of the patient who may at last find soothes in healing, tranquility and harmony; and the bodies natural power to restore to health.
Hence, with holistic approach, a patient is administered for, rather than just their symptoms. The holistic approach acknowledges that every individual is unique. Hence, holistic medication practiced on one individual is not likely to be practices on another. This exposes a difference with the western where same medication would be given to different people so long as the symptoms are the same. This shows how unique holistic nursing is to other nursing practices.
Another unique practice of holistic practice is that the treatment of administered at one level influences the outcome of other level. This means that if the expected results are not achieved in one level, the possibility of succeeding on the remaining level is unlikely to be realized. Some of the factors considered as vital to health of a person are shared support, wellbeing practices, characteristics of a person, genetic history of family health. Also the lifestyle of a person in terms of nutritional consumptions, stress free life, and the understanding of the diverse cultures are essential. The unique aspect of holistic nursing is that the patient has a role to play to achieve the expected result unlike the western medicine where the patient awaits the body to respond to medication without taking any part in the healing process. In other words the healing process is dependent on the natural healing of the body.
Holistic nursing makes the patient to be able to understand what is actually happening on their body health wise, and are able to take control of their lives; personal lifestyle and choices, and the affiliations that they have with the environment and other people. The practitioner also is believed to be mentors, authority, enhances the healing process by acting like a partner with the patient hence the mutual understanding between the client and the practitioner is key to achieving the result of holistic nursing.
Benefits and challenges of holistic practicing
The practice of holistic nursing has been embraced and is being practiced in numerous health care facilities; they range from private health care facilities, ambulatory, delicate, women health centers, psychiatric department s in hospitals and centers, and even education centers. The adoption of holistic nursing has started developing global interests as an alternative nursing practice from the illness oriented nursing, biomedically subjugated to the type of nursing that incorporates the affiliation that exist in the entirety of the human beings; mind, body, and spirit.
Partnership
The practitioner is responsible for coming into an agreement with the patient to be able to understand the patient’s condition and be able to come up with a strategy that will be appropriate to the individual traits. Partnership also makes the practitioner to be able to experience with different people with different needs hence expanding their area of knowledge on this field as well as the education of their clients on their condition too.
Healing process
The healing process involves all factors that are associated with the being of the human kind. The understanding of the relationship between the mind, the body and the soul and being able to integrate both in the healing process is essential in handling the patient to be able to come back to his self.
Goal incentive
Before the partnership, the practitioner and the client comes up with a strategy and the expected outcome of the healing process. This gives the practitioner the morale to ensure that the set goals of the healing process are achieved. This is unlike the western medicine where the administration of drugs is dependent on how the body immune system will respond to the drug whose outcome cannot be predetermined. Hence, this gives holistic nursing an upper hand in being able to indulge in the process with an aim of attaining the set objectives. This turns out to benefit the patients more.
Personal involvement
Unlike western medication where the nursing practice is subjected to the patient, in other word the patient is there to receive the medication, holistic nursing involves patients in the healing process. The patient understands his/her situation and acknowledges what needs to be done in order to heal and became well health wise. Hence, the personal involvement gives the patient the opportunity to collaborate with the mentor to heal completely. This is a big contrast of the western medication where understanding the situation and what needs to be done is always side lined to the nurse, and only involves the patient when there is a critical decision that needs to be done.
Conclusion
It is quite evident that most of the health facilities both private and public, are embracing holistic nursing, what they have to accept is that as compared to the western medicine, holistic nursing has legitimacy. For this has triggered such needs as educational centers where holistic nursing is trained to other people to be able to assist in the administration process for hopeful healing of the entire body. Because of its essentiality in the healing process, holistic research has been developed to be able to come up with the best strategy in practicing the holistic process.
References
Association, A. N. (2007). Holistic nursing: scope and standards of practice. New York: American Holistic Nurses Association.
Barbara, M. (1997). Core curriculum for holistic nursing. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 1997.
Barbara, M. (2008). Holistic nursing: a handbook for practice. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
