The major changes in the health care system have led to the development of lots of technologies which have been helpful in solving many of the ailments that are currently facing the United States population. The specific areas that have been affected by these advancements are mainly the medications that are currently in use in the healthcare market in addition to developments in terms of new bodies of knowledge which collectively have been helpful in providing holistic care to ailing individuals (Gale, 2014). As such, these improvements in the medical field have been helpful in ensuring that the country’s populace is healthy thereby resulting in their notable contributions to the country’s economy.
In addition to these advancements, there are also treatment modalities which have equally been helpful in addressing human illnesses translating to better outcomes just in the same way that conventional medical practices work. These treatment options are referred to as alternative treatment techniques and are mainly composed of complimentary and traditional interventions. By incorporating these alternative healthcare techniques, they have proven to be helpful in ensuring that patients come out with desirable outcomes in addition to higher satisfaction levels. These two factors have always resulted in holistic care being provided to patients. The many therapeutic techniques which are used in restoring the health of an ailing individual are referred to as modalities (Evans et al., 2015). Such techniques comprise of electrotherapy, chemotherapy, aromatherapy and surgery. The notable benefits that have been linked with the usage of these techniques include; reduced burnout incidences on the side of care providers, improved healing rates amongst patients, reduced cases of readmissions, a considerable reduction in the nursing sensitive indicators. Additionally, there are also boosted job satisfaction levels on the side of the nurses, and lower levels of stress on the side of the patients because of shorter hospital stays. From the foregoing, therefore, it is evident that indeed the benefits that are associated with the application of these modalities in the healthcare delivery process cannot be overstated. These advantages have resulted in patients receiving holistic care from the process.
The complimentary techniques that nurses employ in making sure that the concept of holistic care has been achieved include; healing touch, humor, massages, physical movement, meditation, music, acupressure, and guided imagery (Gale, 2014). These techniques are used by healthcare providers in making sure that patients’ needs have been satisfactorily addressed thereby resulting in boosted levels of satisfaction.
The traditional forms of care provision, on the other hand, do not utilize evidence-based practice in the treatment process. The techniques applied in this alternative form of care provision are passed orally from the original users of these techniques to the care providers who will be tasked with making sure that they stay alive. This alternative care provision process in most cases takes into account the trial and error method which has proved to be successful (Gale, 2014). However, the traditional modalities cannot be satisfactorily depended on since there are possibilities of errors and near misses happening. Such a situation is likely to compromise the levels of quality and safety to the patient. On the other hand, however, the traditional care provision process is cheaper compared to the conventional methodology since it utilizes locally available knowledge base and resources.
It is equally important that these alternative modalities of care provision be incorporated into the conventional practices of care provision because they are useful in acting as buffers in situations where the scientific methodologies may seem insufficient. Generally, the application of these techniques in the care provision process is crucial since it creates a link between the patient and the healthcare practitioners that are responsible for their health. In addition, by using alternative techniques like massages, acupressure, healing touches, and humor, the expected advantages from their usage include; relief from tension, reduced levels of anxiety, and proper management of pain. Consequently, since these factors have been satisfactorily addressed, patients that have undergone this process will emerge with better-improved satisfaction from the services that they have received (Evans et al., 2015). These benefits result in enhanced therapeutic outcomes. It should be noted that the specific diseases that this technique addresses are mainly chronic for instance heart disease and cancers.
There are however shortcomings that have been associated with utilizing this methodology in the care provision process. The major area of concern dwells on the fact that the health practitioners who use these modes of healthcare are not culturally competent thereby resulting to them not addressing the ethical and moral standings of the patients. In such a situation, therefore, it becomes difficult to satisfactorily address their concerns about holistic care since the patient feels that certain matters concerning their values have not been sufficiently addressed thereby translating to them not experiencing a full recovery. Secondly, there are also concerns that have been linked with the side effects that are brought about by utilizing alternative care provision modalities. Conditions such as hypoglycemia and high blood pressure have been linked to the use of particular dietary supplements.
On the other hand, the main advantage that has been linked with the application of alternative care provision techniques corresponds with the realization that the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of the patient are addressed in this manner. From this comprehension, the objectives of holistic care are satisfactorily taken care of which translates to improved life quality and health in general. Secondly, in the event that complimentary healthcare techniques are integrated into the care plan for a chronically ill patient, it will be easier to address the severity of their conditions thereby toning down the levels of pain and suffering on the patient being cared for in acute care settings. Such an apprehension will culminate in enhanced quality of life on the side of the patient and job satisfaction to the nurses (Dossey et al., 2012). The harmful effects likely to result from utilizing these techniques are that tissues around the area where a particular treatment procedure is targeted will also be affected. For instance, the application of burning therapy is a probable risk factor for damage to the tissues around a particular locality on the body due excessive heat. In the event that such tissues are destroyed, their functionality will be greatly affected leading to the failure of the entire body organ. From this realization, therefore, a series of negative outcomes for the patient may crop up thereby compromising their well-being.
The core objectives of the nursing profession are making sure that adequate care is provided to patients with the objective of making sure that they emerge with desirable outcomes and also make certain that the possibilities of near misses and errors occurring are at the minimum. Such an objective can be achieved if the nurse makes it their responsibility to combine different care provision methods which will ultimately result in boosted levels of outcomes on the side of the patient. As such, the combination of conventional practices with the alternative modalities is one such way of ensuring there are resultant desirable outcomes on the side of the patient. Additionally, basing on the fact that these techniques put much focus on the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the patient, it will be a major effort that will be used in ensuring that a patient receives the care that adequately addresses their requirements (Dossey et al., 2012). Moreover, in the event that the conventional methods of care provision are not effective in solving particular ailments, the alternative modalities come in handy in solving these issues. From such a realization, care providers can carry out evaluations in terms of the advantages and the disadvantages of the different care methodologies that can be utilized with the efforts directed towards achieving desirable results.
I interviewed nurse manager HK whose specialty is in healing touch technique. Of late, I have been having moments of depression and which have had a profound effect on my productivity and efficiency levels at work. She informed that this traditional intervention technique is beneficial to my health as a person as it plays the role supporting my emotional, physical, spiritual and mental status. She added that the healing touch method influences the energy system of the body by controlling the energy centers in the body and converting them to the physical body (Wardell et al., 2012). This technique focuses on getting rid of energy congestion on our aura and chakras which eventually results to the harmonization of the mind, body and soul. Such a balance is beneficial in ensuring that any future instances of disease occurring is adequately taken care of thereby resulting in an individual receiving holistic care. Additionally, this technique is advantageous in the sense that it helped me address my depressive mood without employing any invasive procedures like injections or surgeries. Moreover, this procedure is important since it does not have any side effects. Finally, healing touch is also economical since it does not require the use of any particular equipment and can also be performed at any location.
References
Dossey, B. M., Certificate, C. D. I. N. C., Keegan, L., & Co-Director International Nurse Coach Association. (2012). Holistic nursing. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Evans, R., Vihstadt, C., Westrom, K., & Baldwin, L. (2015). Complementary and Integrative Healthcare in a Long-term Care Facility: a pilot project. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 4(1), 18-27.
Gale, N. (2014). The sociology of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine. Sociology compass, 8(6), 805-822.
Wardell, D. W., Decker, S. A., & Engebretson, J. C. (2012). Healing touch for older adults with persistent pain. Holistic nursing practice, 26(4), 194-202.
