The Art of Holistic Nursing
Monday January 24, 2000
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Holistic nurses view health as a process, and crisis as an opportunity. Because we are all "holistic" beings, with physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual compartments, each part affects the whole. My involvement with holism began with my son's illness and subsequent death from AIDS. He told me, "Mom, AIDS is the best thing that has happened to me! It has changed my life in so many positive ways."
At the time, I could not understand how having a terminal illness could be a positive experience. I am now only beginning to understand. I thank my son everyday for helping me start on my holistic path.
Holistic Nursing
What is holistic nursing? If you were to ask nurses this question, you would get as many answers as the number of nurses you asked. Two current definitions are -
· "Holistic nursing embraces all nursing practice, which has healing the whole person as its goal," from the American Holistic Nurses' Association.
· "Holistic nursing can be defined as all nursing practice, which cares for the person as an integrated, holistic human being, inseparable and integral with the environment. It requires nurses to integrate self-care in their own lives," from the American Holistic Nurses' Certification Corporation.
One reason it is so difficult to define holistic nursing is because it is not necessarily what the nurse does; it is who the nurse is. Holistic nursing is based on the beliefs, values, and attitudes that nurses hold and that affects how they view themselves, others, the world, and the universe. And each nurse has his or her own unique take on holistic nursing.
There are, however, several important underlying principles that holistic nurses live by, both in their own lives and practices. One important principle is that of "self-care." Holistic nurses understand that to care for others, we must first care for ourselves. Holistic nurses try to "walk the talk" in their everyday lives. They "empower" others to be autonomous and coparticipants in their own care, as guides and advocates, and acknowledge that a "caring presence" can be the most healing of all interventions.
Some nurses view holistic nursing as "New Age", or "Oh I know what holistic nursing is. It's all that woo-woo stuff." This type of thinking saddens me, but I understand because I was once there, too. I judged and ridiculed alternative ways of living and thinking. My mind was closed to other ways of healing because it was unfamiliar and not an aspect of Western medicine. Never mind that the majority of the world's people thought differently.
Now I understand the importance of a holistic approach to nursing. I am a member of the American Holistic Nurses' Association (AHNA), which was founded in 1980 by Charlotte McGuire, RN, and a group of nurses, including Maryland nurse Lynn Kazemekas, RN, EdD. The association aims to bring the concepts of holism to every nurse. Our new president-elect, Charlotte Eliopoulos, RN, PhD, is a renowned Maryland parish nurse. There are now almost 3,000 members who embrace holistic nursing as a lifestyle and a profession.
AHNA members work to integrate holistic nursing principles into nursing education, clinical practice, and nursing research. AHNA's mission is "to unite nurses in healing" with the vision "to be the definitive voice of healthcare from a holistic nursing paradigm." AHNA invites all nurses to join them in "Healing Our Nursing Community" at this year's annual conference, held at Ghost Ranch Conference Center, Abiquiu, NM, an education and mission center of the Presbyterian Church in New Mexico.
Maryland has several active AHNA networks providing educational and supportive programs open to all who are interested in practicing holistic nursing. One program offered is "Nurture the Nurse Day," which will be held on Saturday, March 18, 2000, at the Bon Secours Spiritual Center in Marriotsville, MD. Contact hours are available. To receive a registration form, or for more information, please contact Pat Skidmore at 301-831-3008, or by e-mail at
patdav@worldnet.att.net.
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