Holistic Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Holistic Nursing - Essay Example In holistic nursing care, delivery of healing focuses on the relationship with the person, which contrasts with traditional nursing that has an orientation towards diseases and their cures. Holistic nursing emphasizes self-care practices, minding others and therapeutic use of the self to facilitate healing and creating patterns of wellness in others. The holistic nurse (HN), therefore, catalyzes and channels the healing process by respecting individual encounters about health, health beliefs and ideals. The caring process attends to physiological, psychological and spiritual needs of the patients contrary to traditional treatment methods. The HN supplements and enriches the nursing practice and consequently enables individuals to achieve their maximum healing potential (Mariano, 2007). The HN addresses the principles of respect and holism. Human beings differ from one individual to the other. The HN recognizes the totality of an individual’s (body, mind, emotion, and spirit) and their connections to the environment (culture, belief systems, relationships, and context). The second principle is choice and autonomy. Health is an equilibrium and improvement of well-being and not just absence of disease. Therefore, the key focus is on health promotion, prevention of diseases, health restoration, and relief of symptoms. The HN acknowledges that health is dynamic and constantly changes from a state of well being to illness. Therefore, the HN empowers the clients to make the right choices to promote their health. The third attribute in HN practice is autonomy. Nursing practice is a science that uses theory, critical thinking, reflection, and research. The nurse is to respect and give the clients the freedom to make their choices regarding their health irrespective of their knowledge and experiences. The holistic art of nursing stipulates nurses should integrate care, responsibility and deliver spiritual care in nursing.