Holistic Nursing: Scope and Practice - Case Study Example

Introduction Do unto others as you would have others do unto you (Matthew, chapter 7 verse 12). The Biblical wisdom has been the guidepost of the humanity for ethical conduct towards one another. Today, it is one of the guiding principles of the holistic school of treatment. We will discuss how this adage is incorporated in the principles and practices of holistic nursing care. Holism—History Development and Modern Perspectives Holism is a school of thought in the medical science that believes in curing the ‘whole’ person rather than their diseased parts and organs. Like some other alternative therapies, it considers disease as a symptom of the imbalances in the mind-body-spirit equilibrium. Wellness or wholeness is the balanced integration of all aspects of health namely physical, spiritual, emotional, and social (Timby, 2008). Any change in one of the aspects of the ‘whole’ person affects the other. As such the focus of ‘healing’, and the aim of holism, is to restore the equilibrium than to merely remove the symptoms. Good health according to holism is the balance between inputs and outflows from the body to the environment in a dynamic state. Loss of equilibrium leads to illness (Lawrence and Weisz, 1998). Healing emerges from the within the body-mind-spirit of the patient with the assistance of therapeutic attention and not because of them. Holism believes that it is the birth right of a patient to be treated ‘whole’ (Weber). The root word holism is halos in Greek. Halos means to ‘be or to become whole.’ The word heal has also emanated from the same source (Mariano, 2008). Holism, too, as a concept dates back to ancient times. Socrates made an appeal to the medical fraternity to adopt holism when he had given a call for ‘curing the soul’. There is a mention of holism in the medical texts of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. According to Hippocrates nature is the repository of cures for all illnesses (Skolimowski). Holism also finds a reference in the ancient Indian and Greek medical practices. Florence Nightingale, the Lady of Lamp, is the first recorded practitioner of holism in modern times. She advocated the use of concepts of unity and wellness and interrelationships of the human beings, events and the environment (Mariano, 2008). The writings of Nightingale continue to inspire the practitioners of holistic nursing care to this day. Recent times have seen spurt in activities of holistic nursing due to inability of conventional medicine in providing total cure of mind, body, and spirit. Holism is the return to the traditional modes of thinking affected with the sprinkling of contemporary science (Lawrence and Weisz, 1998). Holism got a fillip in the US with the formation of the American Holistic Nursing Association (AHNA). It was founded by Charlotte McGuire and 75 other delegates in Houston, Texas, in 1981.Today it is the key driving force behind the movement for promoting the practice of holism amongst nurses in the US. The AHNA is in forefront for advancing holistic principles treating the ‘whole’ person and integration of modern medicine with alternative therapies. The motto of AHNA is “Caring, Healing, and Transforming.” Hypothesis Statement To treat others as we wish to be treated lies at the core of the nursing care in holistic healing. Concepts of Holism Holism propagates that there is a mystical unity in the natural state of affairs. Mankind is one giant family, because there is a feeling of interconnectedness, even between people dwelling in different parts of the world. We are part of one large organism (Dossey) and holism believes in total health through union of the soul with its origin (Weber) the nature, or the Godhead. Holism considers that nature, as a stratified sum, is greater than of its parts. Nature consists of one timeless, unified, rational and spiritual reality (Mariano 59, 2008). The universe is conceived as a unique participatory event or as according to Parmenides a quasi-mystical collective. There is unity, totality, and connectedness of everyone and everything (body, mind, emotion, spirit, sexuality, age, environment, society, culture, belief systems, relationships, and context (Mariano, 59, 2008). Likewise, the human body is a system that is ‘whole’ and is greater than sum of its parts. The ‘holistic’ school stands opposed to atomism and reductionism (Lawrence and Weisz, 1998), and transcends Cartesian dualism to include ‘emotions’ and ‘psyche’ in the cure of the ‘whole person’ (Lawrence and Weisz, 1998).The conventional system of medicine is, in contrast to holism, reductionist in nature. Reductionism reduces the study from physiology, the study of part of the body into exact sciences like biology and chemistry, which in turn are reducible to the study of atoms and molecules. The conventional medicine, thus, operates in the mechanistic paradigm. Good health according to holism is the balance between inputs and outflows from the body to the environment in a dynamic state. The holistic healer accomplishes ‘total cure’ by making ‘inner adjustments’ for removing strain between mind and body (Weber). The healer understands disease as a cause of ‘personal growth’ of the ‘healee.’ As the ‘healee’ overcomes a disease, it unleashes a mood of psychological triumph or a stream of positive energy. Such wholeness can only be experienced and felt and not stated or studied conventionally. Holistic nursing entails ‘being within the moment’ and ‘listening with heart’. According to holism there is a spiritual dimension to healing. Against the fissiparous tendencies of the mechanistic model, holism tries to integrate the bodily functions with the mind and the soul. As a domain of intellectual activity, it synthesizes medicine with philosophy, history, theology and physics. The sagely philosopher-physician (Weber) works to restore harmony from disharmony, the root cause of the disease through ethical conduct. The ethical conduct is driven by the ‘quality’ in human relations. Another perspective of the holistic nursing visualizes the nurse as the ‘healing environment’ and as an ‘instrument of healing.’ (Mariano, 57, 2008). It shows that health is a ‘shared phenomenon’ that extends outside of the person (Dossey) and health is a natural state for most of us. Conversely illness results from the denial of natural laws. The ultimate goal of holism is the peace of mind than mere physical healing (Siegel). The holistic nurse is not a stickler to conventional medicine and also broadly includes alternative therapies in the medical prognosis. Holistic nursing incorporate both the conventional medicine and complementary/alternative modalities (CAM) and interventions into practice (Mariano, 52, 2008). In holistic nursing each human is deemed to be inherently good and unique (Mariano, 2008). The holistic nurse recognises the sovereignty of the individual over their health. The Role of Nurse in Holism The advisory role of the nurse in suggesting the best course available is paramount. The patients too can suggest the way they wish to be treated. After due assessment of the present circumstances, and conditions, the nurse assists the patient in arriving at an informed decision about what they think can best help in a situation Even the goals of the treatment of the person are decided with their opinion. The communication faculty of the holistic nurse is so oriented to be authentic, caring, compassionate, and sincere (Mariano, 2008). It is important to mention that the outcomes of the treatment are decided by the patient’s own healing process. The nurse has little or no control over the outcomes of the cure. However, it is also a fact that the causes of illness and cure cannot be explained through simple cause and effect statements. No matter how well a holistic medical intervention is made the outcomes of the healing process remain a mystery (Mariano, 2008). But the primary role of holistic nursing intervention is to treat the recipient of nursing care as humanly as possible, and not consider them a recipient of medical intervention only (Mariano, 2008). At their own end, a holistic nursing professional integrates the finite and the infinite dimensions of reality and is not a mechanical dispenser of medicine (Weber). And they also provide a relationship-focussed environment through creation of a sacred-space through presence and intention where another can feel safe, can unfold, and can explore the dimension of self in healing (Mariano, 57, 2008). Holism considers the conventional approaches to treatment as partial and it lays emphasis on the role of the external environment and ‘quality of human relations’ in clinical medicine (Lawrence and Weisz, 1998). It is a delightful marriage of the tradition and science (Dossey). Based on the above studies, we find the development of two typologies of holism; one that of identifying the interrelationships of the bio-psycho-social-spiritual dimensions of the person being treated, and two, of understanding the individual as a unitary whole in mutual process with the environment. Holistic nursing believes that ‘holistic treatment’ is encompassed in both the frameworks at one of more levels of consciousness (Quinn, 2008). The profession of holistic nursing makes a meaningful positive difference to the earth and its environment. Far from the invasive techniques of the conventional medicine that care little for the subjective views and experiences of the patient, holistic theory seek to apply a ‘harmonising’ approach believing in the ‘oneness’ of the patient’, not just, through the integration of mind, body, and self, but also with the immediate environment. The nurse is the chief player in this environment. Weber states that further to this integration, the ‘healer-healee’ achieve unity with the underlying power of the Universe. Nurse has the chief impact of all other players in the patient’s environment (Quinn, 2008). The healing process occurs at the higher levels of consciousness, which is inclusive of the physical and emotional healing. According to the Indian philosophy the seat of the active energy, the universal consciousness is the mind or the mental field. The working of the field of energy or mental mind can only be understood teleologically and not mechanically. The Healer-Healing Environment Two beings influence each other in ways that cannot be tracked down by any amount of intricate observations. It is important to bear in mind that there is subtle interaction between all of us and it is best that we bear good intentions to one other. We get what we deserve. Positive feelings beget positive reactions and feelings of ill will bear negative outcomes. The holistic cure occurs at the level of the consciousness. The human body is nothing but the outward manifestation of the consciousness. Human consciousness is a potent factor in healing (Dossey). Clinical data also suggests that the consciousness modulates all kind of medical intervention. Consciousness not only operates within a person but also between individuals (Dossey). Consciousness either helps or hinders health, and is rarely neutral (Dossey). The treatment transcending the body and the mind continues to heal even after the physical separation of the patient and the nurse. In light of our above discussion, the nursing professional monitors and facilitates inputs and outflows from the ‘unitary whole’, the patient and individual, while understanding and recognizing the subjective views and experiences of the patient in the treatment. According to Quinn (2008), to accomplish the healing process, a nurse brings their ‘whole self’ in relationship with the patient/client. The ‘two wholes’ thus make a ‘greater whole’ through merger of the ‘transpersonal self’ (Quinn, 2008). The ‘two wholes’ derive their inspiration from the third ‘whole’, the infinite source of energy. Thus it is only in the holistic paradigm that total healing is attainable. It is also important to understand that in holism the nursing professional is oriented towards the person that is being healed rather than the cure itself. Holistic nursing is a way of ‘being’ in the world. Below our gross and apparent bodies, there is rhythmic flow of consciousness that unites us to the infinite source and one another. All entities are intimately in touch with each other and influenced by one another and are attuned to the rhythmic flow (Weber). In rendering the professional service the holistic nursing professional is joined to the patient being treated and both of them are part of the larger ‘being’ that is greater than either of them. (Mariano, 2008) The subtler bodies are primal in appearance and sovereign and any infringement of the principle of cosmic unity of beings is bound to have negative consequences on the perpetrator. An act, good and bad, boomerangs and affects the ‘doer’ to the same degree as the affected. One can’t escape meeting the consequence of the treatment meted out to the other. In this way the ‘caring’ and ‘healing’ becomes a mutual process. Krieger cited at Kunz describes the ‘healer-healee’ as a curious paradox in which the ‘healer and healee’ are both expressions of unified therapeutic interaction (Krieger cited at Kunz). What emerges from this thought is a ‘self-to-self’ relationship (Krieger cited at Kunz) in which both are mutually healed and made whole and at-one. What affects one, affects the other. Nothing can be viewed or studied in isolation. The idea corroborates our hypothesis that to treat others as you want to be treated lies at the core of holistic healing. The transpersonal self dissolves the burden of ego for acknowledgment and appreciation of greater reality. It is to be understood that any human being is a part of the larger whole family, society, and the eco-system. A patient that has undergone holistic treatment is supposed to emerge with a self that has transcended the older self thus initiating new patterns in self-actualizations. (Mariano, 2008). Thus holistic nursing professional is a ‘facilitator’, an active intermediary, an active therapeutic partner, coach and mentor in the actualization of healing process. The nursing facilitator can aid or dampen the healee’s capacity to develop the ‘archetypal blueprint’ of health (Weber). It is to be understood that the nursing professional is only a facilitator for the healing process. Healing process arises from the unique mind-body-spirit system of the patient. It comes from within and not without the system. It does not occur due to therapeutic interventions; it occurs with their assistance. (Mariano, 2008).Thus holism concerns with treating the ‘whole’ person rather than its parts, the organs. The Nurse needs to integrate self-care and self-responsibility into their own lives to serve as a role model for others (Mariano, 53, 2008).One of the core values of holistic nursing care is self-care as nurses cannot facilitate healing without the ability for self-healings. As part of their self care initiative the nursing professional looks after the unique patterns and development of the body, the psycho-social and cultural self, the intellectual self, and the spiritual self (Mariano, 59, 2008). Holistic nurses strive to bring balance in their own lives and assist others to do the same (Mariano, 57, 2008). The holistic nurse thus sizes up their own personal, cultural and spiritual beliefs, experiences, and biases. The nurses thus become the custodians of the, environment, the eco-system and the earth. Conclusion It can be reasonably concluded that the role of nurse in the holistic healing environment is not only dependant upon their own thoughts and action, but also depends upon how they carry out medical intervention and the kind of relationship they bear towards the ‘healee’. Holistic nursing care framework sets up a dynamic equilibrium in which the ‘healer’ and ‘healee’ influence each other through thought and action. Holistic healing thus works in the paradigm of As you sow, so shall you reap. References Dossey, L, The Future of Medicine, ed. Kunz, D, Spiritual Healing, Quest Books (US) Krieger, D, Foreword, ed. Kunz, D, Spiritual Healing, Quest Books (US) Lawrence, C, and Weisz, G, (1998) Greater than the Parts, Oxford University Press, US. Mariano, C., (2008), Holistic Nursing: Scope and Practice, ed. Dossey, B, M., Keegan, L, and Keegan, L, (2008) Holistic Healing, A Handbook for Practice 5th edition, Jones and Bartlett Publishers (US) Quinn, J, F, (2008), Transpersonal Human Caring and Nursing, ed. Dossey, B, M.,Keegan, L, and Keegan, L, (2008) Holistic Healing, A Handbook for Practice 5th edition, Jones and Bartlett Publishers (US) Siegel, B, S, and Siegel, B, Spiritual Aspects of Healing Arts, ed. Spiritual Healing, Quest Books, US. Skolimowski, H, Wholeness, Hippocrates, and Frameworks, ed. Kunz, D, Spiritual Healing, Quest Books (US) Timby, B, K., (2008) Fundamental Nursing Skills and Concepts, Walter Kluwer Health Publishers (US) Weber, R., Philosophical Foundations and Frameworks for Healing ed. Kunz, D, Spiritual Healing, Quest Books (US) Read More