Holistic Nursing: Integrating Mind, Body, and Spirit in Patient Care
Nurses in today's complex and intricate healthcare landscape recognize the fact that the needs of their patients often extend beyond physical and clinical care. Holistic patient care has been prioritized in recent years to provide patients with the comprehensive and personalized care they need. Whether they are managing a chronic condition or recovering from surgery, patients require the intuitive care of nurses aware of their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
Understanding Holistic Nursing
To provide your patients with the most compassionate nursing care, you will want to develop an in-depth understanding of holistic nursing. While there are specialized holistic nurses who focus solely on this type of care, any registered nurse can weave elements of holistic nursing into their own practice.
What Is Holistic Nursing?
Holistic nursing is defined by the American Holistic Nurses Association as providing patients with whole-person care, including recognizing and treating their physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and environmental needs. Holistic nurses attribute the development of this specialty to Florence Nightingale, who taught nurses about the important role that a person's environment has on their overall physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
The Core Values of Holistic Nursing
Below are the core values of holistic nursing:
● Developing practices based on the principles of holism.
● Nursing practices should be rooted in evidence and personalized to address the unique needs of the individual.
● Prioritizing the personal needs of nurses and encouraging all nurses to engage in regular self-care.
● Encouraging nurses to engage in therapeutic communication with their patients to decide upon mutually-beneficial goals.
● Including holistic assessment in nursing to better identify the unique needs of the individual patient in relation to their emotional health, spiritual well-being, and current environment.
The Importance of Holistic Approaches in Nursing
Holistic approaches in nursing are important not only for the patient, but also for the nurses providing care on a daily basis. Research published in the Indian Journal of Palliative Care reveals some of the benefits of holistic nursing:
Addressing the Whole Person for Better Outcomes
The principles of holism require a nurse to consider not only the current physical and medical needs of the patient, but also their emotional well-being, their mental health, and their current environment. Through this holistic assessment, nurses can work with other care providers to develop a treatment plan for whole-person care that will lead to better outcomes. In some cases, holistic nursing may reduce the length of hospitalization, lower healthcare costs, and even improve health outcomes.
Enhancing Patient Satisfaction and Trust
Holistic care significantly improves the nurse-patient relationship, which allows patients to develop a deeper sense of trust in the healthcare system. By using techniques such as therapeutic communication and aromatherapy in nursing, nurses can create a more comfortable and welcoming clinical environment. This experience allows patients to feel more confident in the care that they are receiving because they recognize that the nurse sees them as a whole person, rather than just a patient who needs to be treated and discharged as soon as possible.
Supporting Nurses’ Well-Being
One of the core values of holistic nursing is self-care, and nurses within this specialty area actively work together to support the emotional and physical needs of their fellow nurses. Nursing is an incredibly rewarding profession, but it's also very physically exhausting and stressful at times. Holistic nurses know that they need to prioritize their own care and well-being to provide their patients with the best possible care.
Strategies for Incorporating Holistic Practices Into Patient Care
Even nurses who do not specialize in holistic care can incorporate holistic practices into their daily routines with their patients. These are some of the leading strategies and techniques to promote whole-person care at your healthcare facility:
Creating a Healing Environment
The clinical environment can feel stark and harsh to a patient, especially if they are going through a stressful time in their lives. Nurses can actively work to create a calm, peaceful, and healing environment that will make the patient more comfortable throughout their stay. For example, a nurse working with women in labor can make sure that the lights are dimmed to create a more relaxing space for labor. They may use aromatherapy to help the patient feel more at ease during their labor and delivery.
Integrating Mind-Body Practices
Nurses can use mind-body practices to improve the mental and emotional well-being of their patients, particularly those experiencing pain or trauma. Some leading mind-body practices that can be integrated into any type of nursing care include gentle yoga, breathing exercises, meditation, and therapeutic touch. These complementary therapies in nursing not only help improve patient outcomes, but also enhance the patient experience, leading to higher satisfaction ratings.
Addressing Spiritual Needs
Many people are guided by their spiritual beliefs, and these beliefs impact the type of care they expect to receive. Recognizing the importance of spiritual care in nursing and addressing the spiritual needs of patients can help improve the patient's experience and bridge any cultural gaps that may exist between the patient and the healthcare system.
Encouraging Nutrition and Physical Wellness
In addition to providing patients with personalized, comprehensive care regarding their medical concerns, nurses can support patients and provide them with information about how they can live a healthier lifestyle overall. By encouraging patients to enjoy a nourishing, well-balanced diet and to engage in regular exercise, nurses can help their patients understand the power of a healthy lifestyle and the impact it can have on their quality of life.
Tools and Techniques for Holistic Nursing
To effectively align your nursing practice with the core values of holistic nursing, you will need to rely on the best tools and techniques for holistic nursing. The following are some of the most common techniques used in holistic patient care:
Complementary and Alternative Therapies
Alternative and complementary therapies in nursing can be used to support the clinical and medical care a patient receives. Some examples of complementary and alternative therapies include yoga, art therapy, aromatherapy, and more.
Mindfulness and Stress-Reduction Techniques
Mindfulness in nursing can help reduce the stress levels of patients receiving care. This can be particularly vital in barren clinical settings, such as hospitals, where the environment can feel isolating and overwhelming. Some mindfulness techniques commonly used by holistic nurses include meditation and guided imagery.
Communication and Emotional Support
Communication plays an important role in providing emotional support in nursing. Nurses who prioritize holistic patient care treat their patients with dignity and respect at all times, offering them honest information about their treatment in an empathetic and compassionate way. They work closely with their patients to nurture the nurse-patient relationship and actively assist them with goal-setting to create a positive and supportive environment.
Overcoming Challenges in Holistic Nursing
While any nurse can rely on the core values of holistic nursing to prioritize holistic patient care within their practice, some challenges may arise. Knowing the most common challenges and how to overcome them can help you offer improved patient-centered care.
Addressing Time and Resource Constraints
Today's nurses are often managing high caseload volumes with minimal free time, which can make it difficult to provide complementary therapies in nursing and other types of holistic patient care. However, by weaving these practices into your normal clinical routine, you can be sure to fit in time for holistic assessment in nursing.
Educating Patients and Staff
Many patients and staff members are not aware of the benefits of holistic nursing, which can make them resistant to some alternative therapies. By educating those around you about the power of whole-person care, you can better implement these practices in your healthcare facility.
The Future of Holistic Nursing
More providers, including nurses and physicians, are expected to begin to prioritize whole-person care within the healthcare system.
Growing Demand for Patient-Centered Care
There is a growing demand for patient-centered care at every level of the healthcare system, largely because this approach to patient care leads to better outcomes, improved satisfaction ratings, and decreased healthcare costs.
Integrating Technology with Holistic Care
Advanced technology will continue to complement holistic care, with many nurses able to leverage new technology to streamline processes and provide more patients with the whole-person care that they need and deserve. As technology continues to shape and evolve, it's expected that it will play a more prominent role in leading holistic care techniques.
Learn More About the Importance of Spiritual Care in Nursing at Indiana Wesleyan University
While the clinical needs of patients always take priority, holistic patient care offers many benefits. At Indiana Wesleyan University, all degree programs offered through our School of Nursing and Health Professions emphasize the importance of holistic and spiritual care in nursing.
Find your program today and request more information about the degree programs available through the School of Nursing and Health Professions at IWU.
