What does holistic care mean?

Holistic care treats the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. That typically means a combination of traditional and what your doctor might call complementary medicine. For instance, a holistic way to treat cancer could include chemotherapy and acupuncture. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

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INTRODUCTION

Holistic care is a comprehensive model of caring which is believed to be the heart of the science of nursing. The philosophy behind holistic care is based on the idea of holism which emphasizes that for human beings the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and that mind and spirit affect the body. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay. Holistic care is described as a behavior that recognizes a person as a whole and acknowledges the interdependence among one’s biological, social, psychological, and spiritual aspects. Holistic care includes a wide range of approaches, including medication, education, communication, self-help, and complementary treatment.In holistic nursing, all aspects of patients and their effects on the treatment process are considered and the patients’ thoughts, emotions, cultures, opinions, and attitudes are factored in as contributing to recovery, happiness, and satisfaction. Holistic care respects human dignityThe relationship between the providers of health care and the patients is based on respect, relative openness, equality, and mutuality and patients participate in decision making in this kind of caring. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

Providers of holistic care consider a patient as a whole within his/her environment and realize that a patient is made up of a body, mind, and spirit. Respecting the patient’s role in the treatment process, having him/her take part in the process and encouraging self-care is another aspect of holistic care which leads to therapeutic consultation, hope, dignity, self-discipline, social growth, a sense of autonomy, vigor, and vitality.

Holistic care increases the depth of care providers’ understanding of patients and their needs. Educating patients about self-care and helping them to perform their daily activities independently is part of holistic care. Palliative care is part of holistic care which improves the quality of a patient’s life and their emotional and physical well-being. Holistic care increases self-awareness and self-confidence in patients and causes nurses to better understand the effects of an illness on a person’s entire life and his/her true needs. It also improves harmony between mind, body, emotions, and spirit in an ever-changing environment;The American Association of Holistic Nurses supports this belief and points out that holistic nursing includes all the nursing practices that heal the whole of a person. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

In many hospitals, nurses do not have the freedom to perform their tasks independently and their actions are often observed by doctors. Using holistic care as the framework will result in major changes in the treatment process, a better public view of the nursing profession, and nurses’ autonomy. The holistic care paradigm has been presented to the health-care systems in many cultures and it can be used in every area of nursing.Holistic care is not a new method; Florence Nightingale developed this type of nursing as a better model of caring; many other nursing theorists, e.g. Ragers, Newman, and Parse have also emphasized holistic care. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

Unfortunately, there is compelling evidence that most nurses have been educated with a biomedical allopathic focus and do not have a good understanding of the meaning of holistic care. Furthermore, it has been suggested that nurses are not familiar with holistic care, neglect this model of caring, do not use this method, and consider patients’ corporeal needs only. In this regard, patients’ other needs and sometimes more serious problems are not addressed. The mental, spiritual, and social needs of patients are neglected and patients are considered as biological machines. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

Using the ordinary medical model alone for treatment exposes patients to serious threats, prolongs hospitalization, and raises treatment costs. In many countries, such as the UK, Australia, and Iran, holistic aspects of patients’ needs are often overlooked. Similar studies conducted in the USA have revealed that 67% of American patients in hospitals do not receive holistic care,and a study conducted in England showed that only 5% of hospitalized patients were subject to holistic care. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

This presents as a major crisis for the nursing profession. Considering the beneficial effects of holistic care, the identification of contributory factors is of importance for providing this method of caring. A review of literature in this field shows that most studies have been limited to specific areas, such as operating rooms or older patients who were terminally sick.Other studies attempt to explain the concept of holistic nursing and nurses’ perception of it, or the reasons for failure to employ this method. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.According to the results obtained from several studies, holistic care is adversely affected by such factors as inadequate time, improper professional relations, incomplete reports from nurses, inadequate clinical control, unavailability of resources, poor professional and administrational perceptions, limited knowledge, and motivational and organizational factors. In view of the great influence of holistic care on treatment and more effective nursing, the health-care systems in many countries in recent decades have tried to promote holistic care by applying changes to the educational and administrational systems, but studies show that their efforts have been fruitless. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

Holistic care is a form of alternative medicine that is essential for cancer patients. In their article, Moir et al. (2015) explored the concept of end of life care for cancer patients, in three domains which included patient and family-centered communication, cultural and ethical values, and effective care delivery. This study was inspired by the need to determine whether the cancer patients appreciate hospice or palliative care during their end of life, compared to curative care. Therefore, the researchers needed to determine the educational needs for the inpatient staff nurses when communicating with the end of life cancer patients. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

According to Moir et al. (2015) a major challenge with providing the cancer patients with end of life care was the communication techniques that the nurses used on the patients. The study revealed that providing nurses with care education to enhance their care and comfort skills when providing end of life care for the patients is necessary to providing holistic nursing as a form of alternative medicine. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

One of the ways that the nurses can integrate the use of CAM in providing care for the cancer patients is by practicing herbalism. Herbalism is CAM because it entails using medicinal plants to treat illnesses, as opposed to conventional medical interventions. Herbalism is known to be effective among cancer patients who prefer to use herbal medication in combination with an organic diet to fight cancer. An ethical issue that is associated with herbalism is the safety of the herbal combinations on the patient’s health (Chatfield et al., 2018).Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

The main element I would include in a teaching plan for nurses on the use of CAM in handling cancer patients would be communication skills; which are important in helping patients understand the herbal medical alternatives and directing them on how to use the prescription. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.

The standard role of the nurse in developing care plans is to provide interventions based on evidence-based practice. The patient’s role is to communicate with the nurse their dietary and medication allergies to help the nurse develop a safe and more effective intervention. Holistic Care and Treatments Essay.