Disturbed Energy Field

[avatar78]

I was looking through my Doenges nursing dx book, and there is a NANDA dx of Disturbed Energy Field as evidenced by objective things like waves, spikes, color changes, or holes in the pt energy flow. What the heck?! :icon_roll I wrote it in as a possible dx on my final care plan, my teacher was cracking up.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

disturbed energy field is used exclusively for nurses who practice and use a technique called therapeutic touch. practitioners of this modality are able to observe those waves, spikes, color changes, or holes in a patient's energy flow. shame on your teacher for "cracking up" and not educating you about this. and you can tell her that i said so. it was ignorant and very disrespectful. this technique is extremely helpful as an alternative therapy for some people who have difficulty dealing with physical pain, anxiety and depression.

[Idaho Murse]

Yea its like seeing Chakra or Chi, in my humble opinion its a crock of ...well you get the idea. The whole idea of waving your hands in front of someones head to alleviate a headache seems like a load. Oh well if it works for you it works.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

The fact that this is an "acceptable" ND embarrasses me.

[menetopali]

disturbed energy field is used exclusively for nurses who practice and use a technique called therapeutic touch. practitioners of this modality are able to observe those waves, spikes, color changes, or holes in a patient's energy flow. shame on your teacher for "cracking up" and not educating you about this. and you can tell her that i said so. it was ignorant and very disrespectful. this technique is extremely helpful as an alternative therapy for some people who have difficulty dealing with physical pain, anxiety and depression.

hate to point it out but this was disproved by a fifth grade science project almost a decade ago. insomuch as it provides psychological comfort to those who participate - fine, no objection, but science it ain't. shame on her (or his) teacher for not explaining the difference between science and superstition.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

When nothing else has worked alternative therapies are sometimes a last hope. I hope none of you ever find yourself suffering from a disease like cancer or fibromyalgia with such horrible pain that medication isn't touching. So much for respect. . .you have a lot to learn about the power of healing.

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

When nothing else has worked alternative therapies are sometimes a last hope. I hope none of you ever find yourself suffering from a disease like cancer or fibromyalgia with such horrible pain that medication isn't touching. So much for respect. . .you have a lot to learn about the power of healing.

I disagree totally.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

OK - so I guess you'll have to put me in the crackpot group.

I was a 100% if-we-can't-measure-it-it-doesn't-exist type of nurse myself... until I actually experienced therapeutic touch as an alternative therapy for back pain that had not responded to traditional methods. I felt the very real effects - underwent multiple sessions after being dragged (kicking and screaming) into the first one. It worked. I am a convert - and now absolutely believe that the human body doesn't end with our skin.

I was curious enough to learn more about it - and had the opportunity to experience just a touch (pun intended) of what it feels like to apply this technique. I didn't follow through to complete the training, but I respect and value the nurses who have done so.

It's always easy to disparage things we don't understand - cultures, religious beliefs, technology, mind-body connections... - I think I will continue to maintain an open mind.

[menetopali]

OK - so I guess you'll have to put me in the crackpot group.

I was a 100% if-we-can't-measure-it-it-doesn't-exist type of nurse myself... until I actually experienced therapeutic touch as an alternative therapy for back pain that had not responded to traditional methods. I felt the very real effects - underwent multiple sessions after being dragged (kicking and screaming) into the first one. It worked. I am a convert - and now absolutely believe that the human body doesn't end with our skin.

I was curious enough to learn more about it - and had the opportunity to experience just a touch (pun intended) of what it feels like to apply this technique. I didn't follow through to complete the training, but I respect and value the nurses who have done so.

It's always easy to disparage things we don't understand - cultures, religious beliefs, technology, mind-body connections... - I think I will continue to maintain an open mind.

as with religious belief, faith, or the placebo effect, can do wonders. that doesn't mean it isn't helpful, but it isn't science and "disturbed energy field" has no more place in diagnosis than "possessed by demons". while "therapeutic touch" may help the former and "exorcism" may help the latter, neither is science. Faith is a powerful thing and can be put to good or ill, it can help or hinder the healing process, and it has a profound effect on the function of the body. i'll happily stipulate all of those points, but faith in something is not based in reality - on the contrary it is by it's very nature a belief in something without proof. use it if you or your patients feel better with no objection from my corner, but don't pretend that its science or based on any theory in the scientific meaning of the word.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

When a nursing diagnosis is given it states, in nursing language, a nursing problem that those colleagues have identified. This particular problem, Disturbed Energy Field, is used by the nurses who practice Therapeutic Touch so they have a way to document what they assess and are doing for their patients. Can we have respect for those colleagues who are helping those patients not to belittle and laugh at them? We all also know that this diagnostic documentation is required by federal law in all hospital and LTC charts when federal reimbursement is being received by these facilities. For some practitioners it is also how they get paid. All the nursing diagnoses have matching computer number codes and many independent nurse practitioners use nursing diagnoses for billing purposes as well as documentation.

[menetopali]

documenting a phenomenon that is not independently observable, independently testable, and part of accepted practice borders on fraud. if the facility is receiving federal funds for such services then there re serious church-state issues as that implies federal monies are being used to fund religious practices. if an individual wants to hire somebody to perform religious healings, faith healings, voo-doo, therapeutic touch, or the like - fine. again, i have no problem with someone who believes in these things but they are clearly faith-based. i am deeply offended that such faith-healing concepts are attached to profession that i am a part of. i have been very respectful of the practices of faith others bring into the care of patients and that patients bring into the hospital setting, but they are practices of faith, not science. as practices of faith they have no place in a diagnoses (medical or nursing).

[amarilla, RN]

if the facility is receiving federal funds for such services then there re serious church-state issues as that implies federal monies are being used to fund religious practices. if an individual wants to hire somebody to perform religious healings, faith healings, voo-doo, therapeutic touch, or the like - fine. again, i have no problem with someone who believes in these things but they are clearly faith-based. i am deeply offended that such faith-healing concepts are attached to profession that i am a part of.

Pardon, but what extension of faith pertains to concentrating to alter energy fields of the human body?

I've been a certified reiki practitioner for years. While the premise behind it may be different than therapeutic touch, the goals and outcomes are usually very similar: to locate and ease pain or discomfort that traditional medicines aren't effectively treating.

It isn't a replacement for treatment or a cure; it is a supplemental therapy that often brings patients great comfort.

Do you have similar feelings toward acupuncture, acupressure, or color therapy? Music therapy? Light therapy? These were all things deemed questionable at best, quackery at worst, yet found to yield some positive results.

I'm very interested to hear why you think this is faith-based.

Best,

Southern