Holistic Nursing Does not Equal Anti-Science

[dinah77, ADN]

I have long considered myself holistic, but have become increasingly irritated by this phrase becoming a catch-all for every type of fringe practice and belief. I feel it is important to stress that there is nothing inherently anti-science about holistic nursing.

Nursing, by definition, utilizes all types of science and evidence based practice

Holistic nursing is not synonymous with complementary/alternative therapies that have no evidence supporting their use.

From the AHNA's website, the definition of of holistic nursing is:

I have long considered myself holistic, but have become increasingly irritated by this phrase becoming a catch-all for every type of fringe practice and belief. I feel it is important to stress that there is nothing inherently anti-science about holistic nursing.

Nursing, by definition, utilizes all types of science and evidence based practice

Holistic nursing is not synonymous with complementary/alternative therapies that have no evidence supporting their use.

From the AHNA's website, the definition of of holistic nursing is:[TABLE=class: containermaster]

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[TD]Welcome to AHNA: What is Holistic Nursing?

Welcome to AHNA: What is Holistic Nursing? What is Holistic Nursing?

Florence Nightingale, who believed in care that focused on unity, wellness, and the interrelationship of human beings and their environment, is considered to be one of the first holistic nurses.

Holistic nursing is defined as all nursing practice that has healing the whole person as its goal” (American Holistic Nurses' Association, 1998, Description of Holistic Nursing). Holistic nursing is a specialty practice that draws on nursing knowledge, theories, expertise and intuition to guide nurses in becoming therapeutic partners with people in their care. This practice recognizes the totality of the human being - the interconnectedness of body, mind, emotion, spirit, social/cultural, relationship, context, and environment.

The holistic nurse is an instrument of healing and a facilitator in the healing process. Holistic nurses honor each individual's subjective experience about health, health beliefs, and values.

Holistic nurses may integrate complementary/alternative modalities (CAM) into clinical practice to treat people's physiological, psychological, and spiritual needs. Doing so does not negate the validity of conventional medical therapies, but serves to complement, broaden, and enrich the scope of nursing practice and to help individuals access their greatest healing potential.

The practice of holistic nursing requires nurses to integrate self-care, self-responsibility, spirituality, and reflection in their lives. This may lead the nurse to greater awareness of the interconnectedness with self, others, nature, and spirit. This awareness may further enhance the nurses understanding of all individuals and their relationships to the human and global community, and permits nurses to use this awareness to facilitate the healing process.

Holistic nursing is not necessarily something that you do: it is an attitude, a philosophy, and a way of being.

Thoughts on this?

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[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

I couldn't agree more! Thank you for posting this.

[CryssieD]

Basically why I got into nursing in the first place--nurses are supposed to use a wholistic/holistic approach in planning and providing care; it's actually one of the things that differentiates what we do from the practise of medicine! Not anti-science at all, just incorporates much more than the mere physical.

[canigraduate]

I have no problems with holistic nursing, as long as it is evidence-based.

The problem I run into is a lot of nurses who label themselves holistic that don't really understand evidence-based and try to teach their patients things that aren't scientifically sound.

I am all about learning and using what we have available that isn't pharmacological, but I need a few studies to back it up.