holistic nursing

ask the school about placement services and possibility of getting testimonials from graduates. Then ask HR personnel do they hire from that school

I am graduating from a holistic nursing school in may. Holistic nursing schools are endorsed by the American Holistic Nurses Certification Corporation as upholding the values of the American Holistic Nurses Association. They are fully accredited by all the other necessary educational and nursing regulatory bodies. The Holistic designation is an add on, just like some schools also offer the Public Health Nurse Certification.

If you are interested in being a holistic nurse, I would advise you to research the program carefully. The only thing holistic about my program is the theory that we use (which I love). However, many students were also expecting to have education regarding complementary and alternative therapies integrated into the program. This has not been the case. None of our faculty are certified as holistic nurses. That would be like advertising your school as having an emphasis in public health, and not having a single faculty member certified as a public health nurse. As far as I am concerned, my school simply uses its holistic certification as an advertising tool without following through.

My other piece of advice would be to research the area hospitals in addition to the program. When I was starting out, I wanted to be a holistic nurse and I wanted to attend my program. It was the only one I applied to. Now that I have different goals (critical care), I am stuck in a school that uses two small poorly ranked hospitals, neither of which have a serious ICU.

Anyways, if you don't want to be a holistic nurse, I wouldn't worry too much about attending a holistic program.

American Holistic Nurses Association

http://www.ahna.org/Home/tabid/1231/Default.aspx

The Credentialing Corporation

http://ahncc.org/

I wouldn't worry about finding a job because you attend a holistic program. When I graduate I'll be a BSN, but I won't bother to pay the extra money or take the extra test to become certified as a holistic nurse.

Feel free to pm me if you have any other questions.