BetsyRN1

As a Holistic RN, I'd have to disagree. I went back to get certified in holistic nursing after completing a 2 year course with hands on clinical work. Nursing here in the U.S is not holistic, unlike in the east, which is why I left the hospital. I felt like all we did was push medication. That's definitely not holistic! Holistic by definition means 'treating the body as a whole'. When a patient in the hospital complains of a headache, lets say, we give them pain medication. That simply eliminates the pain...it doesn't look into the cause(s) of the pain. The holistic approach would be to find out what's going on in the body that's triggering this headache, and to treat it without drugs, using acupressure, reiki, essential oils, etc. Unfortunately this does not happen in the hospital setting.

i'm a holistic rn and i felt the same way as you. i've always wanted to help people, but was not a fan of hospitals or pushing medication. after nursing school, i worked on a psych unit for a few year to get hospital experience, but could no longer keep doing it because i felt that hospitals were all about money & did not care about the patients.....they were simply dollar signs to the "hospital business". i always believed in natural medicine and loved teaching my patient about natural healing therapies, so i decided to look for a holistic nursing program. it can be hard to find a program, but i enrolled in the one i found...the ny college of health professions. the program revolved around chinese medicine & amma therapy, and even had clinicals in the teaching clinic so we got hands on experience with real patients....it was tough, but i'm so happy i did it. i love holistic nursing and being able to teach people how they can heal themselves. since graduating from there, i took certification classes in reiki & raindrop therapy. i'm glad i finally found my niche in nursing, and do love it, but since holistic medicine i not yet mainstream or covered ny insurance, it is difficult to find a job as a holistic nurse....you have to create it yourself sometimes. i worked at an integrative healing center providing holistic treatments, and now working in a city office with my own business. i have a fan page on facebook if you'd like to check it out. i'm not sure where you live, but you should look into holistic nursing programs in your area. i believe that you should always do what makes you happy! hope this helped :)