What does holistic mean to you?

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

I hear the term holistic nursing thrown around a lot and I sometimes wonder if people really know what it means. Seems to me a lot of people hear it in school, it becomes a "buzz word" for lack of a better term and it gets used all the time out of context.

What does it mean to you?

To be more specific, what is the real difference between western medicine and holistic medicine?

For instance, on my unit, I get a pt. who has an exaserbation of COPD. I am very familiar with the care path for this individual. Breathing treatments, steroids, Blood sugar monitoring (becasue of steroids), PT/OT to help teach performing ADLs without getting SOB as bad, O2 therapy and teaching, inform case management pt. may need home O2 even if they werent already on it.

What would be different if the pt. were in a holistic facility?

[Melinurse]

]I don't know about holistic facilities however, in my line of work it would mean looking at the whole person, mind, body and soul. It includes the care of the family as well because if there is tension or unmet needs those feelings can be transfered to the patient. I use alot of guided imagery and music therapy in addition to pain medications to make my patients more comfortable ( with good results ). I give back rubs often or rub lotion on their feet or something to make them feel special and cared for. I could not do that in a busy med-surg unit though. Hope that answers the question a bit. You can pm me anytime.

[olof]

Yes I do agree with Melinurse. I don't know how holistic nurse is analyzed but for me it is how many parts e.g. nutrition, mental health, communication between pt and family, financial status influence my pt to deal with his/her illness.

hope that helps, sorry for my english