Holistic Nursing Approach

Introduction Holism defined by the American Holistic Nurses Association as a “state of harmony among body, mind, emotions and spirit within an ever-changing environment” (Dossey, 2012). In order to form a plan of care that will be effective for patients, the whole person must be identified and not only the diseases. The Holistic Nursing approach is used for better outcomes for the patients. The traditional nursing process looks at diseases in a very linear manner; where the main focus is the disease. On the other hand, the holistic approach is a circular nursing process that takes focus on the whole person, not just the disease. It is important to teach patients that Complementary & Alternative Medicine is used together with Western Medicine, …show more content…
When one finds themselves sick, now comes the stress of deciding which route to take to wellness; the Western Medicine route or the Complementary and Alternative Medicine route? According to the Macmillan dictionary, Western medicine is defined as: the type of medical treatment that is the most popular in North America and Western European countries, based on the use of drugs and surgery to treat symptoms. Complementary medicine is defined as: medical treatment using methods that are not used by most doctors and are intended to treat the causes of a disease rather than the symptoms, and alternative medicine is defined as: medical treatment using methods that are different from the usual Western scientific methods, for example homeopathy and acupuncture (Macmillan, 2016). An example that comes to mind of using complementary and alternative medicine versus western medicine is a diabetic that drinks herbal teas, uses meditation and prayer before using any insulin or diabetic …show more content…
Nursing diagnosis: Ineffective cerebral tissue perfusion. Interventions: (a) establish rapport with patient and family, (b) monitor vital signs, (c) perform neuro checks as ordered, (d) administer medications as ordered, and (e) touch therapy. Rationales: (a) to promote cooperation, find out of any other needs of the patient such as spiritual or cultural needs, and to find out about patient’s living situation (b) to have baseline data and assess changes, (c) to detect neurological changes indicative of worsening or improving condition, (d) to promote wellness and to find out if patient uses any CAM for healing and wellness and (e) to promote relaxation, for support and to reduce anxiety levels. Short term goals/evaluation: the patient will have displayed decrease signs of tissue perfusion as evidenced by gradual improvements of vital