Incorporating Holism into Yourself and Nursing Practice, Essay Example

The person that has been a role model in the course of my study as a nursing student has been Florence Nightingale.  Florence Nightingale is believed to have been one of the first nurses to use holism in nursing practice.  Florence Nightingale has been noted to have cared deeply on the wellness and relationship individuals had with their environment, that she was considered a holistic nurse.  Holistic nursing can therefore be defined as healing the whole person, including the body, mind, spirit, environment, society and culture.  Studying about how holism ties in with nursing practice has lead myself to reflect on the ways in which I would incorporate holistic practice into both my everyday life and nursing career.  There are several ways in which I would incorporate holism into my personal life, as well as my nursing practice.  First and most important, in regard to my personal life, is focusing on the connection between my mind, body and spirit and its interaction with the environment.  After focusing on my personal life, I can take the steps needed to incorporate holism into my nursing practice.

In order to incorporate holism into my life, I first need to focus on the connection between my mind, body and spirit, as well as, the interaction with the environment. I need to first evaluate my life and find out everything that is influential. Firstly, I need to evaluate who influences the decisions that I make. For instance, I need to find out who the most influential people are that I rely to guide me in my decision making process.  In addition, I need to find out which individuals are affected the most by the decisions that I do make.  These individuals are most likely my family and friends.  Furthermore, I need to evaluate the types of institutions that are the most influential in my life, such as school or work.

The next step in my approach to holism in my personal life is to evaluate the types of possessions that I own in which are important to me, or which possessions are important to making my life whole.  For instance, I would consider the place where I live, my car, cell phone, computer important things that help complete my life.   I also need to consider myself as attributable to making my life whole.  What I mean by this is the qualities that I possess and the traits that I own will ultimately help me reach my goal of holism.  In my search for holism, I have found that I have several abilities that will help me become holistic. My ability to listen and my compassion are two main attributes that will not only help me reach the holistic goal in my personal life; it will also help aid in practicing as a holistic nurse.  In addition, I have scholastic ability that has helped me succeed in nursing school.  The most important attribute is the satisfaction that I feel with my life.  I am happy where I am going with my life and I feel that adding the holistic lifestyle to my personal life and nursing practice will completely make my life whole.   The only issue that is suppressing is finances; however, I understand as I continue in the nursing field, my finances will only continue to improve.

The third step that I need to take is to evaluate how others perceive me and evaluate the environment that I am in.  I need to understand if others seem me the same way in which I perceive myself.  Do others think I am a good listener?  Do others think I am intelligent and compassionate?  In addition, do I live in an environment or community in which a holistic lifestyle will be appreciated and understood?  These are considerations that I need to evaluate in order to completely transform my life and work practice into a holistic style.

Through my self-evaluation, I have completed a personal holistic goal.  The holistic goal includes me being spiritually in touch with the environment, my family, friends and my community.  It also includes the feeling of a sense of whole and peace.  This sense of whole will allow me to succeed and develop as a holistic nurse.

Holistic nursing can be viewed as the type of practice that helps patients with the healing process.  It is important for the nurse to take each individual’s health and values into perspective.  It isn’t to say that holistic nursing replaces the medical nursing methods.  It is a more complementary form that facilitates the medical nursing standards.  It is meant to help the patient reach the greatest potential in their healing process. Therefore, it is important that a nurse reaches their holistic goals as an individual before implementing it into their nursing practice.

The first step that I can take to becoming a holistic nurse is making sure that I am caring towards my patients.  I need to focus on promoting myself as a caring individual and show the patient that I have compassion towards them.  In addition, it is important to show the patient that you are a good nurse, technically.  Being a holistic nurse will only help the patient so far. Technical skills are essential to being a good nurse.

Secondly, it is important for the patient to feel that their nurse is all together and whole.  This means that I should be perceived as an individual who is nurtured physically, spiritually and emotionally.  This requires that I have reached terms with myself and the environment.  In addition, this requires that I am well rested and fresh.  Patients can sense if their medical personnel is tired or exhausted.  That may put a sense of fear or uneasiness in the patient, as they may think you are not working at a competent level, which can lead to mistakes.  A fresh, content person, on the other hand, will provide the patient with an assurance that their medical staff is ready to work and care for them.

The third step into incorporating holism into the nursing practice is becoming a role model for holism.  I need to be perceived as someone who is healthy and whole.  Not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, as well.  I need to therefore, become a healthier individual.  I can do this by changing my eating and exercise regime to a much healthier lifestyle. For instance, I plan on joining a fitness program and a yoga program.  I feel that exercising and performing yoga will not only make me healthier, but will relax my body and mind and help me reach my holistic goals.  In addition, I plan on changing my eating habits and eating only healthy types of foods.  This requires eating out less, especially any type of fast food.  Again, I need to be a role model and eating healthy is definitely something that people needs help with.

The fourth step that I can take to incorporating holism into nursing is taking action in caring for the environment.  Although nursing is caring for people, holistic nurses are responsible for caring about the environment as well.  The world we live in needs to be whole as well.  We need clean air and clean environments to strive in.  Individuals can not heal in an unsanitary environment, physically and mentally.  It is therefore, the responsibility holistic nurses to promote a cleaner Earth, as holism wouldn’t exist without a clean environment.  Implementing a “Green Environment”, into the work setting is one way I can promote myself as a holistic nurse.  Making sure the correct items are recycled is one way that a “Green Environment” can be incorporated into a work environment.

The final step is finding the ability to connect with the patient.  I feel that it is extremely important for a holistic nurse to connect with the patient in a manner in which the patient’s feelings and thoughts about their self and their medical conditions are understood.  Connecting with the patients allows a personal and emotional tie that helps the nurse facilitate the healing process of the patient.  I feel that this ability comes with time and as I progress as a holistic nurse, my ability to connect with the patient will increase.  I also believe that being a good listener and presenting a sense of comfort to the patient can help increase the connection.

Overall, becoming a holistic nurse requires that I first evaluate myself and live my personal life on a holistic level.  I then can bring the holism in which I have developed into my nursing practice.