Holistic nursing refers to a kind of nursing practice that focuses on treating an individual’s physical well-being as well as mental and spiritual health conditions. Holistic nurses treat the patients with eastern and western methods combinations and heal mind-body-spirit-emotion. These are board-certified registered nurses that work for dietary advice, therapeutic massage, breathwork, and meditation therapy. While practicing, these nurses encourage patients for self-care, self-responsibility, and spirituality that help them to maintain health.
Educational Requirements for Holistic Nurses
Like registered nurses, holistic nurses must attend college or university and obtain BSN or ADN certification. Once they obtain their BSN or ADN certification, holistic nurses will be eligible to sit in National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) examination. Every holistic nurse has to qualify for the NCLEX-RN examination to get permission to work in a state.
The majority of the employers prefer bachelor’s, master’s, or holistic degree nurses. Therefore, career-oriented nurses choose to enroll in master’s or short-term holistic programs to get higher-paying positions.
Are Any Certifications or Credentials Needed?
Once the candidate clears NCLEX-RN, RN can apply for a holistic nursing program through American Holistic Nurses Certification Corporation. In addition, there are 60 Hours – 16 Weeks Integrative Nurse Coach Certificate Program (INCCP) to provide experience and immersion into individuals and groups. To obtain holistic nursing certification, you must submit proof of continuing education in holistic nursing and pass a qualitative assessment and quantitative exam. Some holistic nurses also wish to work in complementary therapeutic treatment techniques like acupuncture, Aromatherapy, Massage, Meditation, Exercise programs, or others. For these, they have registered under a separate training program that requires their own certification.
What Does a Holistic Nurse Do?
As discussed above, holistic nurses work for individuals’ overall well-being. These care physically, mentally, and emotionally to treat body-mind-soul. Some of the holistic nurses are also involved in treating therapies that help to maintain full-spectrum health. Common therapies used by holistic nurses are;
- Assist patients in stress management techniques
- Hypnosis, hydrotherapy, and balneotherapy
- Dietary change recommendations
- Meditation
- Acupuncture
- Wellness coaching
- Reflexology
- Biofeedback
- Aromatherapy
Important to Note: Some of the above-mentioned therapeutic techniques require special training and coaching. Therefore, nurses who wish to expertise in therapeutic technique should look for separate training and certification.
Roles and Duties of a Holistic Nurse
Here is a list of important roles and responsibilities of holistic nurses;
- Recognize each person’s body-mind-spirit needs
- Work in all kinds of healthcare settings
- Holistically assess patients to find a number of factors affecting health and increased stress.
- Practice mindful practices with patients and colleagues.
Perks of joining Holistic Nurse Practitioner Programs
Practicing holistic medicine does not mean that there is no need to practice scientific medicines. But, under a holistic program, you will learn new means of improving a patient’s health combined with traditional methods of treatment. A holistic approach helps the patients to find the root cause of their issue and how they can overcome it with aromatherapy, meditation, or massage.
Let’s learn some perks of Holistic Nurse Practitioner Programs
1. Learn to Provide More Personalized Care
Practicing holistic nursing assists you in how you can provide better care to your patients. During practice, you will learn each element about the client’s health. These will include physical, mental, and emotional health. You will also know how you can evaluate every aspect of their lives and gather information to continue treatment. The way to relate information with stress and find the ways to manage through massage, acupuncture, or others for overall well-being.
2. Learn the ways to build healthy relationships
A holistic nursing practice defines the ways you can build healthy relationships with clients. Patients feel more confident when they find that you understand their issues and you can help them to come out of them. Moreover, patients like to be treated by professionals who consider them an individual rather than a list of symptoms listed on a chart, and their motive is to cure them. Therefore, rather than focusing on number charts or diagnosis codes, you should understand the skills to build trust and a strong bond with clients.
3. Understand the Importance of Balance
Every patient is different from one another. Not only from physical problems, but their issues will vary according to mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. So, you must learn how to treat their health with medicines and create a balance of life in other aspects of the client. Therefore, learning holistic nursing practice helps you to promote healthy balance and improve overall well-being.
4. Job Security
According to The US bureau of labor statistics, it is observed that the need for nurse practitioners can reach 45% more from 2019 to 2029. This is high data and shows the personal and professional career growth in health care settings. In addition, healthcare practitioners are also learning the awareness of preventive and natural health care methods that increase holistic nurses’ demand.
5. Improve Your Own Well-Being
Nursing career opportunities are not only healthy for your patients but for your overall health. Today, with the outbreak of Covid-19, when it becomes essential to take care of ourselves. Holistic nursing guides you with various means of self-care. You can learn how to deal with stress and diagnose issues on your own. Most importantly, self-care in the nursing profession is a must and ensures that you can take care of your client.
6. Learn to Empower Your Patients
Holistic nursing guides patients to participate in various health and wellness plans. That helps in building confidence to make their own decision. Besides, holistic nursing approaches focus on recommending and motivating patients to create and follow self-care plans. It helps to keep them engaged, which leads to less stress and better health. Patients who work according to their plans found less complaining and results in more positive outcomes.
Bottom Line
Hope the above guide helps you to plan your career in holistic nursing. So start well and choose a reputed institute with experienced faculty that helps you to reach your goals. Remember, some institutes offer early registration discounts. So you can also avail these benefits and get focused on your career.
