Essay Sample on Concepts of Holistic Nursing

Throughout my nursing experience, I have demonstrated several nursing theories that are fuelled towards holistic nursing. Over the period, I have understood and presented the concept of holistic nursing by physically, mentally, and spiritually caring for my patients. Holistic nursing is a patient care procedure where the nurse identifies physical, mental, environmental, and social factors surrounding the patient’s health status and works towards healing the patient’s body, mind, spirit, and emotions (Shields, & Stout-Schaffer, 2016). The incorporation of holistic nursing in health care introduces all patients' life aspects that could help establish an ideal patient care plan (Dossey, & Keegan, 2015). The whole procedure of holism consists of caring for oneself, the patients, and their families.

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The most recent scenario in my nursing profession was attending to a domestic violence patient who had been physically tortured by her spouse. The patient had sustained severe physical injuries and bruises on the head, arms, and legs. In addition to the injuries, the circumstances surrounding the brutal fight had traumatized the patient, and she was often going into mental breakdowns. As a nurse, it was my absolute responsibility to treat the patient’s wounds and bruises; however, I felt an unconditional urge to help her heal from mental disturbance. It was at this moment that I adopted Watson's holistic nursing theory of transpersonal caring. Through the theory, I embraced the holistic nursing concepts of caring for patients, nursing responsibilities, healing the patient's health issues as a whole, that is, body, mind, spirit, and emotions (Shields, & Stout-Schaffer, 2016). I communicated and connected with the patient psychologically and helped her reduce her mental breakdowns and depression. I perceived it to be my responsibility as a holistic nurse to ensure ideal health status for my patient.

The theory played a significant role in my nursing procedures and helped me connect with the patient emotionally. The theory illustrates that nursing is all about improving health, disease prevention, caring for patients, and health restoration (Dossey, & Keegan, 2015). According to the theory, caring is at the core of the nursing procedure, and it improves health better than regular medical treatment. In her theory, Watson describes humans as valuable beings that need care, respect, nurture, and assistance (Dossey, & Keegan, 2015). The theory illustrates that caring promotes the general physical, mental and emotional health of a patient.

Generally, Watson's theory of transpersonal caring and its concepts have helped me understand and embrace holism in my nursing practices. Restoration of health to patients and inspiring them to practice self-care have contributed to health improvement, self-growth, higher self-esteem, and self-satisfaction (Shields, & Stout-Schaffer, 2016). Taking care of all patient’s needs has helped me improve my nursing procedures. Holistic nursing enables me to view a patient as a whole and consider that they are made of body, mind, and spirit. Therefore, being a nurse has inspired me to embrace holism and driven my passion for solely caring for patients, both spiritually, physically, and mentally. In my experience, holistic nursing has helped me improve disease treatment procedures; addressing patients' needs has prevented patients’ depression, improved their health status, and reduced hospitalization duration.

Personally, achieving a positive outcome from the patient treatment plan and caring for them has potentiated and promoted my personal growth (Shields, & Stout-Schaffer, 2016). The satisfaction and resourcefulness feeling that comes with addressing patient's concerns have motivated me to embrace my responsibilities as a holistic caregiver wholeheartedly. Consequently, it has increased my interest in the profession and inspired me to offer better health care services to my patients.

References

Dossey, B., & Keegan, L. (2015). Holistic nursing: A handbook for practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning. https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/Holistic_Nursing.html?id=QaDGrQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Shields, D. A., & Stout-Schaffer, S. (2016). Self-development: The foundation of holistic self-care. Holistic nursing: A handbook for practice, 683-700. https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/Holistic_Nursing.html?id=QaDGrQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y