After many advancements in the healthcare industry, we are again recognising the importance of ancient ways that treat the person as a whole, i.e., holistic care.
The holistic approach to care deals with all aspects of the human body. It looks for balance when treating patients. Hence, the focus isn’t just on one part but on all the elements connected to the human body—such as mental, emotional, social, and even spiritual well-being.
This approach actively involves patients in their healing process, making it more compassionate and effective. In this article, we are going to look at the importance, challenges, and how we incorporate holistic care in nursing services.
Table of Contents
ToggleWhat are the Three Components of Holistic Care?
The three core needs in holistic care are:
Clinical: Treating the physical symptoms of the disease, providing medical treatment, and promoting healthy lifestyle choices.
Spiritual: Considering and understanding what’s important for the patient and what’s the most meaningful in their life. For some, it may be their religion or loved ones. You can also find out in what thing they find peace, hope, and satisfaction. The answer would be prayer for some.
Social: Involving family, promoting peer interaction, and showing genuine interest by active listening and empathy builds trust and connection between carer and patient.
You know that one friend in every group who has everything anyone needs in their bag. That’s how your loved ones will feel with our trained nurses; apart from attending to physical symptoms, they adhere to the unique needs of your loved ones. So, they feel heard, understood, and supported.
Holistic Nursing Outcomes:
This comprehensive care has several positive outcomes:
Patient satisfaction: When nurses prioritize patients’ health goals, whether they’re physical, social, emotional, or mental, it leads to more individualized care, which brings satisfaction and peace of mind.
Better Health Outcomes: Addressing emotional and mental needs helps reduce stress and anxiety, allowing patients to feel less burdened by the physical symptoms of their condition. Techniques like acupuncture, massage, meditation, and yoga provide additional relief from the intensity of physical symptoms.
Patient Engagement: Holistic nurses actively listen, understand patient concerns, and tend to their needs. This improves communication between nurse and patient, encouraging patients to stay involved in their care.
Reduced Cost: Holistic care teaches patients to take care of themselves. When they have self-care skills and their emotional, mental, and social needs are being addressed, it saves you a lot of expense on their health and the arrangement of appropriate care.
Challenges of Holistic Care in Nursing:
As much as it benefits the overall well-being of the patient, it has some challenges. First is the lack of resources and education. There aren’t enough resources to support and educate nurses on how to provide holistic care, and the existing resources focus on clinical care practices.
Moreover, addressing the emotional needs of patients takes a toll on nurses’ mental well-being, which in extreme cases leads to burnout. One more constraint is providing comprehensive care with enough time, which in Pakistani healthcare settings is not possible because of limited staff.
How to Provide Holistic Care?
Holistic care in nursing may seem like an abstract concept to you. So, here are some examples of how a nurse should act while providing holistic care.
- Maintain eye contact
- Call them by their first name (gives a personalized feeling).
- Always ask how they are feeling.
- Wear a smile (it makes you look friendly and helps in bonding).
- Engage in a conversation that makes you seem interested in their lives.
- Relax them in a stressful situation.
- Encourage them to be active and engage in their care process.
- Treat them with respect and dignity.
How Does Considracare Provide Holistic Nursing Care?
To make sure everything aligns, we take care of this from the hiring process. We not only look at your loved needs, but we also make sure their preferences, interests, comfort zones, and personalities match with our nurse.
Then, they work to build a strong connection with your loved ones by listening deeply to their concerns and creating plans that address their health issues. Hence, giving you the much-needed relief.
The Takeaway:
Holistic care in nursing is indeed shaping the modernistic view of the healthcare sector. This comprehensive approach has the potential to improve emotional, social, and mental well-being apart from treating the physical symptoms. Not only this, it allows individuals to be actively involved in every step of their care journey.
FAQ’s
Q. How can nurses add holistic practices into their routines?
Nurses can bring holistic care into their daily work by taking time to listen, understanding each patient’s unique needs, and using practices like deep breathing or relaxation exercises. They can also work closely with other healthcare providers to create care plans that address each patient’s complete well-being.
Q. How is holistic nursing different from traditional nursing?
While traditional nursing tends to focus mainly on physical health, holistic nursing embraces the idea that everything is connected. It combines medical treatments with alternative therapies and takes into account how the mind and spirit influence healing.
Q. What are the 6 steps of the holistic caring process?
The holistic caring process in nursing involves six interconnected steps:
- Assessment: Gather comprehensive information about the patient’s physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health.
- Diagnosis: Identify health issues by analyzing assessment data, considering the whole person rather than isolated symptoms.
- Outcome Identification: Set realistic, patient-centered goals that address identified health concerns and promote overall well-being.
- Planning: Develop a personalized care plan that integrates conventional medical treatments with complementary therapies, tailored to the patient’s unique needs.
- Implementation: Execute the care plan, collaborating with the patient and other healthcare professionals to provide coordinated, holistic care.
- Evaluation: Regularly assess the effectiveness of the care plan, making necessary adjustments to ensure optimal health outcomes.
Q. What techniques are commonly used in holistic nursing?
Fakiha is an experienced writer at ConsidraCare with an optimistic interest in life. She has a proactive approach to improving health and wellness for seniors. She offers well-researched and thoughtful information to help individuals make informed healthcare decisions for themselves and their loved ones.