Introduction
I have focused on holistic care as a reference point in the professional nursing industry. This interaction with the patient does not imply a specific focus on particular symptoms or life-forming systems in the human anatomy. Instead, holistic nursing is a system of values and beliefs that are applied in the context of patient care. The holistic worldview, or holism, is a line of thought that perceives a person as something “whole,” from which the term comes. The holistic worldview has a profound organizing effect on the mind and practice of the nurse, offering unique approaches to solving complex medical problems.
Holistic Philosophy in Nursing Education
The ideological perception of holism in medicine embodies a special philosophical system. Philosophical essays and books often devote themselves to the place of man in the world; it is no coincidence that there is even a scientific branch of philosophical anthropology. Philosophy, in many ways, is the science of man and his place in the world, and philosophical concepts are often aimed at creating a stable or, at the very least, intelligible picture of the world and humanity. Since the ancient Greeks, the idea of man’s arrangement in the cosmos, that is, space and time, has been a subject of interest to philosophers. It is no coincidence that its echo is heard in holistic medicine – a person is perceived as a combination of various factors that extend far beyond the usual sense of biology.
The basic principles of holistic medicine are the philosophical statement underlying my future professional practice: the patient should be perceived as a whole with a particular energy center. This statement may seem abstract, but it is precisely this way of thinking that proves useful in the practice of non-traditional medical approaches. This desire to seek empathy and genuine understanding guarantees success not only in the treatment process but also in student learning; therefore, it can be applied to educational strategies, particularly for adult students.
Going beyond traditional ideas about medicine, holistic specialists are seeking not so much a cure for a specific disease as a strategy for healing a person as a whole, in a state of discord. In the holistic value system, the person as a unit is the main thing. The desire to help the patient as a whole, rather than focusing on individual symptoms, is the key to genuine care rather than treatment.
The same completeness and complementarity should be present in the educational process. An adult student needs a learning strategy that accommodates various areas of medicine, psychology, and philosophy. The Empowered Holistic Nursing theory seems most appropriate as the primary framework, as the nurse’s autonomy and control over their decisions regarding the patient form the ethical basis of their work (Graber et al., 2019).
Teaching strategies should align with updated ideas about the nurse’s role in the treatment process. The nurse is a vital and independent healthcare agent, and the holistic care provided should strongly emphasize the person’s comfort in their environment. Training in this way should be based on behaviorist theoretical principles, where, in a practical setting, nurses should be trained in practical activities by observing senior staff.
The holistic educator understands professionalism as a combination of three skills: practice, teaching, and learning, which constitute the core competencies of the MSN-trained nurse. The ability to teach and, simultaneously, to learn is fundamental for the educator, since the training of personnel specialists is at the heart of their competencies. It is essential to consider the extent to which practical and theoretical skills are intertwined, as well as the ability to learn both independently and transfer knowledge to others (Rosa et al., 2019). The holistic therapist knows that any science and skill is only valid in combination with others because they constitute a complex professional experience.
Thus, the core competencies of a holistic nurse include respectful, patient-centered care and holistic approaches to collaboration and communication. A nurse of this type must be aware of the relationship between the body, brain, spirit, and consciousness within an individual, as well as the relationship between an individual and their environment and other people. Such a philosophical understanding of the approach to the patient is a necessary competence.
From a philosophical perspective, the tripartite roles of teaching, service, and education are thus quite holistic and value-driven. The holistic care philosophy enables specialists to integrate teaching and education, perceiving them as integral components of a unified process. In a sense, the service crowns these two processes, serving as a practical implementation that completes the portrait of a nursing educator.
Learner-centered education aims to engage the student through interactive activities, and this strategy is the most appropriate for me as a holistic educator. The ability to independently solve problems and cooperate in team settings needs to be developed in nurses. Student-centered learning enables the transfer of these skills because it focuses on the student and their engagement with the material, rather than on the educator and their perspective.
Recognizing holistic nursing as a distinct specialty in 2006 marked a significant advancement in the field of medicine. Since then, this branch of medicine can be practiced in any hospital or medical institution and has its own standards of practice (Thornton, 2019). The moment when holistic medicine, with its rich history spanning many centuries, became a full-fledged science is a pivotal historical event that significantly influences the value of this range of practices.
Conclusion
Within the framework of my chosen specialty, the role of the educator is quite important. The holistic nursing teacher conveys the skills, philosophy, and traditions of caring for patients. Student-centered strategies may foster a greater appreciation for patient-centered care among future professionals. Among the other skills of the teacher, it is necessary to note an interdisciplinary orientation and an understanding of the basic principles of psychology, as well as empathy and respect for other people’s spirituality. All these constitute key competencies for a holistic nursing educator that enable seemingly non-obvious and obscure methods, unrelated to science and medicine, to work.
References
Graber, J., Saylor, J., Jackson, A., & Hayes, E. A “living legacy” for nurses. Nursing Management 52(9), 42-48. Web.
Rosa, W. E., Dossey, B. M., Watson, J., Beck, D.-M., & Upvall, M. J. (2019). The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: The Ethics and Echos of Holistic Nursing. Journal of Holistic Nursing 37(4). Web.
Thornton, L. (2019). A brief history and overview of holistic nursing. Integrative Medicine 18(4), 32-33. Web.