Monday 10 December 2012

Holistic Nursing Clinics and Holistic Nursing Programs

Holistic nursing is defined by American Holistic Nurse’s Association as “all nursing practice that has healing the whole person as its goal”. Based on oriental medicine ideas, holistic theories and practices that seek to establish balance within the patient to promote overall health. Unlike many regular RN’s, holistic nurses are able to address the emotional and spiritual state of their patients in addition to their physical health. To train these professionals, several Holistic Nursing Programs have been established nationwide for both introductory courses and Continuing Education certification courses.

Introductory courses into Holistic Nursing include a system of therapies which combine the use of Traditional Chinese Medical principles in Acupuncture, Western Bodywork, Asian Bodywork, Physical Arts, Herbalism and Nutrition with a Western approach to organ dysfunctions. These holistic modalities restore, promote, and maintain optimum health through the treatment of the physical body, the bio-energy, and the emotions, which reflect and are bound into the neuromuscular system. This combination of knowledge of treatment of the physical body as RN’s, along with holistic treatments, broadens the career options for nurses. After graduation, many holistic nurses become employed in hospitals, private practices and clinics while others become wellness coaches or go on to specialize in complementary modalities such as massage therapy or acupuncture.

An important part of holistic nursing education is practice. New York College of Health Professions in Syosset, NY has established a Holistic Nursing Clinic for students that are part of their Continuing Education in Holistic Nursing Program to be able to practice on patients, while providing discounted treatment to the public. In the clinics, students are able to perform modalities such as Asian Massage and holistic nutrition counseling while supervised by licensed practitioners.

The Continuing Education Holistic Nursing Programs at New York College consists of a 412.5 clock-hour program and a supervised, 50 hour clinical internship over a time span of 4 terms. Open only to Registered Nurses in the State of New York, students learn to integrate holistic nursing theory with Oriental clinical assessment and diagnostic techniques. Also included are courses in T'ai Chi Chuan, Western Bodywork, Asian Bodywork and implementation of holistic nursing theory to clinical practice. Graduates of this program are eligible to take the NCCAOM exam for National Certification in Asian Bodywork. On successful completion of the NCCAOM exam, the candidate is granted the title of Diplomate of Asian Bodywork. Many nurses choose to acquire holistic nursing education to further their careers and to improve their ability to care for with many more modalities.

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