By Megan M. Krischke, contributor

"Holistic nursing practice is a way of being,” said Glenda Christiaens, RN, Ph.D., AHN-BC, associate teaching professor at Brigham Young College of Nursing and the national education coordinator for the American Holistic Nursing Association (AHNA). “Whether they are certified or not, any nurse who takes the approach of caring for the whole person is a holistic nurse. Because holism is about how you treat a patient, a nurse in any specialty or department can be a holistic nurse.”

Clearly there is an increasing interest in holistic nursing. Since its inception in 1981, the AHNA has grown to four thousand members, experiencing a steady growth of 8-10 percent in recent years. Another landmark for the profession was the recognition of holistic nursing as a specialty by the American Nursing Association (ANA) in 2005.

“More schools are interested in being endorsed by the AHNA and in my own teaching experience over the last 10 years, I’ve seen the student generations move from being skeptical to taking a sincere interest in the concepts of holism and CAM,” said Christiaens.

CAM, or Complementary and Alternative Medicine, encompasses a variety of integrative approaches to healing which either complement or replace current conventional medicine treatments. For instance, guided imagery and light touch massage might be used to complement pain medications in surgical recovery; while, as alternative medicine, hypnotherapy might replace the use of pain medications altogether for certain patients.

“Holistic nursing entails any nursing care that has treating the whole person as its goal,” Christiaens explained. “Holism looks at all aspects of the person—physical, spiritual, emotional, social and the patient’s family and overall environment. You aren’t just treating the appendix, but treating everything in the patient’s life that appendicitis might impact. It is a gentler way to treat a patient.”

The Cleveland Clinic (the Clinic) in Cleveland, Ohio, offers holistic therapies to inpatients through the Healing Services team within its Office of Patient Experience.

“Healing Services is a trans-disciplinary team comprised of two certified holistic nurses, a massage therapist who is also a holistic nurse, touch therapy volunteers, art and music therapists, social workers and a chaplain,” said Michelle Cameron, RN, BSN, HN-BC, director of healing solutions at the Clinic. “We use a number of tools including guided imagery, aromatherapy, Reiki, healing touch, centering meditation, prayer, a little tai chi now and then, and most of all the experience of ‘presence.’”

The services of the Clinic’s Healing Services team are available not only to patients and their families, but to staff as well. Cameron’s team was recently called upon to care for a department after one of their co-workers was killed and another was wounded in a shooting.

“In order for health care to embrace the sacred human experience you have to support patients, their families and the hospital staff. Care for staff and their own self-care is critical because you can’t give out what you don’t have or haven't experienced,” Cameron remarked.

Both Christiaens and Cameron credit attending their first AHNA annual conference as a turning point in their respective careers and each described it as a sort of homecoming.

“When I was a nursing student in the late 1990s, I attended a conference of the AHNA and I felt like this is what nursing should be—I felt like I was coming home,” said Christiaens, who will soon be the organization’s president-elect. “I have been a member of AHNA and increasingly involved ever since.

“Being a holistic nurse is an opportunity to change nursing care and to recognize that people go beyond their bodies. It is an opportunity to be a voice for healing and wholeness.”

Currently the American Holistic Nurses Certification Corporation (AHNCC) offers a baccalaureate- and graduate-level certification in holistic nursing. Starting in March 2010, an associate-level certification will also be available. There is an application process to become certified, including a year’s experience in holistic nursing and passing an exam. For more information on becoming certified in holistic nursing visit the AHNCC’s website.