What is Holism?

"Holism” in health care is a philosophy that emanated directly from Florence Nightingale, who believed in care that focused on unity, wellness, and the interrelationship of human beings, events, and environment. Even Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, espoused a holistic orientation when he taught doctors to observe their patients’ life circumstances and emotional states. Socrates stated, “Curing the soul; that is the first thing.”

What is holistic nursing?

Holistic nursing is defined as “all nursing practice that has healing the whole person as its goal” (AHNA 1998). A holistic nurse is a registered/licensed nurse, who takes a mind-body-spirit-emotion approach to the practice of traditional nursing. Holistic nurses encourage their patients to take responsibility for their own individual wellness through positive lifestyle changes and daily self-care. Holistic nurses listen to their patients and empower them with the knowledge they need to live healthier, more balanced lives.

Holistic nursing focuses on protecting, promoting, and optimizing health wellness, preventing illness and injury, alleviating suffering, and supporting people to find peace, comfort, harmony, and balance.

Practicing holistic nursing encourages nurses to integrate self-care, self-responsibility, spirituality, and reflection in their own lives. This awareness further enhances nurses’ understanding of all individuals and their relationships to the human and global community, and it permits nurses to use this awareness to facilitate the healing process.

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