Holistic Healthcare

Holistic nursing is a healthcare philosophy that embodies a variety of different approaches to clinical practice. The term "holism" refers to a concept that describes subject matter in terms of its entirety as opposed to its component parts: "The total patient [includes] all aspects of his or her being, not simply his or her biological responses." Holistic nursing differs from traditional Western medical models that regard disease primarily as a disturbance of biological or psychological functions.

Although the Hippocratic tradition, the foundation of Western medicine, emphasized the relationship among body, mind, and environment, modern medical science has since adopted a reductionist viewpoint. The dominant medical theory in the twentieth century is the biomedical model, which minimizes the importance of psychological factors in determining health and illness. The biomedical paradigm treats the body as machine. If a limb or organ is ailing it is repaired or replaced. According to biomed

. . .
Feeling that I spoiled my family's life 31 The incidence of stress and anxiety in hospital settings is much greater than that found in the general population. Studies in Britain indicate that approximately 9 percent of the general population experiences psychological distress compared to approximately 30 percent of people who suffer from serious illness. Studies of patients in critical care units indicate that although significant percentages show clear signs of anxiety and fear, in interviews few are able to admit their feelings. In assessing the prevalence of denial, one study measured the differences between critically ill patients (stroke victims, cancer patients, and coronary heart disease patients) and a control group in terms of real self-image and ideal self-image. The findings of this study showed clear evidence of denial: "[The] seriously ill people did not show significantly greater discrepancies between their real and ideal self-images than the control group, that is, they denied the implication of the damage they had sustained." While initially denial may be an effective coping strategy, long-term denial does not promote equilibrium in the patient. For instance, denial is common among patients wit
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
AGoal High-level, Psychology Referrals, Florence Nightingale, Holistic Nursing, Secondary Stressors, Nurses Communication, Psychological Care, Studies Britain, Increase Anxiety, Empowering Patient, holistic nursing, critical care, psychological care, women's health, health promotion, nursing practice, hospital environment, biomedical model, holistic nursing practice, nursing holistic, psychological distress, critical care nursing, concerns holistic nursing, critical care unit, critical care units,
Approximate Word count = 5200
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Holistic Healthcare