Nursing, with a focus in alternative medicine, can be a rewarding career.
Many nursing and medical schools are integrating Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) into their medical degree programs. Alternative or holistic nursing involves the practice of treating the whole individual, using both traditional and alternative practices. Nurses in training and even practicing nurses can learn to integrate holistic medicine in order to accommodate patient requests and "fill the gaps" in western medical knowledge.
Alternative/Holistic Nursing
Alternative or holistic nursing focuses on treating the "whole individual."
Alternative nursing, sometimes known as holistic nursing, is a school of thought sweeping the modern nursing community. Degree programs that include holistic nursing teach traditional western medicine alongside the principals of holistic medicine. Holism focuses on treating the entire individual, including physical, mental and emotional health.
Proponents of holistic nursing support the teaching of holism for several reasons. Training in holistic medicine allows medical practitioners to address patient requests, questions and concerns regarding holistic medicine. Holistic thought teaches nurses to see the individual as a whole, rather than treating each single problem as though it existed in a vacuum. Holism also trains practitioners to be concerned with patient's mental and emotional well-being throughout the treatment process, rather than focusing exclusively on physical symptoms.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
CAM: Using nontraditional healing methods with, or in place of, modern medicine.
"Complementary and Alternative Medicine" is the official title most often used in the medical community for healing practices that fall outside of traditional western medical practice. Complementary practices use nontraditional healing alongside traditional western medicine; alternative practices use nontraditional healing in place of western medicine.
Therapies on the list of CAM practices are nontraditional but have received some measure of acknowledgment from the medical community. Some examples include acupressure, acupuncture, Reiki, massage therapy and herbal therapies. Nursing schools that address holistic and alternative medical will usually use the CAM label for these practices.
Critiques of CAM in the Medical Field
Proponents support the use of CAM in modern western medicine as a way to inject care and compassion into western practice, to address patients' spiritual concerns and to broaden the practitioner's toolbox.
Critics, however, say that while students are taught modern principles of scientific thought in the rest of their training, they are then asked to suspend those principles to learn about scientifically implausible ideas like distance healing and the use of undocumented "energy fields" in healing practices. Critics worry that allowing CAM into traditional medical venues will be felt indirectly throughout the medical fields in areas as diverse as legislation, ethics and on-the-fly medical judgment calls.
Integrating CAM into Your Nursing Education
If, as a nursing student, you decide to pursue the route of Holistic Nursing, you have several alternatives open to you. Many major accredited universities and nursing schools offer CAM-related classes on a pay-per-class basis. Others offer minors or certificate programs in CAM studies in addition to the Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. Other colleges offer four-week CAM camps in the summer, open to nursing students throughout the country.
Visit nursing directories online to find out which programs offer CAM courses. You can also contact the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) for more information; NCCAM supports integrating CAM practices into the nursing field, as well as into areas of medical, dental and continuing education training.
Contact the state board of nursing for your state; the boards regulate nursing by state and determine whether CAM is legally allowable. In such states, it is important to maintain contact with the state board to make sure you are within the legal framework required to maintain a nursing license while practicing complementary and alternative medicine.
Tags: western medicine, Alternative Medicine, Complementary Alternative Medicine, holistic medicine, traditional western, Complementary Alternative, nontraditional healing