The Mayo Clinic recognizes that Complementary Medicine has never been more popular since its establishment in the 1970’s. Approximately 30 percent of adult’s report using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Healthcare providers are embracing CAM therapies, too, often combining them with mainstream medical therapies — developing the term "integrative medicine." (Mayo Clinic, 2018).
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) classifies these CAM modalities as: natural products, mind and body practices, homeopathy, naturopathy, and other complementary health methods. The NCCIH states that most people use CAM because conventional medicine has not helped their symptoms, and /or they want treatments that are more natural (NCCIH, 2016).
According to the National Health Council (2014), “Generally incurable and ongoing, chronic diseases affect approximately 133 million Americans, representing more than 40% of the total population of this country. By 2020, that number is projected to grow to an estimated 157 million, with 81 million having multiple conditions”. Many patients with chronic diseases have chronic pain. An article by Shun, (2017), states that chronic pain is usually used as an indicator to measure quality of life. Many of these patients seek modalities to dismiss their chronic pain.
Florence Nightingale, the founder of nursing, has helped to pave the way for nurses to be a crucial part of the healthcare system. She had taught nurses to focus on the patient and their environment; making her the first nurse to utilize holistic nursing modalities: unity, wellness and the interrelationship of human beings and their environment.
Holistic nurses can identify and integrate the principles and modalities of holistic health into their daily life and clinical practice. Nurses in the 21st century can connect with Nightingale's holistic approach of care by preparing nursing students to become familiar with holistic philosophy and the modalities utilized to enable the natural healing process (Kim, 1997).
As one can see; CAM modalities are being used more frequently in mainstream medicine. In order to provide best patient care, nurses need to be familiar with these modalities. This project will focus on incorporating the education of CAM modalities into a Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) academic program. Assimilating the study of CAM modalities throughout their course of study, will allow the students to be familiar with the modalities across the patient’s lifespan.
The incorporation of the education of CAM modalities in nursing academia will be a three-part integration: Self-Care for Nurses, Holistic Nursing and CAM Modalities, and. This project will be the first of a three-part series of the education of CAM modalities in a BSN program: Self-Care of Nurses.
See more of: Evidence-Based Practice Sessions: Oral Paper & Posters