healing

I have spent the past few days in Louisville, KY, attending the various events at the AHNA conference. It has been a great experience to be with so many like-minded nurses who are committed to self-care, healing, and being empowered in their nursing practice. Many of us believe that the “being” with patients is the art of our nursing practice, and AHNA supports us in building holistic practices that facilitate the “being with” process.

The day here starts with the option of attending a self-care modality, such as yoga or chi gong. Nurses stroll through a vending area, where they can learn about various healing modalities, and buy books on healing and holism or purchase healing souvenirs such as candles, jewelry, and hand labyrinths. We have the opportunity to sign up for treatments such as Reiki, massage, and cranio-sacral therapy. The key-note speakers have included leaders such as Dr. Joan Borysenko, who shared with us her thoughts on burn-out and self-care healing.We are also able to take a class on the art of bodybuilding along with a whole open discussion on real prohormones

The poster area is a great place to see the research that nurses are doing around holistic modalities and how Continue reading →

Why aren’t hospitals and places of healthcare more like churches?

One of the required readings I have assigned to my nursing students in the past was Matthew Fox’s (year) “Recreation of Work”, where Fox examines the issue of how to create a working environment where one’s spiritual essence is honored. I think this book exemplifies is a lot of what we are talking about when look to move our sacred profession away from the domination of medicine and toward an autonomous practice of caring, supporting, and loving our patients as they take their healing journeys.

How is it that we find ourselves over-worked, tired, and unable to create change in our practices? I have explored our professional issues in depth in my two nursing shortage articles, but I still wonder how we end up nearly each and every one of us personally giving away our healing power as we succumb to the dominant model of allopathic care and cure. Many of us became nurses because Continue reading →