The American Holistic Nursing Association defines holistic nursing as "all nursing practice that has healing the whole person as its goal." This definition and practice differs from the traditional Western medical view of a nurse, but does not necessarily exclude its practices. Indeed, holistic nurses are usually trained in holistic nursing practices as well as traditional Western medical practices.
Nurse as Health Facilitator or Instrument
A holistic nurse is trained to see his task not only as an applier of medicine but also as a facilitator and instrument of health. In this way, he aides the development of a full body health that may or may not focus on the specific ailment. This is drastically different from the traditional view of nursing, which understands a nurse as someone that applies medicine or looks after an ailing patient. A holistic nurse, on the other hand, concerns hinself with the whole welfare of an entire body.
Nurse as Integrator
The holistic nurse also integrates various treatment methods into the nursing practice. Holistic nurses are expected to be familiar with treatments above and beyond traditional Western medicine practice, including but not limited to Swedish and Asian medicine. That is not to say, however, that a holistic nurse does not apply Western medicine -- it simply means that the holistic nurse keeps multiple treatments in mind as she treats patients.
Holistic Mindset
Holistic nursing approaches patients with a distinctive mindset: that the entire body of a patient must be treated wholly for the patient to be cured more totally and effectively. The holistic nurse operates from a flexible and wide-ranging medicinal perspective, one that is not limited in its purview to any one treatment plan. Most important, however, is that the mindset of the holistic nurse is on the idea of the patient's entire body, not just the ailing parts.
Training
Another critical component of holistic nursing is proper training. Holistic nurses should be trained in the various medicinal traditions they may see fit to apply on any given patient. They should also be trained in traditional Western nursing practices.
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