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- Guide To Holistic Nursing Jobs [With Job Titles and Steps]
Guide To Holistic Nursing Jobs [With Job Titles and Steps]
July 8, 2021
A holistic approach is one that considers all aspects of a situation, so it can be a perfect way to promote health, since patients experience challenges to their mental, emotional and spiritual health along with their physical ailments. Some nursing jobs offer the ability to specialize in holistic approaches to patient care. If you're interested in ways that systems of health work together, you might consider a holistic nursing career. In this article, we discuss what a holistic nurse is, how to become one, what roles they might fill, necessary skills and where to find holistic nursing jobs.
What is a holistic nurse?
A holistic nurse is a practicing nurse who promotes patients' overall well-being, including their mental, emotional and spiritual health. They work in a variety of settings, from clinical or institutional facilities to in-home care, and they usually have special certifications in applying holistic nursing principles within the healthcare system. A holistic nurse typically gives more individualized care to each patient by learning about their needs, beliefs and priorities, and they may recommend other wellness techniques like mindfulness, acupuncture, massage, stress management and hydrotherapy.
Holistic nursing practices center on five core values:
Holistic theory, philosophy and ethics
Holistic education and research
Holistic caring process
Holistic communication, therapeutic environment and cultural diversity
Holistic nurse self-care
Related: 62 Types of Nurses: The Most In-Demand and Highest-Paying Nursing Specialties
How to become a holistic nurse
Here are the steps you can follow to become a holistic nurse:
1. Obtain a degree
College education provides scientific background and clinical practice that's essential for becoming a nurse. Being a registered nurse requires either a two-year associate degree or a four-year bachelor's degree. During your college program, you can expect to learn how to care for patients of different ages and treat specific conditions, the science behind healthcare practices and professional skills like communication.
Read more: 5 Steps To Get Into a Nursing Program
2. Become a registered nurse
After you have finished your college education, you can take a standardized exam and become a registered nurse. This exam covers healthcare ethics, treatment, identifying and caring for certain conditions, legal healthcare issues and the structure of the health industry. As an RN, you can be eligible for many entry-level nursing positions.
Read more: Nurse Practitioner vs. RN: What's the Difference?
3. Gain working experience
Working experience in a clinical or in-home setting is essential for gaining necessary skills and expertise to work as a holistic nurse. Many certification programs also require work experience, so it can be useful as you move forward in your career. You might look for nursing positions in hospitals, facilities with holistic health initiatives or departments, other healthcare facilities or smaller clinics and practices. During this time, you can gain experience working with individual patients, customizing care plans and refining your communication skills and empathy.
Related: 8 Non-Bedside Nursing Jobs
4. Pursue further education
Since holistic nursing involves recommending additional therapy practices for patients, you might consider what other areas of education you can pursue. Some universities offer graduate programs in holistic nursing, where you can take courses in the models and theories behind holistic nursing. Pursuing education in other health approaches like wellness coaching, nutrition, meditation and massage may also help you find more job opportunities and be more qualified for holistic nursing jobs.
5. Consider certification
You might consider further professional certification to add holistic nurse to your resume and advance your career, since some hiring organizations prefer or require this certification. The American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation offers four levels of certification, depending on how much education you've acquired. Each certification requires one year of full-time experience, an application and an exam, and some certifications may require additional education depending on your college background. You might also consider getting certifications in case management, chronic care or other nursing specialties.
Read more: Nursing Certifications: What You Need To Know
Skills for holistic nursing
Here are some skills that can be useful for holistic nursing jobs:
Empathy: Empathy is one of the most important skills for holistic nurses, since their work involves providing care for all aspects of patient health tailored to the patient's worldview, personality and needs.
Nursing knowledge: Knowledge of conditions and nursing practices is crucial for holistic nurses to identify the most helpful treatment method and make sure that their recommendations complement the treatments from other health professionals.
Curiosity: Curiosity helps holistic nurses eagerly understand their patients' health situations and learn more about their priorities, beliefs and concerns so that they can treat the whole patient.
Computer skills: Especially when holistic nurses work in smaller facilities, provide outpatient care or travel to patient homes, it's essential that they have strong computer skills to access patient records and update them.
Communication: Holistic nurses use spoken communication skills to understand patient needs and provide personalized care, and they may use written communication as well to advocate for patient well-being and refer patients to specialists.
Holistic nursing jobs
While many roles can benefit from a holistic nursing approach, some healthcare facilities may have positions that focus more heavily on holistic nursing approaches. Here are some job titles to look for during your search:
1. Holistic health specialist
National average salary: $44,270 per year
Primary duties: A holistic health specialist might work with a private clinic or an in-home health provider to provide patient care. They may specialize in a specific field of holistic care, like traditional Eastern healing practices, massage, aromatherapy or wellness coaching. Holistic health specialists are usually certified RNs.
2. Nurse navigator
National average salary: $64,062 per year
Primary duties: A nurse navigator helps patients navigate the medical and insurance processes from diagnosis through treatment. A holistic nurse can help recommend a wider variety of treatments for patients, and may be more mindful of their emotional and mental state. Nurse navigators may work in hospitals to help answer patient questions in specific care departments like oncology.
3. Home health nurse
National average salary: $66,343 per year
Primary duties: A home health nurse travels to their patient's location and provides care on-site. Since holistic nursing approaches may require less equipment, these treatments are easier to perform in the patient's home. A home health nurse may spend significant time with just a few patients or travel to many patients.
Related: Learn About Being a Home Health Nurse
4. Registered nurse case manager
National average salary: $70,503 per year
Primary duties: An RN case manager helps individual patients collaborate with all their healthcare providers and their insurance. They may work for a care institution like a hospital, an insurance company or individual healthcare providers. While nurse navigators may work within a specific department, case managers can work with many patients.
5. Community health nurse
National average salary: $73,806 per year
Primary duties: A community health nurse works in the public health sector to advocate for communities to receive healthcare services they need. The holistic approach can be beneficial in this job because community health nurses need to consider what their communities need and want in the long term, outside of traditional healthcare facilities. Community health nurses usually work for local governments and may provide treatments like vaccinations.
6. Outpatient nurse practitioner
National average salary: $112,647 per year
Primary duties: An outpatient nurse practitioner helps provide care remotely or temporarily, and may work with specialized populations. A nurse practitioner has an advanced degree and can provide diagnoses and prescriptions besides other nursing care. They may create treatment plans for patients, so a holistic nurse practitioner can use their knowledge of alternative treatment methods to provide the best care.
Where to find holistic nursing jobs
Here are some ways to search for holistic nursing jobs:
Network with other nurses: Knowing other holistic nurses can help you learn about positions as they become available, and it can also make it easier to find continuing education resources or career advice.
Online job searches: Searching for jobs online can help you find positions at a wide variety of health facilities. It may be easier to find smaller organizations through online listings since they may not have a strong internal workforce to promote into holistic positions.
Internal job listings: If you work at a large health facility, you may be able to find holistic nursing jobs by watching for new internal job listings at your own or other facilities.
Please note that none of the companies mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.