Complementary Therapies (CT) & the Staff Nurse (Article 1 of 3)
An Introduction to Integrating Complementary Therapies
in Health Care Today
Complementary therapies (CT) are becoming an increasingly important part of the healthcare options that Canadians having been looking at and using for more than two decades. With increasing consumer and professional interest in complementary and integrative care, nurses are considering incorporating complementary modalities into their tool box of healthcare interventions for those they serve. Although the use of these therapies is less accepted by some of the biomedical or conventional healthcare providers, we cannot ignore the growing momentum by Canadians. We are already behind when we start to look at other countries around the world, especially our neighbours to the south in the United States, across the pond in the UK and down under in Australia; they have integrated various CT in medical and nursing education, as well as various levels of healthcare.
Though there are some challenges that must be addressed before CT will be an integral part of the Canadian health care, they are already being used regularly by Canadians today. Benefits to patients that have been reported include reduction of pain, anxiety and stress; promotion of relaxation response which supports healing at the physical, emotional and mental levels of being; improvement in circulation and breathing post surgically; reduced effects from trauma and chronic pain; accelerated healing of wounds; support during the dying process, and more. According to the Fraser Institute (2007) nearly three-quarters of Canadians (74%) had used at least one CT sometime in their life, and more than one-half (54%) reported using one within the last year.
In response to the growing interest in CT the College of Nurses of Ontario created the first ‘Practice Guideline’ in 1996 to guide nurses in the use of this
(http://www.cno.org/Global/docs/prac/41021_CompTherapies.pdf)
therapy. It is important that nurses are familiar with this document as it addresses a variety of instances the nurse may encounter related to CT, such as what the nurse should consider before providing a type of CT they are trained in, or perhaps being able to provide a patient with more information when requested on a type of CT the patient is interested in (benefits, what is involved, risks). Similar to medications, though as nurses we may not prescribe or dispense them, we do play an important role in supporting the patient to understand their part in their plan of care and outcomes or concerns with their use. As nurses we will need to educate ourselves about some of the CT options out there, especially the ones being used by the population we serve.
Given staff nurses are the heart and soul of an organization, they are perhaps the one person who has more interaction and impact with clients than any other healthcare professional, and therefore are in a unique position to identify the needs and wishes of patients and their families. Though a holistic approach is not a new concept, there still is a part of that approach is not being addressed or made evident with all patients and their caregivers. It has not gone unnoticed by some patients that many nurses or doctors do not agree or understand the role various CT can play in the care of their client, and hence the patient does not share what else they are doing outside the conventional medical system. Many patients over the last few decades have introduced CT into the way they care for themselves, whether as an illness intervention (Healing Touch treatment pre or post a surgical treatment), or as a health promotion activity (use herbs and vitamins).
What is needed is a transformation of the Westernized healthcare system here in Ontario and Canada. Though there is evidence of some organizations and hospitals looking at the integration of CT use, it is happening very slowly and tentatively. Primarily where we see CT used more consistently with patients is at end of life, in a palliative care situation, or cancer center/hospital. It will require embracing a philosophical base where care is grounded in a holistic view, incorporating an “intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual” multidisciplinary approach. Given nursing’s role in the healthcare system, they are in a good position to assume one of the leadership roles in the many facets of this transformation given their role in the health model. To achieve this over the next decade we need to gather more information about what CT Canadians are using, measure and tabulate their outcomes, educate our healthcare professionals about CT and holism, and continue to evaluate and conduct the research that will provide a better scientific base to develop best practice guidelines.
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