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More nonsense taught in nursing schools:


Journal of Holistic Nursing Volume: 36 issue: 4, page(s): 366-373 (2018)

Energetic Modalities as a Self-Care Technique to Reduce Stress in Nursing Students
Deborah Kramer, EdD, RN, CPNP, FNP
College of Mount Saint Vincent

Abstract

This article describes the outcomes of nursing students taking a course in complementary and alternative therapies focusing on energetic modalities that were used as a means of self-care. Students kept journal logs and did a formal presentation for the class. Nursing students reported decreased stress and improved concentration, academic performance, productivity, and problem-solving while experiencing a greater appreciation of their clinical experiences. Using Therapeutic Touch and other subtle energy interactions, the students also cited improved interpersonal relationships, increased feelings of calmness, a higher degree of self-awareness and self-care, reduced physical pain, increased energy, and greater appreciation of the world around them. The theoretical framework was Margret Neuman’s theory of health as expanding consciousness. While this is an elective nursing course, the nursing students were primarily juniors and seniors already taking clinical courses. A research study with a wide sample of student participants, especially freshmen, and using quantitative as well as qualitative measures would be beneficial to determine if such a course should be part of the standard nursing curriculum to not only expand nurses’ understanding of complementary and alternative therapies but also to help students with their own self-care and influence their practice as clinicians.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0898010117745436

Excerpts:

"Despite growing evidence of its effectiveness and increased acceptance by the medical profession, CAM, while increasingly being offered to nursing students as an elective course (Kreitzer et al., 2008), is still not been taught routinely in nursing schools (Burger & Lockhart, 2017; Guillaumie et al., 2017; Stark et al., 2012). These courses can serve not only to teach CAM techniques for clinical use by health care professionals but also to teach self-care techniques for reducing stress in nursing students."

"This article describes the outcomes of nursing students taking a course in CAM titled 'Healing with Energy' that focused on energetic modalities that were used as a means of self-care."

"One way to introduce stress reduction to nursing school students is through a course on using energetic healing techniques with patients. The students practice the techniques on themselves during the course and thus gain self-care experiences as well. Such a course is based on the Einsteinian model of quantum physics that describes human beings as networks of complex energy fields (Gerber, 1996). These subtle energy fields interface with physical systems in the body and are affected by our emotions, spiritual balance, and environment. Traditional medicine—the Newtonian model—in contrast, views the body as an intricate machine down even to the cellular structure (Gerber, 2001). It is theorized that the biofield is the mechanism through which energetic modalities operates. Energetic modalities include biofield therapies such as Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, external qi healing, and other subtle energy interactions, as well as homeopathy, acupuncture, magnet therapy, and bio-electromagnetic therapy (Rubik & Jabs, 2017). Techniques used in the course include (1) meditation, (2) specific energetic techniques developed by Donna Eden (such as three thumbs, crown pull, triple warmer, zip-up, cross crawl, and Wayne Cook posture), and (3) hands-on touching techniques developed by Sharon Weiselfish-Giammatteo..."

[The course] "was led by a nurse practitioner with expertise in craniosacral therapy, integrative manual therapy, applied kinesiology, meditation, osteopathic manipulation, as well as multiple manual and energetic diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. The course used Margret Newman’s theory of health as expanding consciousness as its theoretical framework. Newman based her theory on Martha Rogers’s theory of unitary human beings, which suggests that man and environment are inseparable and that our human and environmental fields affect each other in every way at our level of consciousness (Rogers, 1990). All that occurs is part of our human process, which is ever changing (Newman, 2008). This includes physiochemical and growth processes, consciousness, and cognitive processes. When the environmental field changes, so does the human field, according to Rogers’s theory (Rogers, 1990)."

"The course is designed so that students learn to understand the scientific basis for energetic healing modalities and explore the various techniques of energetic healing that enhance the energetic field’s flow, balance, and harmony."

"Topics covered in the energetic healing course encompass different aspects of the process, including theoretical and historical paradigms and application of actual techniques."

"Students were also required to give an oral presentation describing how their use of energetic healing modalities affects their personal self-care practices and nursing practice."

"Energetic modalities are based on the biofield model that posits a broader concept of field interactions and flow of information in relation to the environment."

"The fact that more health insurance companies are reimbursing their subscribers for CAM services according to the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (60% of those who used chiropractic care, 25% of those using acupuncture, and 15% of those using massage; National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2016), indicates a growing acceptance of CAM as a valid modality in self-care. Subscribers are also more willing to pay out of pocket for CAM services (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2016)."

"Deborah Kramer, EdD, RN, CPNP, FNP, is a nurse practitioner with over 30 years of experience integrating alternative therapies into her practice. She is the director of the undergraduate nursing program and Associate Professor of Nursing at the College of Mount Saint Vincent. She founded and managed a center for education and alternative therapy and currently practices and does international research on the outcomes of alternative therapies."