Teaching Complementary Treatments and Integrated Nursing to Nursing Students

Asaf Dan^*
*Correspondence: Asaf Dan, Department of Medicine, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Email:

INTRODUCTION

More and more individuals in Europe are using complementary treatments (CT) to treat their pain, anxiety, sleep issues and discomfort. However, CT is often not taught to nursing students. Additionally, neither the integration of CT into nursing practise nor the communication of patients' complementary health seeking behaviours are taught to nurses. The purpose of this study of the literature was to look at what has been written on CT in nursing education.

Description

The major method for treating pain, anxiety, insomnia and discomfort sensations is still pharmacological intervention. However, the use of supplementary therapies including massage, breathing exercises, guided imagery and music interventions is becoming more and more popular among both medical professionals and patients. Additionally, healthcare practitioners are required to instruct patients on how to utilise complementary therapies safely [1].

Interventions that are thought to be complimentary to biomedical practise and nursing do not have a clear vocabulary. In the past, therapies that were not derived from traditional biomedical practise were referred to as "alternative." Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a word that was later used. However, the word "alternative" is now viewed as being out of date since "complementary" treatments (CT) are used in conjunction with mainstream medicine, whereas "alternative" alludes to a non-conventional method used in place of conventional therapy. Additionally, complementary medicine (CM) and traditional complementary integrative medicine are terminologies that are employed (TCIM). The word "conventional" is used in this study to refer to biological treatments, while the phrase "complementary therapies" (CT) is used to refer to interventions that are secure, supported by evidence and utilised in addition to conventional therapy. Integrative healthcare, integrative medicine (IM), or - when applied in the nursing area - integrative nursing are terms used to describe methods that try to systematically incorporate CT as part of the traditional health care system (IN) [2,3].

There isn't yet a uniform European strategy for teaching healthcare personnel about CT or how to incorporate it into nursing. As a result, the curriculum of nursing schools in Europe does not include CT and IN. According to research, including IM in medical education greatly promotes the safe application of integrative methods in traditional healthcare. The absence of structured education on the topic, according to nurses, is one of the greatest obstacles to CT practise and patient communication. As a result, nurses are advocating for greater information on the use and advantages of complementary treatments for symptom management in nursing curriculum. Patients could be reluctant to share their use of CAM/CT with medical personnel, which might be a safety concern.

Following Grant and Booth's categorization, a literature analysis was conducted with the intention of analysing and synthesising current knowledge. The literature search was aided by the following inquiries: What information regarding the setting, subject matter and instructional techniques used to instruct nurses and nursing students about CT and IN has been published in scientific literature? On what conceptual frameworks is the instruction based?

The vocabulary and course titles ranged from well-known phrases like Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Integrative Health to less well-known ones like complementary and alternative therapies (CAT), complementary and integrative practise (CIP) and integrative health practise (IHP). The terms used to refer to procedures and items that are often excluded from traditional medicine were defined in four articles. The holistic approach used in CT is claimed to be related to nursing throughout the articles, although a more thorough defence of this claim is lacking. According to Chlan and Halcon, CAM "are anchored in an intellectual and spiritual worldview that promotes completeness and harmony of the mind-body-spirit. Since the beginning of nursing, this holistic approach has been a component of nursing theory and practise [4]. They contend that it is now crucial for nurses and nurse educators to re-examine how nursing education might incorporate complementary ideas and methods in order to better prepare nurses to promote health and wellbeing.

From a single 68-minute class to a five-semester programme, the courses ranged in length. At the Bachelor's, Master’s, or PhD levels, classes were taught. Fourteen articles discussed academic institutions including universities and nursing schools and the courses they offer. Most courses have the designation "elective." Oncology, palliative care, acute care, or primary health care were just a few of the nursing-related topics that were covered in only five of the courses. The included articles provided only a limited amount of information on the courses' accreditation and how students were given credit for finishing them [5].

Conclusion

Despite the widespread usage of CT among patients and the desire for information about its use from healthcare professionals, little is known about how this knowledge is applied in nursing education, particularly in Europe. It is necessary to create a manual for educators on how to teach nursing students in Europe about CT in the context of nursing.

References

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5. Parletta, Natalie, Dorota Zarnowiecki, Jihyun Cho and Amy Wilson, et al. "A Mediterranean-style dietary intervention supplemented with fish oil improves diet quality and mental health in people with depression: A randomized controlled trial (HELFIMED)." Nutr Neurosci 22 (2019): 474-487.

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