Using Aromatherapy in Your Holistic Nursing Practice

The use of aromatherapy is on the rise with nurses to promote self-care and promote a therapeutic environment for their patients. Aromatherapy has a long history but its use among nurse professionals has increased steadily in the last few decades. It is has attained much popularity among other complementary therapies. American Nursing Association (ANA) has also recognized Aromatherapy as a legitimate component for holistic nursing (Okpala, 2018).  It is considered as an effective tool to increase nursing care as well as enhance their empowerment. Due to the stressful environment and a high burn out rate among health care professionals, aromatherapy is a helpful tool for promoting the wellbeing of nurses and their patients. (Conrad, 2019). 

Benefits of Aromatherapy

There are several potential benefits of using Aromatherapy in self-care, acute care, palliative and Geriatric care. The use of aromatherapy in community nursing and long-term patient care has also increased. It is effective in reducing anxiety and distress by increasing comfort, relief of pain, relaxation, improved coping, reduction of stress, an increased sense of well-being (Johnson et al., 2016). It is also used to increase ease inpatient experience of disease, treatment and injury.

Some essential oils that have been used frequently are peppermint oil as it can be effective in relieving anxiety, fever, and headache and muscle soreness. Lavender oils are effective to alleviate insomnia as well as treating insect bites. Eucalyptus oil is used in sinus blockage, relieving pain, strains and muscle aches (Okpala, 2018). 

How Aromatherapy is Used

Aromatherapy uses therapeutic graded essential oils either by inhalation (direct or indirect) or via topical use. Inhalation affects the olfactory system, the part of the brain that is directly linked to smell, and its effects are due to it’s interaction with with the limbic system, which is involved in respiration, heart rate and helps to regulate the nervous system. Using essential oils through inhalation has been shown to also stimulate mood, balance the autonomic system and stimulate immune function (Lee at al., 2019). 

Methods of Application of Aromatherapy

There are different ways through which aromatherapy can be applied. Patients are encouraged to directly inhale aroma of essential oils, as this can be the most minimally invasive and have the least effect with medication interactions. Patients can utilize a diffuser, or use 1-2 drops of the essential oil on a cotton ball for several minutes. The scent of the essential oil, 1-2 drop-in a cotton ball or inhaler wick is provided to the patient that they inhale for 5-10 minutes.. It can also be applied in diluted form through spray bottles (Dusek, 2016). The topical application of oil is based on light touch and massaging the oil on a specific area of the body to relieve symptoms of pain. When applying topically, It is recommended that pure essential oils not be directly applied to the skin and diluted with a carrier oil, such as jojoba. More research evidence required to support oral intake of oils (Özkaraman et al., 2018). 

Applying Aromatherapy Into Your Clinical Practice

When integrating aromatherapy into your clinical practice, it is best to engage the patient. As with all therapies, informed consent should be requested from the patient. Certifications are available that help with understanding the pharmacology, mechanism of action and specific therapeutic indications of the essential oils as well as safety. To be most deeply relaxing, aromatherapy can be combined with restorative yoga

In Summary

Aromatherapy is a beneficial form of integrative medicine as it can help to balance the autonomic system, and promote overall well being not only of the patients, but also of the nurse. Because of the diversity of application, aromatherapy is a safe, effective modality and therapy for patients. To incorporate aromatherapy in your practice, certifications are available to understand the therapeutic indications, mechanism of actions of essential oils.

References 

Conrad, P. (2019). Women’s Health Aromatherapy: A Clinically Evidence-Based Guide for Nurses, Midwives, Doulas and Therapists. Singing Dragon.

Dusek, J. A. (2016). Development of a Health System-Based Nurse-Delivered Aromatherapy Program.

Johnson, J. R., Rivard, R. L., Griffin, K. H., Kolste, A. K., Joswiak, D., Kinney, M. E., & Dusek, J. A. (2016). The effectiveness of nurse-delivered aromatherapy in an acute care setting. Complementary therapies in medicine, 25, 164-169.

Lee, S. P., Wu, W. Y., Hsiao, J. K., Zhou, J. H., Chang, H. H., & Chien, C. T. (2019). Aromatherapy: Activating olfactory calcium‐sensing receptors impairs renal hemodynamics via sympathetic nerve‐mediated vasoconstriction. Acta Physiologica, 225(1), e13157.

Okpala, A. (2018). The Use of Aromatherapy in the Reduction of Anxiety Levels (Doctoral dissertation, Brandman University).

Özkaraman, A., Dügüm, Ö., Yılmaz, H. Ö., & Yeşilbalkan, Ö. U. (2018). Aromatherapy. Clinical journal of oncology nursing, 22(2), 203-210.

How to Get Started in Holistic Nursing

How To Get Started In Holistic Nursing

Recently, the world has seen an increase in the number of people switching to holistic and alternative therapies for healing. Approximately 42% of people in the USA use alternative or integrative practices for their health. So, as a nurse, how can you become a part of it?

What Is Holistic Nursing?

Compared to conventional nursing practices, holistic nursing is an approach that treats every aspect of the human: the mind, body, emotion, and spirit.

The goal of this type of nursing approach is to fully support the healing process with natural and integrative resources available - some include reiki, therapeutic touch or aromatherapy. Everything is interconnected and no aspect should be ignored while helping the patient in recovery or through a medical condition. 

How To Get Started In Holistic Nursing

If you are looking to be a holistic nurse then the first thing you need to do is understand your own healing philosophy. Your healing philosophy is based on your beliefs about healing and how to support someone during the healing process.

Reflect on Your Healing Philosophy

To understand your healing philosophy, you will need to reflect on what healing means to you. This will help you guide others as you help them move through the process of healing. Some questions that can help you reflect:

How do you approach your own health? Is your healing philosophy promoting prevention? Do you believe the body can heal itself? What are the modalities and determinants that can help a patient heal and recover? Is your body better able to heal itself with holistic practices?

These are the questions you need to be answering to help you understand your healing philosophy. You can only practice what you preach and a healing philosophy serves as a guideline for your practice.

After understanding your healing philosophy, you can then decide which holistic practices and therapies help you support others - reiki, aromatherapy, touch therapy, yoga and many more.

Scope Of Practice

After understanding your healing philosophy and honing in on therapies or holistic practices you will help your patients with, it’s best to consult with the scope of the state you are choosing to practice in. For example, if you want to do acupressure then you will have to check in with the board of acupuncture and nursing board in your state before officially practicing the modalities and therapies. .

Do You Need Certifications To Practice As A Holistic Nurse?

Firstly, you need to have your Bachelor of Science Degree (BSN) or Associates in Nursing After that, you can take up different certifications such as yoga, aromatherapy and others to be better trained for your practice.

The American Holistic Nurses Association provides different courses in Holistic Nursing that you can take up. Other courses are also available through Nurses for Natural Health, whether online or in person workshops such as Restorative Yoga. The courses are short and give you a chance to practically apply all the knowledge you have gathered. 

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Practice

Now that you’ve understood your healing philosophy, focused in on therapies and certifications to help your patients with and understood your scope of practice, it’s time to tell others! Look in your area for like-minded practitioners so you can build a networking base for yourself and your patients.

In these times, it doesn’t hurt to use social media as well to enhance your practice. Use it to build a following and increase your presence so more people can get to know about your practices. Invite other practitioners to also experience your therapies.

Be creative with your work and find new ways to incorporate your practices with other people. Maybe your workplace needs a session on mindfulness practices to promote productivity? Look for such opportunities or create your own!

Bottom Line

Nothing good ever comes easy but all of this is doable. Holistic nursing is an increasing trend that many people are switching towards to recover and heal better.

Understand your healing philosophy, practice what you preach and networking will help set you up for success. More people need such practices so be the one to take a step by creating awareness and use your practice to make a difference in everyone's lives!

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