As soon as I hit the "send" button to submit this editorial to our publisher, I am headed home to pack my suitcase. I leave tomorrow for the first vacation I have had in 4 years! My plans are no computer and minimal phone access. I've downloaded e-books to my Nook, assembled several personal journals to sort my thoughts, and selected several special books to nurture my spiritual life. No dress clothes, no heels . . . just leisure clothes and walking shoes. I can't wait!
I am somewhat amused at how excited I am to take this trip. After all, I travel almost monthly. That is really why I haven't taken a vacation in so long. Being away from my regular responsibilities, even though travelling on business, means there is a price to pay when I return home . . . hundreds of emails to respond to, faculty and students that need my time, catching up with assignments missed while I was out. And so, I try to minimize my time away by not taking time for myself. Ridiculous, I've come to realize!
Nurses are associated with healing and restoration for patients challenged with illness and disease, but we are not so good at practicing healing and restoration ourselves. Cowling (2000) defines healing as realization, knowledge, and appreciation of the inherent wholeness in life. Healing elucidates prospects of "clarified" understanding and opportunities for action. Notice there is no mention of "cure" in this definition of healing; the emphasis is on a perspective of growth and real insight into "understanding."
It is essential to fully grasp the importance of wholeness when attempting to facilitate healing. Healing attends to the "whole" person. Perhaps one of my favorite definitions of healing was proposed by Sevensky (1981). He provides a simple picture consistent with Cowling's (2000) perspective: Healing is a process of moving from brokenness to wholeness.
In relation to nursing, Sherwood (2000) suggests illness is a meaning-intensive experience. Growth and development from the experience of illness can foster healing and well-being, satisfaction, and renewal. As a nurse, attending to the spiritual needs of patients is necessary to promote healing during illness. One important aspect of providing spiritual care is to facilitate reminiscing and reflection by the patient regarding the meaning in life, hope, forgiveness, and transcendence.
To be effective in attending to the spiritual needs of patients, however, the nurse must clarify his or her own search for meaning. The nurse must personally utilize reminiscence and reflection in order to adequately facilitate these experiences for her patients. How does your practice impact your spirituality? How does your spirituality impact your practice? There is a reciprocal relationship between the nurse and the patient that encompasses shared growth and development, well-being, satisfaction, renewal, and of course, healing. Nurses should actively advocate for environments that promote healing through spiritual care. These environments must provide time, awareness, and sensitivity to the spiritual needs of both patients and healthcare providers, including nurses.
Nurses are by nature often nurturing individuals. We seek to give to others while often neglecting to give to ourselves. Think about it. What do you do to heal your spirit? What do you do to love yourself or forgive yourself? Fatigue and burnout are major issues in nursing. Our gastroenterology nursing specialty requires specialized training and experience. We cannot afford to lose valued nursing colleagues (neither in our specialty nor in our profession at large) due to a simple lack of attention to our own healing and renewal. We must have down time to recover from our professional and personal lives. We need time to think about spiritual things such as the purpose for our lives and the meaning we find in practicing nursing in order to be more effective in our nursing roles.
I, for one, plan to change some things. I've cut back on work commitments and am learning to say "no" to every request that comes my way. I'm saying "yes" to more opportunities that bring restoration and healing to my life. I'm making myself "unavailable" during planned time away from work and advocating for a more reasonable workload, not just for myself, but for my colleagues as well.
I love that nursing is associated with healing and restoration. I am going to embrace it myself for a change. Santa Fe, here I come!
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