Healing: the journey from concept to nursing practice.

PURPOSE

To build on current knowledge and definitions of healing to further analyze and clarify the concepts as it relates to nursing practice and care of the conscious adult patient.

METHODS

Literature surrounding previous concept analyses and definitions of healing were reviewed. Using the process outlined by Walker and Avant, model, borderline, related, and contrary patient case examples with brief rationale are presented.

FINDINGS

Theoretical definition: Healing is as a positive, subjective, unpredictable process involving transformation to new sense of wholeness, spiritual transcendence, and reinterpretation of life. Operational Definition: Healing is the personal experience of transcending suffering and transforming to wholeness.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses, through transpersonal caring, and patients, through beliefs and their innate healing abilities/nature/God, may mediate the healing process. As nurses focus on the International Year of the Nurse and global health, it is paramount that healing, a major tenet of nursing, be explored and analyzed to increase understanding for both nurses and patients.