Holism is more than certain actions performed or words spoken to a patient. Holistic care is a philosophy; it’s a method to ensure care for all parts of the patient. Holistic nurses are those who recognize and treat each individual as a unique human being connected to family and community (Papathanasiou, Sklavou, & Kourkouta, 2013). Holism represents an ability of the nurse to work with the healthcare team and available resources to promote optimal health outcomes with the person as the central focus. This also means recognizing that the nurses’ relationships with patients will also grow and hopefully change into positive patterns of mutual trust and caring interactions. Holistic nursing moves the nurse mindset from linear, task-oriented practices to complex and multidimensional care in any healthcare setting. Holistic nursing also encourages nurses to integrate self-care, self-responsibility, spirituality, and reflection in their lives. Hence, holistic approaches to person-centered care leads to better outcomes of patient care and improved nurse satisfaction with their own professional endeavors.

Person-Centred Care Nursing Framework 

Caring continues to be a central concept in nursing; however, the context for caring is transforming, resulting in conceptual and theoretical advancements related to the evolving healthcare practice settings. McCormack and McCance originally developed a Person-Centred Nursing (PCN) Framework in 2006 and updated it in 2010 that can be applied to practice in complex healthcare systems (McCormack & McCance, 2006; McCormack & McCance, 2017). The PCN Framework provides a standard of care for practice and is a multidimensional process that places emphasis on the person as the center of care delivery (McCance, McCormack, & Dewing, 2011). The PCN Framework fosters outcomes related to therapeutic relationships through respecting individuals as persons and partners in care. The Person-Centred Care Nursing Framework consists of four constructs: prerequisites, the care environment, person-centred processes, and outcomes (McCance et al., 2011). To deliver effective care, one must work from the outer circle first to the core.

Prerequisites focus on the attributes of the nurses and include being professionally competent, having developed interpersonal skills, being committed to the job, being able to demonstrate clarity of beliefs and values, and knowing self. The care environment focuses on the context in which care is delivered and includes appropriate skill mix, systems that facilitate shared decision making, effective staff relationships, organizational systems that are supportive, the sharing of power, the potential for innovation and risk taking, and the physical environment. Person-centred processes focus on delivering care through a range of activities and include working with a patient’s beliefs and values to overcome this gap between the concept and the reality of person-centred care we have developed the Person-Centred Nursing Framework…engagement, having sympathetic presence, sharing decision making, and providing holistic care. Outcomes, the central component of the Framework, are the results of effective, person-centred nursing and include: satisfaction with care, involvement in care, feeling of well-being, and creating a therapeutic environment. (McCance, McCormack, & Dewing, 2011).

Reflection

Consider how the Person-Centred Care Framework can support quality and safety outcomes. Identify three ways in which you can use the Person-Centred Nursing Framework to improve outcomes in your future professional practice setting.