Holistic Care is the idea of caring for the patient as a whole. That means you have to call the patients by name, use eye contact with the patient, ask the patient how they are feeling and listen to him or her, smile and laugh when appropriate, use therapeutic touch to direct their energy field to heal them and alleviate their ailments, help patients see themselves worthy of respect, respect the patients and their boundaries, teach your patients self-care, ask your patients how to reduce their anxiety or self-pain, and ask if patients have spiritual, cultural, or religious beliefs.
1. Know the patients and call them by name
It’s a good idea to call the patient by his or her name because it shows that you care enough about their well-being to do so. And you will be able to engage in good conversation with your patient and not depend on saying “you” all the time to them. And it’s a good way to treat your patient with respect, the same way that you would like to be treated if you were the patient.
2. Use eye contact with patients
Using eye-contact with patients shows that you are focused and that you are paying attention to them. If you don’t use eye-contact, you give the appearance of being distracted by something else, and that’s really rude to the patient, which can really hurt the patient’s feelings if you do give off that kind of impression. So always use eye contact with patients to let patients know that you care about what they say and what they do.
3. Ask a patient how they are feeling
Asking them how they feel will help you and the patient feel closer to one another and it makes the patient feel valued and appreciative. It would help the patient feel better if what they are feeling is sadness, loneliness, anger, or whatever it is that gets them down in the dumps. The point is, it’s nice to have someone to talk to about how you feel and asking your patient how they feel is a great way for him or her to vent because holding onto negative emotions isn’t healthy for anyone.
4. Smile and laugh when appropriate
Smiling and laughing when appropriate is contagious, the patient might smile and laugh along with you. Also, the patient might feel like they are listened to and they might feel like they are in good company with you. Feeling happy would also help the patient feel better physically as well and help them respond better to their treatments and to everyday living.
5. Use therapeutic touch
When you use therapeutic touch, you try to direct the patient’s energy by interacting with their energy field with the goal of trying to help or heal the patient. Always tell the patient what therapeutic touch is to let them know what it is and to gain their consent and to give them respect in that way.
6. Help patients see themselves as someone worthy of respect
Patients are entitled to human rights as everyone else on this planet so they, too, are worthy of respect. So, one way to help patients to see themselves as someone worthy of respect is by telling them, daily, that they are worthy of respect and by treating them with respect. Everyone is worthy of respect so don’t let your patient believe that he or she isn’t worthy of respect for even a second.
7. Treat patients with respect
Always treat everyone with respect, especially with your patients. Treating your patients with respect will make your patients feel good about themselves and about you. Also, you will feel good about treating your patient with respect since you’ll know you are making some good in the world by doing so.
8. Teach your patients self-care
Teach your patients how to cook, dress, make their bed, bathe, etc., so that they can live on their own someday, learn to be independent, and to gain some self-confidence. One day, some of your patients might be cured, and they might be living on their own, and some of them might not know how to live on their own for a plethora of reasons. Therefore, it’s up to you to show them how they can take care of themselves when they do strike out on their own.
9. Ask the patient if you can help reduce the patient’s anxiety or pain
Your patients might need help reducing their anxieties or their pain, but you should ask them first out of respect for them and their boundaries. The patient would gladly appreciate it if you would respect them because they wouldn’t like it if you did something without saying something to the patient first. Also, after the patient consents to it, the patient will be happy that you would alleviate any pain or anxiety that they may have upon their request.
10. Ask if patients have spiritual, cultural, or religious beliefs; respect their beliefs if they do and be sensitive about it
Accept your patients spiritual, cultural or religious beliefs. If your medical treatments go against their beliefs, suggest an alternative treatment. Everyone believes in different things, and we all come from different cultural, spiritual, and/or religious backgrounds and upbringings. So, we all have to respect each other’s beliefs because not everything is the same, everyone is different, beliefs are different, and we all have to accept that and respect each other regardless of our belief systems because, in the end, we’re all still human and you still have a duty to take care of and respect your own patients, no matter what.
The Verdict
Overall, patients should be treated with respect like everyone else. Treat them kindly and help them reduce their pain and anxiety in any way you can. That means you have to call the patients by name, use eye contact with the patient, ask the patient how they are feeling and listen to him or her, smile and laugh when appropriate, use therapeutic touch to direct their energy field to heal them and alleviate their ailments, help patients see themselves worthy of respect, respect the patients and their boundaries, teach your patients self-care, ask your patients how to reduce their anxiety or self-pain, and ask if patients have spiritual, cultural, or religious beliefs.
