Journey to Holism

Abstract

The journey to holism is the result of a grounded theory study of 18 members of the American Holistic Nurses’ Association. Participants were prompted to “Tell me about holistic nursing” and replies revealed a seven-step process to becoming a holistic nurse. The process is an expansion of Van Gennep’s three-stage theory of rites of passage, which involves separation, marginality/liminality, and reintegration. The expanded process begins with separation from mainstream nursing and concludes with reintegration into nursing as a holistic nurse. The marginality/liminality step shows five active steps: gathering information to quell the distress of the separation, applying that information to others, changing focus to self-care, applying the information to self, and increasing self-knowledge. This article describes the process and presents data to support the conclusion that the growth of a holistic nurse follows a recognizable course.