Hi, my name is
Kim Watson, an emergency department nurse and a holistic practitioner here in
Ontario. Welcome to my first blog post. When the PRIM Executive asked me to be
a blogger, I jumped at the chance! This is where my passion lies; I have a
vision for an Integrative Healthcare focus for Canadians. I know it is the next
best thing that will happen to help transform healthcare in Canada! I advocate
for an integrative system, not an alternative to the conventional medical
system; one which is open to a holistic approach that looks at each of us as
individuals to meet our needs on our path to wellness (as a physical, mental,
emotional, spiritual & social being) while utilizing our present system at
its best.
First a little
about me: I have been a Registered Nurse since 1976; yes 38 years this year. I
presently work in an Emergency Trauma Unit in Windsor, Ontario. I am also a
Holistic Practitioner who provides biofield therapies, which are better known
as energy work. I am a Reiki Master, Healing Touch (Level V) and Therapeutic
Touch (Level II) practitioner; and I have taken other courses in this field of
care such as Medical Intuition and Sacred Geometry. In 2001, I took my first
formal course, though this ‘other world’ approach to care has been something in
my life since I was a child. Presently I am the President of the RNAO-CTNIG
(Registered Nurses Association of Ontario’s Complementary Therapies Nurses’
Interest Group), and the Ontario Representative of the CHNA (Canadian Holistic
Nurses Association); as well I am a member of many other professional
associations that represent various aspects of an integrative healthcare
approach, like the AHNA (American Holistic Nurses Association).
One of my first
memories is of my Grandmother, better known as Baba, using her garden as her
medicine chest. One example of her gift of healing was with the use of nature
when I was eight, just before we moved to Montreal. My parents had gone ahead
to find a place to live and we stayed on my grandparent’s farm. Well I must
have slept wrong and found my neck stiff and my head was almost lying on my
shoulder. My mother told my Baba to take me to the doctor and not do any of her
own stuff. The doctor gave me a prescription for pills that I took faithfully
for 3 days with no relief. Baba finally was fed up with my crooked head and
moans, and cooked up this awful smelling mixture of things from her garden. She
applied it as a poultice to my neck. In less than 30 minutes I had complete
relief! I was so pleased that I could even forgive the horrendous smell – my
neck was healed! I thought my Baba was a bit of a good witch, she had magic
that really worked! Well, when I worked at the Hospital for Sick Children in
the 70’s-80’s, I can remember making up similar poultices as my Baba made which
had been ordered by our physicians on the Isolation Unit; we had a small burner
in our medication room to cook the concoctions frequently used with abscesses
or skin conditions. I recently spoke with a nurse who currently works there,
and yes, they still have the stove!
Well, like Horton in Dr. Seuss’ book ‘Horton Hears A
WHO,’ Watson hears a WHO! I am hearing the cries of many that are ignored
within our healthcare system. Over the last few decades, I have heard the
increasing cry for the use of complementary therapies in care, not only by the
patient and their families, but also from the nurse. I have witnessed an
increase in the number of patients who are seeking out and experiencing various
types of complementary therapies, herbs and vitamins or treatments as part of
their healthcare due to reported benefits from their use, and frustration with
the outcomes of our current conventional care. According to the Fraser
Institute (2007), nearly three-quarters of Canadians (74%) had used at least
one complementary therapy at some time in their life; and more than one-half
(54%) reported using one within the last year. In 1996, the College of Nurses
of Ontario published its first practice guideline to help guide nurses to
determine when and whether it is appropriate to incorporate complementary
therapies into their nursing practice; and to provide guidance as they
collaborate with their clients/patients to help them to make decisions about
their use. With our neighbours to the south (USA), a holistic approach and use
of complementary therapies is rapidly gaining strength through integration
within many acute care protocols, programs, and pathways. I figure we are about
12-15 years behind many places in the states. Multiple professional
associations have been established and are networking through practice and
research, like the TTNO ~ Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario and/or IN-CAM,
known as the Canadian Interdisciplinary Network for Complementary and Alternative
Therapy that helps to conduct research and share their findings.
As we move forward into a new ‘consciousness’ we must
be ready to lead and be led in this new approach to care. Open your mind to
how, where and what we must do to do so, learn more about this holistic
approach to integrative healthcare with my blog posts; listen carefully and see
if you too can hear a ‘WHO.’ My posts will discuss a variety of topics along
this line, such as my vision for the use of complementary therapies as an open
of care and the role we all can play in making this a reality. I will also share some of my stories whether
it is on the healing work I have done, or to perhaps discuss formal work I have
done like a RNAO Advanced Clinical Practice Fellowship on “The Introduction and
Integration of Complementary Therapy in Acute Care” (August 2009 – February
2010), or perhaps I will point out some currently released research, or a good
book!
So stay tuned in, and I guarantee you, the ride may be
a bit bumpy, though it will be fun!
Blessings, in love and in light, Namasté, Kim
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