title: Becoming whole: the role of story for healing.
abstract: This paper explores the role of story for healing. Specifically, this paper describes story and healing in cultural or whole medical systems, including Latino/Hispanic traditions, Native American/Indigenous traditions, and Homeopathy. In addition, the authors provide a brief overview of story and healing in the nursing and medical literature, and evaluate the value of story in our current practice as holistic nurses. It is important for the holistic nurse to be aware of the role of stories for healing in diverse systems of healthcare. This awareness can help bridge the knowledge gap between cultural or whole medical systems and Western Medicine, thus optimizing the healing environment for the patient, nurse, and other providers of care.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0203, USA. jreich@nursing.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reich
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Michaels
mesh_terms: D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006694:Holistic Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D018939:Holistic Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006705:Homeopathy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods