title: Improvisation and the art of holistic nursing.
abstract: The art of improvisation is an essential component of responding on the front lines of caring. Improvisation expresses the nurse's capacity to perceive the changing patterns of patients and their environments in ways that foster creative and innovative approaches to meeting healthcare needs. Many holistic nurses across the country are working on the front lines of caring, improvising and implementing projects to create change within their communities. This article examines improvisation within the context of the art and science of nursing, and proposes that improvisation reflects qualities within holistic nursing that are essential in contemporary health care.
authors.affiliation: Therapeutic Touch Internatinal Associates and Therapeutic Touch DIalogues, Inc.
authors.forename: Mary Anne
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hanley
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing in Galveston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Mary V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Fenton
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003405:Creativity; D004645:Empathy; D018939:Holistic Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research