Using essential oils to enhance nursing practice and for self-care.

With the growing popularity of integrative medicine, essential oils have found their way back into healthcare. Essential oils provide a simple way to alleviate certain physical symptoms, promote emotional well-being, and provide comfort. This article discusses the administration and common uses of essential oils; their reported benefits, potential risks, and contraindications; and the current state of associated research.

Using Essential Oils to Enhance Nursing Practice and for Self-Care.

With the growing popularity of integrative medicine, essential oils have found their way back into health care. Essential oils provide a simple way to alleviate certain physical symptoms, promote emotional well-being, and provide comfort. This article, the last in a five-part series on holistic nursing, discusses the administration and common uses of essential oils; their reported benefits, potential risks, and contraindications; and the current state of associated research.

CE: Integrative Care: The Evolving Landscape in American Hospitals.

As the use of complementary and alternative medicine-CAM-has surged in popularity in the United States, many hospitals have begun integrating complementary services and therapies to augment conventional medical care. In this article, the first in a five-part series that will examine various aspects of holistic nursing and forms of complementary care currently in use, the authors provide an overview of some of the integrative care initiatives being introduced in hospitals throughout the United States and report on findings from a survey they conducted of nursing leaders at hospitals that have implemented integrative care programs.