Are you a Healer?

The word “healer” triggers many different things to many different individuals. For some, when they hear healer, they envision an aged wisewoman or man who provides a mix of folk remedies and herbal concoctions, along with spiritual ceremonies to help and heal individuals. Some envision their yoga instructor, while others may envision their message therapist; alternative medicine practitioner, or therapist. ⠀⠀⠀

Whatever the word “healer” invokes, I think that “healers” and “healing” have a role to play in modern healthcare and society in general. But, what is a healer? ⠀⠀

The Oxford dictionary defines a healer as “a person who claims to be able to cure a disease or injury using special powers”. It also gives additional definitions as ⠀⠀⠀

* a person or thing that mends or repairs something.⠀⠀

* something that alleviates a person's distress or anguish.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Although most modern healthcare professionals don’t claim to mend and treat people using “special powers”, it’s clear that being a healer, is often associated with more than helping someone physically or ridding people of a malady. ⠀⠀⠀

Personally, I consider myself both a clinician and a healer. I see the value in and regularly use both science and the art of healing. Nursing has always been a blend of the physical, biological, and social sciences, but it is roots rest in traditional concepts of care and healing. In our everyday practice, us nurses (and other healthcare professionals)use the concepts of holistic health to achieve optimal health and recovery for our patients. ⠀⠀⠀

What do you consider yourself? Clinician? Healer? Both? ⠀⠀⠀

I think that the vast majority of healthcare professionals I know are a mix of both. Some more towards one side than the other, some half and half. I think we need both clinicians and helpers. We need more healthcare personnel who are both, as we move forward in time. There is value in traditional concepts of health and healing, that we have a responsibility, in my opinion, to guard, honor, and bring forward. ⠀⠀⠀

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