Anthroposophical Nurses Association in New Zealand
The ANANZ (Anthroposophical Nurses Association in New Zealand) was founded in 1993 and currently has approximately 60 nurse members. The Association has a central committee of seven who are confirmed in their roles annually at an Annual General Meeting. We aim for two weekend conferences a year with the themes arising out of current professional issues and how we might approach them from an anthroposophical perspective. The programme sessions incorporate lectures, clinical work, artistic experience, plant and patient study as well as time for clinical and professional discussion. The constant pressures of maintaining competency in work life leave little space, but we all value the time spent and support gained from our ANANZ weekends. We have a register of nurses who are actively working as anthroposophical nurses and who take responsibility for individual peer support and review.
In relationship with our international nursing colleagues, a group of New Zealand Anthroposophical Nurse Specialists gained international accreditation during 2009.
Currently, the inaugural Certificate in Holistic Healthcare is ongoing at Taruna College. The plan is to offer the course again next year in the hope of mustering enough nurse graduate numbers to continue into a 2nd and 3rd year Diploma in Holistic Healthcare (Anthroposophical Nursing Aoteoroa) from 2011.This diploma qualification or its equivalence is a requisite for inclusion on the ANANZ Register of Anthroposophical Nurses.
So, just over 15 years since the Association was founded, we look back on many years of continual working amongst colleagues, networking and building relationships, and articulating and showing through our accompanying and therapies, new possibilities for supporting in health and through illness. Many of us here in New Zealand work steadily to find ways to enable our nursing work within mainstream settings. Currently this is most realised in hospice work, primary health care, community support and through post graduate study.
We have strong connections internationally with our anthroposophical nursing colleagues through IFAN and various individual work done through the Asia-Pacific region and in Great Britain. Current and recent research work has been undertaken by members on such subjects as the ginger kidney compress and spirituality in nursing in this country.
Looking ahead, we continue to work together regionally, nationally and internationally, especially hoping to foster stronger active links with our mainstream colleagues as well as the other Medical Section professional groups. As nurses, we are grateful for the insights gained through Anthroposophy to realise the spiritual in daily practical life. Jean Watson, an eminent nursing scholar, stated it so simply when she said, "Nursing is ultimately a spiritual practice".
Deborah Bednarek
ANANZ co-ordinator
Contact details for the ANANZ are: PO Box 13001, Mahora, Hastings. Ph. 06 844 5412, dbednarek@xtra.co.nz
Click here for membership application
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Read article Nursing the anthroposophical way: Anthroposophical nursing aims to improve life quality and patients' capacity to self-heal
Guidelines for Competent Professional Practice in Anthroposophic Nursing
| 1 | Introduction |
| 1.1 | The International Forum for Anthroposophic Nursing, which represents national professional Anthroposophic nursing organizations worldwide, has adopted these Guidelines in order to articulate the principles of competent nursing practice extended by anthroposophy. |
| 1.2 | Anthroposophic nursing developed with Anthroposophic medicine at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1923, Rudolf Steiner, PhD, and Ita Wegman, MD, established Anthroposophic medicine at the School of Spiritual Science in Dornach, Switzerland. The Medical Section of the School coordinates, develops and documents the worldwide activities in Anthroposophic medicine. Within the Medical Section, the International Forum for Anthroposophic Nursing represents the interests of professional nursing. |
| 1.3 | The basis of Anthroposophic nursing is to know and understand human beings in illness and health and in their natural and social environment. Illness is considered to arise from an imbalance between, and among, functions and forces, and health is the restoration of the physical capacity of integration. |
| 1.4 | The aim with an anthroposophic approach is to encourage patients’ personal responsibility and self-development in illness and in health. Nursing creates space for new opportunities to be brought to realization when illness, disability and death are part of life. |
| 1.5 | Professional Anthroposophic nursing always requires government-approved nursing qualifications. Anthroposophic nurses must therefore meet the national nursing standards in their country of practice. |
| 2 | Guiding Principles of Anthroposophic Nursing |
| 2.1 | The principles for Anthroposophic nursing are in the spirit of the Medical Section of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum, taking into account and recognizing the professional ethics of the International Council of Nurses (ICN). |
| 2.2 | Anthroposophic nurses recognize the connection between the natural world and moral capacities and integrity and take this into account in every instance in clinical practice. They see every human being as a unique spiritual entity in continuous development. |
| 2.3 | Anthroposophic nursing has a scientific basis. Clinical research and knowledge in nursing and therapeutic work has been evolved and developed by experts in Anthroposophic nursing from the 1920’s - originally in collaboration with Dr Ita Wegman. |
| 2.4 | The Anthroposophic nurse: |
| 2.4.1 | is sensitive to the individual in her/his unique social and cultural context and works towards the development of a healthy and supportive environment |
| 2.4.2 | Understands that illness, disability and death have significance in the biography of the individual is well as for the community to which he or she belongs |
| 2.4.3 | Ensures the dignity and freedom of each individual |
| 2.4.4 | Ensures informed consent in relation to the acceptance and provision of nursing services. |
| 2.4.5 | Commits to integrity in every situation |
| 2.4.6 | Understands the scope as well as the limits of her/his knowledge and skills. Collaboration is enabled with colleagues in the best interest of those being supported |
| 2.4.7 | Recognises the challenges and distress of contemporary life and actively considers this in every aspect of life and work |
| 2.4.8 | Considers the impact of nursing interventions on social and ecological systems and aims for a sustainable use of resources |
| 2.4.9 | Understands that humanity is implicated as a main cause of ill health as well as in the destruction of the natural and social environment. As a health professional, the Anthroposophic nurse carries a consciousness and responsibility for care and recovery in the context of this interdependency |
| 2.4.10 | Considers that all life – whether plant, animal or human – is in mutual relationship and interdependent on many levels. As such, all forms of life including genetic material should be protected from use as economic resources subject to exploitation. |
| 3 | Education |
| 3.1 | Education in Anthroposophic nursing follows the successful completion of nursing registration according to the national system and regulations. Programmes consist of a theoretical and a clinical component and involve formal assessment. Courses in Anthroposophic nursing are certified according to Guidelines for Accreditation from the International Anthroposophic Nursing Forum in the Medical Section of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum. |
| 4 | Anthroposophic Nursing Certificate |
| 4.1 | The International Anthroposophic Nursing Forum in the Medical Section of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum will issue an Anthroposophic nursing certificate if the above criteria are met or will endorse certification by an accredited nursing programme. |
| 5 | Continuing education in Anthroposophic nursing |
| 5.1 | Anthroposophic nurses recognize the need for continuing education in both general and Anthroposophic nursing. |
| 5.2 | Further education in Anthroposophic nursing involves both ongoing individual study and critical dialogue and peer review with colleagues. |
| 5.3 | Active mutually supportive collegial relationships enable mentoring, sharing and deepening of knowledge and practice. There is an inherent individual and collective responsibility to the accountable activity of Anthroposophic nursing within these Guidelines. |
| 6 | Professional framework |
| 6.1 | The professional framework of an Anthroposophic nurse is defined mainly by his or her professional qualification and possible specialization(s) and within each country’s guidelines for practice. |
| 6.2 | Anthroposophic nurses help those in need of care to understand their life situation when unwell or disabled and to manage it in a way that is appropriate for them. In particular they will support individuals to discover the potential for change and transformation inherent in the illness or disability and to bring this to realisation. |
| 6.3 | Anthroposophic nurses work on the basis of Anthroposophic medicine and its view of the human being and of illness. Education in Anthroposophic nursing provides practical experience with Anthroposophic medicines and therapies. These enable collaboration at a deeper level with health professionals in the field of Anthroposophic medicine. |
| 6.4 | Anthroposophic nurses actively contribute their perspective and expertise in the therapeutic team. This broadens insight into the significance which illness, suffering and therapy have for patients in their particular sphere of life. |
| 7 | Conclusion |
| 7.1 | These professional guidelines represent the minimum requirement for competent Anthroposophic nursing practice. They must be adapted to the evolving professional identity and an acute understanding of contemporary issues. |
| 7.2 | These Guidelines were adopted by the International Anthroposophic Nursing Forum in the Medical Section of the School of Spiritual Science and the currently existing national Anthroposophic nursing organizations world-wide on 17th September 2008. |
| International Forum for Anthroposophic Nursing in the Medical Section of the School for Spiritual Science, Goetheanum Dornach, 17th September 2008 |
| Signed;
Rolf Heine: Coordinator of the IFAN VfAP |
Ginger Compress
A research study is currently in progress in New Zealand and Australia involving five anthroposophical doctors, nine anthroposophical nurses and ten participants with osteoarthritis who are receiving a series of ginger compress treatments. The ginger compress is reputed to have universal application due to its warming qualities which lead to a corresponding relaxation and strengthening in both the physical and emotional bodies.
This is a PhD study, which began earlier this year with a trip to traditional clinics in China as well as European anthroposophical hospitals. Following is a brief picture of the external use of root ginger in both the East and West.
The ginger compress is an ancient Chinese folk medicine, which is still used today in the homes of the people of Guangzhou (Cantonese) to warm the body and relieve the pain of aching joints and muscles. A Chinese publication, (Xinangcai 1998), describes the uses of ginger root, as a ginger compress, as well as with moxibustion (a slow burning herbal stick) or in combination with other herbs, for a number of diseases such as asthma, indigestion, diarrhoea, arthritis and poor circulation. Today, the external application of ginger is a routine treatment in traditional Chinese medicine clinics in Guangdong and Foshan Hospitals in Guangzhou in China. It is used for cold illnesses such as certain types of arthritis and for chronic bronchial asthma. Ginger likely made its way from the East into Southern Europe via Arab traders before the rise of the Roman Empire.
Four hospitals in Germany, specialising in anthroposophical medicine and nursing, were visited. Each hospital utilises the external application of a ginger compress as a regular treatment . The ginger compress is used in Herdecke Community Hospital primarily for pneumonia and psychiatric conditions. This hospital of approximately 500 patients was founded by Dr Gerhard Kienle, with a research focus on all aspects of complementary healthcare especially the anthroposophical approach. It was here, in the early 1970's, that three nursing educators, Dorthe Krause, Waltraud Marschke and Christa Spranger, studied and experimented on themselves using the natural healing methods of German folk medicine, which included the ginger compress. Initially ginger was used externally to bring warmth to the organs especially the liver; further research showed it was beneficial for emotional and psychiatric conditions.
The Filderklinik is also a community hospital, like Herdecke, with about 220 patients. Here, in the early 1990's, a comprehensive research of the ginger compress on hundreds of staff and patients was completed (Schurholz et al. 1992/2002). This study was referred to at all the clinics I visited, as the basis for the use of ginger compresses today. The ginger compress is used at the Filderklinik to activate the warmth organism; for example it is especially significant for the "cold" auto-immune illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer as well as chronic lung infections.
The Paracelsus Krankenhaus is a private clinic of about 70 patients; half of whom receive the ginger compress each day for such conditions as exhaustion, anorexia, depression or nervous breakdown, arthritic conditions and bronchial lung conditions. Doctor Mathias Sauer, the head doctor, said that patients come to this clinic for the external applications; this is a modern day treatment that challenges people's consciousness. Today there is often a disconnection between the higher spiritual being and the physical body as seen in the rheumatic conditions and autoimmune illnesses when the person often is unaware of their extremely cold body.
The Friedrick Husemann Klinik is a private psychiatric clinic funded by the state to care for about 103 people. Patients receive a ginger compress to the kidney region for conditions where there are signs of emotional kidney involvement; such as schizophrenia, psychotic and manic disturbances, depression and agitation or tension. Most appreciate the compress; they feel less restless and angry, warmer and calmer and more enthusiastic about being involved in the day's activities. Dr Koehler, the head psychiatrist, said the ginger compress had been found effective at the clinic for decades.
The effect of the ginger compress on the human body is somewhat like arnica, it has the ability to reconnect the higher organisations to the physical body. Ginger has the tendency to strengthen the connection with the spirit and soul by regulating and strengthening the metabolic system, while arnica does the same for the nerve sense system. We become ill when the soul and spirit are weakly incarnated and the life body is subsequently very vulnerable. The dynamic of warmth is activated in the physical body by a ginger compress. It typically stimulates activity in the physical body, and interest and enthusiasm in the emotional body, of the person receiving it; leading to the possibility of movement and subsequent change. There is a ‘conversation' between the warmth of the ginger and the warmth of the person; the warmth quality of the ginger is subtle, and the person needs to meet this and find their own warmth organisation.
Ginger is grown in the warm, moist Eastern countries and is used there to stimulate warmth activity where there is pain, cold and tension in the body, while in the West it is additionally used to strengthen the soul and spiritual being of people. The profound difference in understanding between the Eastern approach of traditional Chinese medicine and anthroposophical medical consciousness in the West was highlighted on this trip. It seemed as though health is a process of considering the balance between the understandings of both. (Steiner 1924/1948; 1927/1983)
Tessa Therkleson
References
Schurholz, J., Vogele, M., Heine, R., Muck, H., Sauer, M., Simon, L., et al. (1992/2002). Study of the external application of ginger. Lower Hutt, New Zealand: Rato Health.
Steiner, R. (1924/1948). Spiritual science and medicine. London: Rudolf Steiner Press.
Steiner, R. (1927/1983). The tension between the east and west. New York: Anthroposophic Press.
Xinangcai, X. (1998). Complete external therapies of chinese drugs. Beijing, Peoples Republic of China: Foreign Languages Press.