J Nurs Acad Soc.  1993 Mar;23(1):118-129.

A Literature Review for Approach of Oriental Nursing

• Kang HS

Abstract

In order to approach the nursing care of clients who are using oriental medicine and to understand the perception of the client who uses oriental medicine practices and the need to develop a model of nursing related to oriental medicine it is important to examine the major nursing concepts as they are found in oriental medicine and as they are differently defined according to the basic thought, theory and philosophical perspectives between East and West. Oriental medicine developed based on Sung Confucianism; the teachings of Chu-tzu, especially Tai-Chi-Tu Shuo and energy thought which are similar to traditional Korean Sasang Constitutional medicine. The basic theory on which oriental medicine is build is the theory of the five elements of Yin/Eum-Yang Theory (cosmic dual forces) and Meridian Theory. The most important attribute of Yin Yang is the concept of duality, confrontation and dependence, within Yin Yang but which do not exist separately. That is, the universe is a vast, indivisible entity within which all things exist in harmonious interdependence and balance. Harmony is achieved only when the two primorial forces, Yin and Yang, are brought into perfect balance. Each is contained within the other and there is a continuing interchange between the two. This also applies to the human body including human health which is defined as balanced harmony. The most universal connection of Yin and Yang is found in the universe where the five elements of life, fire, water, earth, wood and metal can be explained as having either Yin or Yang and thererfore being in a state of connectedness but systematically circulating between the two, that is essentalilly one (the control of the unified) or as co-existant poles of individual wholes (the pluralism of Yin Yang Theory) so that it is all unified (balanced) in the Great Absoulte. Human beings also maintain a balance of Yin and Yang in the five elements and this relationship is very important in. approaching oriental medicine. The meridians are the channels in the body through which the life force flow throughout the body. In oriental medicine the meridians are seen as the railroad, the acupuncture points on the meridians as the stations and energy as the train. In the normal healthy organism, all are maintained in balance and in a contiuous circulation of energy. Illness is the result of the enrgy flow becoming disarranged. Although practitioners of oriental medicine approach the client differently than do practitioners of Western medicine and their method of examining the patient is different, the basic objectives of the examination are the same for practitioners of both types of medicine. Therefore if each could be used to supplement the deficncies in the other and achieve a harmonious cooperation between the two, a higher level of care which is culturally appropriate to korean culture could be achieved. The traditional korean concept of health is a naturalistic view which emphasizes being in harmony with nature. Any manifestation of disease is considered a sign that the body is in a state of disequilibrium and is thus no longer in harmony with the universe. The wholistic view of the world held by practitioners of oriental medicine can be used by nursing in the development of a world view of nursing in which the human being is seen within the macrocosm as part of the natural phenomenon of the universe and but also as a microcosm of the universe, a universe which is a vast and indivisible entity within which all things exist in harmonious interdependence and balance. Interaction between human beings and their environment and the relationship of this interaction to health are concepts that are also found in nursing. Nursing views human beings, not as an accumulation of separate cells and organs but, as unified wholes interacted in very close relationship with their environment. Nursing also maintains a view of human beings in which emphasis is placed on the role of the mind in explaining the concepts of harmony and balance in health. Although there are differences between oriental medicine and nursing in approaches to clients, the basic point of view and philosophy have many fundamental similarites. An understanding of the basic thought and philosophy of oriental medicine if applied to nursing, would allow for the development, not only of nursing related to oriental medicine, but of a nursing theory appropriate to the korean context.

MeSH Terms

Acupuncture Points
Confucianism
Cultural Diversity
Fires
Human Body
Humans
Medicine, East Asian Traditional
Meridians
Nursing Care
Nursing Theory
Nursing*
Philosophy
Railroads
Wood
Yin-Yang