The Art of Healing – Core Values and Goals of Medicine, Nursing and Healthcare

Healthcare professionals such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and other caregivers including traditional healers share a remarkable calling i.e. healing.While the human body has an innate capacity for self-repair, the process can be aided by practitioners skilled in the art of healing.This art rests upon core values of kindness, compassion, and a desire to help others.Healers respect the patient as a person.Certain essential skills are needed to render this craft.The journey towards becoming a healer begins with learning.Sustained by a spark of curiosity, the apprentice never stops acquiring knowledge.Lifelong learning is the hallmark of a true professional.No external forces such as licensure or recertification are needed to compel the healer to read.Self-directed learning comes from a desire to provide best possible care.Treatments and tests are chosen from carefully conducted research.Clinical decisions should not be based on personal opinions, anecdotal experience, case reports or chart reviews without control groups.Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials can keep us from repeating the tragic history of medicine.Shunning bizarre and brutal 'remedies', such as bloodletting, we now seek treatments that are proven effective and safe.