Our Mission Statement
To support the practice of holistic nursing across Canada by: acting as a body of knowledge for its practitioners, by advocating with policy makers and provincial regulatory bodies and by educating Canadians on the benefits of complementary and integrative health care
Our Vision
Complementary and integrative health care are incorporated into all aspects of nursing and the patient care experience within the Canadian health care system
Our Story
The Canadian Holistic nurses Association was started in 1986 by a group of nurses from British Columbia, Canada. They began as a special interest group of the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia. The group applied to the Canadian Nurses’ Association and was granted Special interest Group Status in 1986. For many years, the CHNA offered a nursing specialization course related to holistic nursing practice developed by Dr. Ruth Lamb and Dr. Barbara Dobbie. Dr Dobie continued to run this specialization course for nurses until 2014 and Dr. Ruth Lamb changed positions and began to work for Langara College.
Once at Langara College Ruth developed the course into the Advanced Integrative Energy Healing Certificate Program offered through Langara College since 1998 until the present time.
The CHNA ran successfully for many years. In 2014, a strategic assessment for the special interest group was conducted. Through this strategic planning process, the group of 100 members determined a new Mission and Vision for the group along with numerous plans for the future activities of the group.