Holistic Professional Education of the Healthcare Team: Person-centered Approach in a New Ecuadorian Nursing School

Healthcare services are evolving towards the consideration of comprehensive models of the human being. This is consistent with the definition of health as the state of complete “physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, as affirmed in the Constitution of the World Health Organization. Also pertinent in the educational programs of health professionals are the concepts formulated by De Sousa in his work, “El Arte de Cambiar las Personas que Cambian las Cosas” (The Art of Changing People who Change Things). His recommendations promote a comprehensive training of the healthcare team, with a vision of training the best talented individuals to serve as health-care professionals. Imbued with these viewpoints, the Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja is developing a new School of Nursing with a humanistic vision. The proposal is designed to reflect key tenets of person-centered care, including interaction with the community, collaboration between the nurse and the doctor and with others members of the healthcare team. The focus is on the patient, including self-care and the participation of family members in order to achieve the desired outcomes. The proposed educational methodology promotes the cultivation of self-esteem as a cross-cutting issue. This contributes to a paradigmatic shift towards total personal development and humane and social professional practice.