Page 10 - ESSENTIAL OIL THERAPY MANUAL

Essential Oils and Nursing Practice
The implementation of complimentary therapy into the care plan of any patient is often accompanied by many questions. In order to answer some of these questions, a summary of available resources is included here.
The CNO defines complimentary therapies as “therapies [that] are used to complement conventional health care practices. They include a wide range of treatment modalities, such as herbal therapies and manual healing, such as reflexology and acupuncture” (CNO, 2014). This definition includes the practice of therapy through the use of essential oils. Essential oils are best administered through nasal inhalation or topically. This route of administration ensures the greatest control over dosage and unintentional spread to other residents for whom that particular essential oil could be dangerous. Under no circumstances do we advocate or promote the use of essential oil ingestion.
The Regulated Health Professionals Act (RHPA), 1991 is a set of controlled or authorized acts related to each regulated health professional. The RHPA (1991) states that controlled acts are “...acts that could cause harm if performed by those who do not have the knowledge, skill and judgment to perform them”. Due to the route of administration , knowledge, skill and judgment as well as the potential for harm, essential oil therapy is a controlled act.
Authorizing Mechanisms “... provide nurses with the authority to implement treatment plans and protocols. Choosing the appropriate authorizing mechanism depends on the nurse’s category or class, role and practice setting” (CNO, Authorizing Mechanisms, 2020). To independently initiate essential oil therapy , the nurse must decide independently that a specific procedure is required, in this case essential oil therapy. They can then initiate therapy in the absence of a specific order or directive from an authorizing professional. The CNO states that when a nurse initiates a controlled act they must: “...assess the client and identify the problem; consider all of the available options to address the problem; weigh the risks and benefits of each option considering
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