[Holistic nursing--do nurses take on too much?].

The idea of holism is a central topic of contemporary nursing. This article at first reconstructs the historical background of holistic scientific thinking. For the recent nursing science and practice four divergent holistic concepts are identified: 1. the theory of the unitary human being by Martha Rogers; 2. the holistic therapeutical practice of nurses in the United States; 3. the biopsychosocial model many conceptual models of nursing are based on; 4. the holistic organization of nursing. By analysing the interaction between nurse and patient and by comparing the professional and the domestic organization of care it is argued that holistic nursing is theoretically as well as practically impossible. In order to prevent overtaxing due to holistic claims of nursing theory the limits of nursing practice have to be shown unambiguously.