Kate Shelest

Kate Shelest, RN, BSN, MA-Integral Health, CCHNC, AIEHP

CIINDE Certified Holistic Nurse, Nurse Coach & Consultant
 
Student Advisor | Holistic Nursing Educator
 
A Registered Nurse in British Columbia for 39 years, Kate is a CIINDE Certified Holistic Nurse Coach/Consultant (Cohort 5) and Student Advisor.She has been actively involved with the Canadian Holistic Nurses Association, serving as President from 2019 to 2024. She considers it an honour and privilege to mentor her colleagues and students in holistic nursing concepts, including supporting them in their own holistic self-care. Along with her work at TheCIINDE her past teaching experience includes five years with Langara College’s Advanced Integrative Energy Healing Program©. As a previous graduate of this program, Kate experienced the power of holistic practice while working with a broad range of students and clients.

After many years as a nurse in the allopathic system, Kate began exploring energy work and consciousness, driven by curiosity about the spiritual and energetic aspects of ‘Self.’These concepts are supported by holistic nurse theorist Margaret Newman’s work and Sri Aurobindo’s theory of consciousness evolution. The question arose: how can holistic concepts be applied within nursing practice? This was answered through her MA-Integral Health, which was key to viewing this all through the nursing lens. Her thesis, The Conscious Nurse Project, demonstrated a holistic approach to self-care based on the nursing process model.

Kate’s independent nursing practice, Synapse Integral Health Inc., is founded on the nursing process and professional standards and is further supported by her deep interest in integral theory and research. Her passion for coaching nurses and other health professionals to develop holistic self-care is shared with all of her clients.

Currently, Kate resides in the shadow of the Golden Ears Mountains, on the ancestral, occupied, and unceded lands of the Kwantlen and Katzie First Nations. She finds joy in gardening and is blessed to be surrounded by many wild animals and birds. She also has a passion for horses and cherishes the time she spends with her quarter horse, Kenny.

The paradigm of holistic nursing is growing stronger. It’s Kate’s hope and belief that through organizations such as TheCIINDE and the CHNA, the Canadian health care system will come to embrace holistic nursing as valid and valuable. Her goal is to continue to mentor colleagues and educate the public about the benefits of a combined physical, emotional, mental and spiritual approach to wellness.

"My ultimate hope in all of this is that holistic nursing theory and practice will be embraced and integrated into nursing education in Canada, and that my colleagues will benefit from holistic support for themselves through coaching and self-care."  

Senior Instructor