1. Aromatherapy Program Educational Video for Staff 2015
North Valley Hospital
Aromatherapy Program
Educational Video for Staff
2015

2. Acknowledgements Content for this presentation from:
DVD: Aromatherapy Basics Ashland Community Hospital Comfort Care & Essential 3 Aromatherapy (
For questions, contact Loni Conley or Kelli Avanzino

3. Objectives Define aromatherapy Understand what an essential oil is
Standards for use in the hospital environment (amenities, diffusers, comfort)
Basic safety information
True or false”

4. What is Aromatherapy? Aromatherapy:
“Uses the essential oils of aromatic plants and trees
to promote health of body and serenity of mind.”
Chrissie Wildwood from The Encyclopedia of Aromatherapy

5. Properties of Essential Oils
Are stored in different parts of plants.
Evaporate readily into the air.
Purify the air and decrease odors associated with illness.
Have many health benefits including being calming to the patient, which aids the healing process.
Frankincense resin

6. Precautions
Avoid excess – adding more of an oil does not increase its effectiveness. Use only what is recommended in hospital policy & procedures. Less is more.
Peppermint – Do not use on children under 3 years of age or lactating women.
Lemon is a skin irritant- can remove surface layers of the skin.

7. NVH Policy & Procedure
Can be found on the Intranet under Policies & Procedures in the Planetree folder.
First Aid is contained within the policy.
Essential oils should only be used in the capacity they are intended for in the policy.

8. Aromatherapy As… An Amenity… Can be offered by staff or volunteers
Apply 1-3 drops of select oils (lavender, peppermint, or wild orange) to cotton ball placed at the bedside for inhalation only.
Instruct patient not to directly touch the cotton ball.

9. Aromatherapy As… An Amenity… Can be offered by staff or volunteers
A lavender infused warm or cold wash cloth should be offered to patients on a daily basis.
See Aromatherapy Policy for description of washcloth preparation.

10. Aromatherapy for… Creating a Healing Environment
Can be diffused in public areas
Use only approved diffusers per manufacturer recommendations
Only a select few oils for use in diffusers:
lavender, orange, lemon

11. Aromatherapy As A… Nursing Intervention
Can only be offered by staff with an RN license who have completed the one hour DVD video and test.
DVD can be checked out from Loni Conley, Director of Med/Surg/SCU. After watching the DVD complete the test on Healthstream.

12. Aromatherapy As A… Nursing Intervention
Ask the patient if they want to use aromatherapy
Help the patient choose the most appropriate essential oil based on their nursing diagnosis
Educate the patient per the policy
Apply 1-3 drops to cotton ball at bedside for inhalation only (do not apply to patient’s skin)
Document in Care Plan the use and outcome
Frankincense, bergamot, lemon, lavender, peppermint,
ginger, Roman chamomile, Wild Orange

13. Important points
Aromatherapy is the NOT the use of fragrance for therapeutic purposes.
Fragrances can contain natural essences as well as synthetic chemicals that can be irritating to sensitive individuals.
It is important and necessary to obtain a patient’s permission prior to using essential oils as a nursing intervention.
Aromatherapy as a nursing intervention needs to be documented on the patient’s care plan.

14. First Aid
If an oil gets on the skin or in the eyes it can cause irritation. To remove from skin or eye, use vegetable oil, located wherever the essential oils are kept.
Do NOT use water, because it will cause the oil droplets to disperse and cause more irritation.
All of this information can be found on the Intranet under Policies & Procedures in the Planetree folder.

15. First Aid
Refer to MSDS sheets for each oil located on the Intranet below the green menu bar.
Skin: Put vegetable oil on a cotton ball or tissue, remove from the skin, then wash with soap and water.
Eye: Put vegetable oil on a cotton swab and put the Q-tip up to the outer edge of the eye and it will wick the oil out of the eye.
Spills: Clean and contain quickly.
If it is spilled on the floor, contain it, as the aroma might be irritating to staff and patients.