Jehovah's Witness nurses in the critical care unit?

[asdf88]

Hello

This is my first time posting a thread. I was just wondering if anyone is or knows of a Jehovah's Witness nurse who works in a critical care unit. Also if you dont mind can you tell me at which hospital? The reason I am asking is that I am also one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I just passed my NCLEX. Yay I really want to work in the critical care unit, specifically the CCU. However, when I explained to the supervisor of the ICU/CCU about the issue with the blood transfusion, she said she couldnt hire me on to the critical care unit. Yes, this hospital is offering critical care positions to new grads. I was really devastated because i wanted to really work in the CCU. So I was wondering if it's the same for other hospitals. I explained to the supervisor that I am willing to care for the patient who is receiving the blood transfusion, but that I would need a second nurse(most likely the nurse who would be verifying the blood with me) to spike the blood and press the start button. I do understand why the critical care environment may not want to have a nurse who cannot initiate the blood transfusion. So I was just wondering if I do not have a chance at all in a critical care unit. For now I am orienting in the med-surg floor and I still have lingering feelings for the critical care unit.

Thank You

[SummitRN, BSN, RN]

If you are religiously opposed to the very basic duties your job requires, then you need to find another job instead of asking other people to do your job for you.

It's not discrimination. You knew the deal up front. Find a nursing job that doesn't conflict with your religion.

[Guest233447]

Learn something new everyday as the saying goes. I had no idea that JW's were opposed to hanging blood - I thought the prohibition against blood products had to do with "receiving" not "giving".

Odd choice of a line of work IMHO given those prohibitions.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

There are at least two JW RNs in the SICU where I work. They administer, draw and clean up blood all the time. I didn't even relaize there was a religious problem with giving blood. I have never hear eithere one mention any problem.

[CNA2day]

Wow I find this entire post odd...

If you are a nurse and it is required of you to deal with blood/push a button/ clean a dead person or whatever it is.... you do it! It does not matter your reasoning behind why you do not want to... I personally would not care.

I might do it for you if I had time and I knew it bothered you, but flat out "not being able to do it" because of a personal choice to me would be unacceptable, especially in an emergency situation. To me you can make that choice in your home life but not your work life.

I frankly do not care what your reasoning is if you are physically unable to do it that would be different but a religious belief is a personal choice and you can not sacrifice patient care over a personal belief/choice. What about the patient who is not of the same belief as you and wants that blood? Would you sacrifice their life because of your own beliefs by not pushing a button if you needed to? If so then nursing is the wrong spot for you. When would you draw the line and say that you would not work on someone because they participated in illegal activities, or were in a gang fight or whatever other issues might arise.

Choices are like actions, they have consequences, and as a result of your choice to be a Jehovah witness you may not be able to participate in some areas of nursing, i am sure there is still something out there for you that you can be happy in that will not put you in an uncomfortable situation. I am not sure why you would want to put yourself in a situation where you might have to do something that you are not willing to do... why even go there?

Maybe LTC nursing, LTC needs good, competitent nurses also?

What this issue comes down to is refusal to do your job as a nurse, and that is unacceptable to me. I frankly do not care about the reasoning behind your refusal. I strongly urge you NOT to work in an area that requires you to do something you are not willing to do, both for your professional carreer and your own mental wellbeing.

I also think that your fellow nurses will not be very friendly toward you if you come off as not being able to preform your job.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

The OP asked if anyone out there knew a JW nurse that works in critical care. I know one that works in NICU and trust me, it's a transfusion heavy area of practice.

I never knew this nurse was JW until one shift she spoke to me privately about her assignment. She had an infant whose platelet count was low and would possibly need a platelet transfusion. She told me as a JW she had decided she was comfortable giving transfusions to most infants. But her current patient was the child of a JW and as is routine would have consent provided from a court order. The unit routinely obtains these court orders when micro-preemies are born to JW parents. This nurse was not comfortable starting the transfusion on the child of a JW. She asked if I would assist if it came to it. I agreed but the MD decided we didn't need to transfuse yet.

I have no idea if her beliefs were discussed when she was hired, but since she only had issues with a kind of rare situation (transfusing the child of another JW) it's just never been a big deal.

If the OP wants my opinion on how employable she would be in an ICU situation I would say not likely if she is honest with the interviewer. And if she is not honest it will create massive resentment from her co-workers & management.

[LiverpoolJane]

I just wanted to clarify the issue of blood transfusions and JWs. The decision whether to administer blood or not is a personal one, not one that is laid down by the organisation, so some JW's will and some won't. There are examples in the bible were "Gods people" when in captivity had to serve unclean meat to the king and others although they wouldn't eat these things themselves. Some JWs will use this as an example to help them reason that they would be ok with hanging blood products, even though they wouldn't have one themselves.

There are similar issues when it comes to whether an individual will consider organ transplantation or not, I know JWs who say it would go against their conscience other I know have had organ transplants.

OP, whether you are prepared to hang blood / blood products is a matter for your consideration and not just because it is the opinion of someone else.

[amber,lpn]

I would first like to say congratulations on passing the NCLEX. That is a major accomplishment. Second, in the CCU you have to be able to perform independently, and if you stop to think about it, the job description for and RN includes being "able to administer blood and/or blood biproducts", I fully understand your religion, but you have made a "choice" to become a nurse and the patients that you will be dealing with are not going to have the "choice", they will need you to care for them in a 100% manner because not to many families will feel comfortable with a nurse that is not "able" to do what is needed of them especially working on that unit. In saying that i will say this, i am glad that you have the interest to be on the CCU but i do not believe with your religion that you would be able to perform the duties needed ini the CCU without comprimising your religious preference. The patients that you will be taking care of in that unit is not their by "choice" but rather they are there by "need", everyone has the right to a religous preference which is "a choice" but in healthcare you need to focus on the patient and not on YOU........Sorry.

[pedicurn, LPN, RN]

:)I would think about all the other specialities where you are less likely to have many p'ts receiving blood ...perhaps CCU, renal, rehab, dermatology. Or none at all ... psych, some outpatients.

Perhaps not a good idea to mention you don't do this. Instead do your research on likely matches and go for those. Maybe going for a masters and aiming for nursing education or practitioner might solve this issue?

Best wishes for solving your dilemma, hoping there's a niche there for you soon.

All the best

[BlessedMomRN]

This is a tough position for you because even on med/surg blood is given routinely. I think you need to discuss this with the elders of your congregation and come to terms with if it is a violation to give blood. I work with a JW nurse and she has come to the conclusion that although she would never receive a transfusion, she feels ok giving a transfusion.

I've read the scriptures that JW's stand on and they are indeed compelling. Even though I don't share the same faith ideas, I understand your feelings because I would never be able to participate in an abortion due to my Christian beliefs. I think that these are the times our faith is tested and we do have to pray and come to some sort of peace. Perhaps the Lord has another field within nursing He wants you to serve in.

Blessing to you! :-)

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I don't see what the big deal is myself. I mean considering blood always has to be verified by two nurses, anyway. I'm not a Jehovah's Witness. I'm an agnostic, so I have no dog in this fight, but come on!

She makes it sound so simple that she just needs someone to spike the bag and press start, but what about troubleshooting it if it beeps occluded, air in line, or volume needs to be added? All of those things require restarting the pump. What about taking the transfusion down when completed? Is that okay? For a patient who made need 2 units RBCs, 3 units of platelets, 2 units FFP, and some albumin (not unheard of), all that adds up quickly. My last shift I worked I had 2 patients requiring transfusion and every other nurse on the unit also had their patients requiring transfusion. It can become a real burden.

[delvenia]

I am a jehovah's Witness and the person who aided me to becoming a witness has been one for 34 years and a Registered Nurse for 43 years prior to retiring last December. i work on a very busy med-surg floor and I am very happy that i have not come under the scrutany that the original poster has encountered by asking a simple question. it often amazes me how people who are looked at as being "saving graces" for many can be so cold to their own. Nurses treat their fellow nurses so badly sometimes, which is evident by many of the rude and offensive responses posted.

niether the less, to answer your question, many of us witness nurses do end up hanging blood, however this was an issue that i pondered myself prior to becoming a nurse. i have had to hang blood approximately 3 times in my year and a half as a nurse. my collegues and management are exceptional in that we also have a mormon and others of many faiths there. i work on a very busy med-surg floor at a level 1 facility that gets patients flown in from other states. The other nurse and witness i spoke about has also had to hang blood in her career, but told me that often you can do trade offs. That is what i usually will try to do. i may do someones wound care for them of they do hang my blood for me. i am fortunate that at my hospital, tranfusions are usually a last resort for many of our doctors anyway. i have been on night shift for a few months and have not had to hang any. hanging the blood is a personal choice, as we are directed not to partake of spilled blood. we cannot give it and cannot receive it, but we cannot control what others decide to do. we still have to treat each patient regardless of their choices in life and whether or not we agree with them. upon talking this issue over with elders, we are able to administer it so long as it is not our blood being given. send me a private message if you would like to talk more

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Honestly I didn't see anyone mistreating the OP. I did see a lot of honest answers though and sometimes that can smart a bit.

Patients have the right to be cared for according to their own moral beliefs, not according to ours. I appreciate the honest responses the OP has gotten. I would not want to be the patient in the bed with a nurse who will not do voluntarily and responsibly what it takes to honor my wishes for treatment all on his or her own. There are probably settings where the OP will absolutely shine. But critcal care sounds like a stretch given the level of assistance she would request.