Jehovah's Witness nurses in the critical care unit?

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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 :yeah: 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. :crying2: 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. :sniff:

Thank You

If you hang blood or start the administration of it is really a conscious matter. You are not the one that is accepting the transfusion but your the one who is obeying a legally authorized order. If you worked at a market and someone wanted to buy Cigarettes would you refuse to sell them, probably not, but if you wouldn't necessarily work in a cigarette shop where all you do is sell them. Now it is different if your working in a place where all they do is take blood for transfusion or administer it. If it is your choice not to administer blood it is your personal decision and it is not the position of the organization. There was a watchtower article that asked could you work for a company that paints businesses and they are contracted to paint a church does that mean you have to quit, not necessarily but you wouldn't work for the church exclusively.

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There are many hospitals that are developing bloodless programs or that are even going bloodless altogether as an institution. Due to the added expense and complications from blood use, much research is now geared toward blood alternatives. In fact, the only reason why blood alternatives are not more commonly offered is because physicians are just not informed or trained in this area. For those who are, it is often considered the "gold standard". Just keep looking. Remember that we as nurses have the same rights as patients. Do not let anyone coerced you to do things that are against your personal belief system. Also refrain from using the statement "because I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses I cannot do _____". Rather it is because you have made a conscientious decision based on your relationship with God and careful study of His word. I am doing research myself about this issue because I do not see that there is a definitive Bible-based answer to your decision.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Remember that we as nurses have the same rights as patients. Do not let anyone coerced you to do things that are against your personal belief system. Also refrain from using the statement "because I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses I cannot do _____". Rather it is because you have made a conscientious decision based on your relationship with God and careful study of His word. I am doing research myself about this issue because I do not see that there is a definitive Bible-based answer to your decision.

*** This is VERY simple. If one chooses not to preform the normal and expected duties of a position they shouldn't apply for such a position. I would suggest to PETA member that they not apply for jobs in slaughter houses, Jews and Muslims from job on pig farms, etc.

If one chooses to apply and work in an ICU then they should be willing to preform the normal and expected duties of that job. Simple as that.

I have zero sympathy for any nurse who refuses to administer blood who also chose to work in an environment where it is a normal and expected task.

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If you hang blood or start the administration of it is really a conscious matter.

Conscious = awake

Conscience = that little voice that asks, "What's that gonna cost me?"

I do hope that if you're giving blood it's a conscious matter. I'd like to think you couldn't do it in your sleep. Or is it like with Ambien, where people eat and drive and do all sorts of stuff in their sleep? Has anyone ever hung blood in their sleep? I've done it when I was really, really tired, but still ... conscious. :dzed:

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
There are many hospitals that are developing bloodless programs or that are even going bloodless altogether as an institution. Due to the added expense and complications from blood use, much research is now geared toward blood alternatives. In fact, the only reason why blood alternatives are not more commonly offered is because physicians are just not informed or trained in this area. For those who are, it is often considered the "gold standard". Just keep looking. Remember that we as nurses have the same rights as patients. Do not let anyone coerced you to do things that are against your personal belief system. Also refrain from using the statement "because I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses I cannot do _____". Rather it is because you have made a conscientious decision based on your relationship with God and careful study of His word. I am doing research myself about this issue because I do not see that there is a definitive Bible-based answer to your decision.

My hospital has a bloodless program for JW patients, and in fact is the only hospital in the area that will do open heart surgery for these patients. The physicians and nurses I work with are quite knowledgeable about this option. However, just because blood substitutes exist doesn't necessarily mean that they are the best option in every case for every patient.

However, I am with PMFB. If there is more than a remote possibility that one cannot perform required tasks of a job due to religious/moral reasons, one should not apply for a job in that area.

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Conscious = awake

Conscience = that little voice that asks, "What's that gonna cost me?"

I do hope that if you're giving blood it's a conscious matter. I'd like to think you couldn't do it in your sleep. Or is it like with Ambien, where people eat and drive and do all sorts of stuff in their sleep? Has anyone ever hung blood in their sleep? I've done it when I was really, really tired, but still ... conscious. :dzed:

I ran a mess of a trauma last night in my sleep. I couldn't get meds out of the pyxis because the screen was gibberish and I'd try to select the patient and med and something else would happen. So I went around to other pyxises (pyxi?) in the hospital to try there and ended up getting distracted and didn't get back to the trauma until it was all over.

I haven't had a stress dream like that in ages. Hanging blood in my sleep sounds like it would be a much more relaxing dream.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
My hospital has a bloodless program for JW patients, and in fact is the only hospital in the area that will do open heart surgery for these patients. The physicians and nurses I work with are quite knowledgeable about this option. However, just because blood substitutes exist doesn't necessarily mean that they are the best option in every case for every patient.

However, I am with PMFB. If there is more than a remote possibility that one cannot perform required tasks of a job due to religious/moral reasons, one should not apply for a job in that area.

I worked with a nurse who, due to her beliefs as a Catholic, would not administer MTX to pts. with ectopic pregnancies. Did that mean that we should have made her resign? Because she was valued as an employee, the staff worked around this.

If the mgmt. and staff are willing to make accommodations for a nurse who feels it's against her beliefs to administer blood, then there's no issue with him/her working in ICU or other units where the probability of needing to administer blood is high. Some people are willing to look at all a potential employee can bring to the table, not just one thing they can't do.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I worked with a nurse who, due to her beliefs as a Catholic, would not administer MTX to pts. with ectopic pregnancies. Did that mean that we should have made her resign? .

*** If giving MTX was a normal and expected part of the job when she applied for it and she now refuses to do the job I would fire her in a second.

If, on the other hand giving MTX was added to the job after she took it I would work around her refusal. If giving MTX in a pretty unusual occurrence (unlike blood in an ICU) and working around her refusal is really no problem then there should be no problem.

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Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

I'm a JW nurse and work in a CVICU where we primarily take CABG pt. Have never had a problem.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I have worked with a JW nurse. We had many RNs who complained. Usually, if I took care of her blood products she would pick up something of mine. Never any issues.

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I have little understanding if one has to have someone "hang" the blood (that you just helped verify) and then someone else has to "push the start button" but you can monitor same---don't see too much difference. Is it all about the start button? Seriously?

I think that people can believe whatever it is that they would like to. They can also base their practice on said beliefs. But I would think that it becomes too much of a "I will do this, but not that" and in a CCU where this is something that a nurse could experience daily, multiple times a day even, this is where it could become an issue.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
I have little understanding if one has to have someone "hang" the blood (that you just helped verify) and then someone else has to "push the start button" but you can monitor same---don't see too much difference. Is it all about the start button? Seriously?

I think that people can believe whatever it is that they would like to. They can also base their practice on said beliefs. But I would think that it becomes too much of a "I will do this, but not that" and in a CCU where this is something that a nurse could experience daily, multiple times a day even, this is where it could become an issue.

You won't find a consistent answer on what is allowed and what isn't because administering blood isn't actually against JW doctrine, the official JW position is that it is allowed, a refusal to administer blood is a personal choice, not a true religious practice.

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