Do You Have To Be Religious/Spiritual to be a good Nurse?

Nurses Spirituality

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I'm struggling with this to an extent. I go to a deeply religious school and yes, I hate it. At times I feel as though it's a major requirement to be religious in order to function as a nurse and I didn't always feel this way but this is what I keep seeing. I like myself, know what I like and dislike, what I want to do, where I'd like to go, but I'm not religious (certainly not Catholic) and the only link I have to Christianity is my liking and connection to the Bible. My "spirituality" is derived from my ability to trust myself unconditionally. But being here has made me wonder if I have to be solidly spiritual/religious in order to thrive in the world of nursing.

Also, I'm not one for groupthink and dogma and at times I feel as though many of my peers are and the professors seem to expect it. I don't kiss up to authority figures and treat everyone as a person regardless of status (all people, as far as I'm concerned, deserve respect and if I unable to provide that, I avoid them). But it drives me crazy the way they behave and they find me to be very antisocial/unsocial and distant. I'm none of these things, but just feel as though I'm fully capable of thinking, feeling, and acting on my own and for myself. Yes, I ask for help when I need it and I am friendly, but I don't feel as though I have to put my desires on the back burner if I don't have to.

I'm struggling guys and really just feeling uncomfortable with all the feedback I keep getting. I'm about to be in the real world and I want to make sure that IT is not like my college experience.

Hey guys! Wowowow! I'm surprised this thread still has some steam as I had forgotten I'd even posted it almost 4 years ago to the date! It's good to revisit.

I am a bedside nurse now and my experiences have been...interesting. Religion took a backseat for me after I left but some things did remain. Depending on what state I worked in, I experienced more religiosity than others. Usually from patients but sometimes staff. I tend to avoid it and it was never as "in my face" as it was when I went to my deeply religious school. I did have a coworker who was Atheist who mentioned to me that a patient he had kept trying to convert him and I have found that when I am quiet when my patients try to go into the "Jesus speech" that it can make them feel unaffirmed and sometimes attempt to preach more. But at the very least, my difficult experience at that school taught me tolerance and helped me assess what my own boundaries are. I don't go to church,

Some things did remain for me. Mainly, the experience with "group think". I know it's not just limited to nursing. But I'm starting to understand my own boundaries with this as well and have begun to attempt to make moves away from the bedside role as I feel it can foster that kind of behavior as well. I'm a bit more of a solitary/ hermitic for the experience of bedside nursing.

I'd tell my younger self and those wondering the same thing I was, that you don't have to be religious/spiritual to be a good nurse. Just know your boundaries/limits and don't be afraid to walk if it becomes too much.

Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
No, one does not have to be religious nor even spiritual to be a good nurse.

I am a lifelong atheist, and have been very effective at comforting all types of ppl, facing all types of issues, and have even worked hospice.

I learned decades ago, that my being an out atheist at work, is not helpful. I was very young, i made mistakes at first. Atheists (not that YOU are an atheist, but, i am) are not usually trusted by non-atheists. Once or twice, i was even re-assigned at the patient request, when he asked me if i believed in god, and i replied no. He said he couldn't trust an atheist.

that is when i learned how to respond in a more therapeutic way. Each person has to find their own way, but, i think being non-spiritual, could be similar to a religious person caring for a person of another faith. I'd imagine, or hope, that say, a christian nurse, in caring for a jewish or muslim patient, for example,

would be able to honor and respect that patient, even though they do not worship the same gods.

Imo, it's kinda like that as an atheist.

I step over their gods all day long. It's surprising, how often a nurse gets asked, "Nurse, do you believe in Jesus/God/Lord,?"

Turns out, the patient usualy does not want to know,

and when they ask this, they are more hoping for a springboard for their own self to discuss their beliefs, or how their beliefs are helping them in this crisis.

I have close pal, who is an atheist doctor, and he and i chuckled, in the combined 94 years of medical service between us,

not once,

has any patient ever noticed, we do NOT actually answer the question. For real, the patients don't even notice. and not one of our coworkers knows either one of us is godless, either.

I am not "out" AT WORK. I myself rather wish, that ppl left politics and gods out of their workplaces, but, i step over these topics. Frankly, i dislike being ostracized by others for having a different opinion,

and i honestly do not have time to have debates with either coworkers or patients. In fact, i think it'd be rather unhelpful, to debate a patient, unless in a joking fashion. Each person has a right to their own beliefs. (even me)

I simply find another way to reply. I reply with remarks like, "Is your faith very important to you?"

and after they've went on for a while, i change subject gently, or, if it seems appropriate, offer to summon a preacher/minister, etc.

If they ask, "What church do you go to?" this is usually code for, "I want to tell you about MY church!"

so instead of answering, i usually say something like, "What church do you belong to?" and rapidly follow up, some other question about that church, "Is that a large church?" or "How long have you been a member there?" or "Must feel comforting that so many are praying for you, they must really care about you."

I do not ever lie. I don't partake in religious rituals, such as prayer circles around the bed, etc. That is the one line i won't cross, in some small way, to be true to my own self, however small and silent that might be. INstead, i look at my watch, and say, "Oh, i have to go pass meds/change a dressing/call a doc/check on patient" something, and leave room.

This moment is not about ME.

this moment is about my patient.

WHATEVER comforts my patient, is what i want to support, whether or not, i believe in that god.

As an agnostic-atheist nurse myself, I can't like this post enough times. I follow the exact same codes myself, I 100% respect whatever religion/belief that people follow even if I think it is ridiculous at times but I never let them know that and in 10 years have never disclosed to a patient that I didn't believe in a god, while at the same time never lied to a patient either. And I completely relate to your comments about being "OUT" as a nurse. It would be easier for me to be out as a bisexual nurse than it is to be out as an agnostic atheist, and that's a shame.

OP to answer your question as many have, no you do not have to be religious to be an amazing nurse.

I know exactly what you mean and it annoys me to no end. I can't stand people that think they have the right to talk down to you because they make more money or are higher on the ladder. Everyone's job is necessary and it is important we all work together, each recognizing that we are simply a cog in the wheel. Not to say there isn't a chain of command but that chain is there to serve a purpose, not give someone free rein to act like an ass. It could also be a clique-thing. You may need to job hop a bit to find one you feel at ease with. Find your niche and purpose and you will feel more at ease with your job.

Soliloquy, I'm sorry that you had to endure such religious nonsense. I say this as a spiritual person. Honestly, I feel like Christians should not be nurses at all. Period.

I'm sure you can see their intent from the very beginning.

Christians treat people well so that people can see Jesus through them. This is a tactic of manipulation. They don't do good for the goodness sake. They do good for a religious ideology. They do good for Jesus, not for patients, not for everyone else but their deity.

On their lips, Christians say that they should be humble. In action, they want people to see goodness in them so that they will start worshiping Jesus. How insidious that is!

If I have a choice, I will absolutely pick an atheist nurse, a Wiccan nurse, a Sikh nurse, a Hindu nurse,... over a Christian nurse. I cannot get close to people who in their head have an agenda to convert me by acting cool. I don't want that. I need honesty and total respect. Other religious nurses can do that. Christian nurses??? That never happens.

Keep it up. I hope you become a nurse by now. This noble profession needs people like you, not preachers in skirts.

Soliloquy, I'm sorry that you had to endure such religious nonsense. I say this as a spiritual person. Honestly, I feel like Christians should not be nurses at all. Period.

I'm sure you can see their intent from the very beginning.

Christians treat people well so that people can see Jesus through them. This is a tactic of manipulation. They don't do good for the goodness sake. They do good for a religious ideology. They do good for Jesus, not for patients, not for everyone else but their deity.

On their lips, Christians say that they should be humble. In action, they want people to see goodness in them so that they will start worshiping Jesus. How insidious that is!

If I have a choice, I will absolutely pick an atheist nurse, a Wiccan nurse, a Sikh nurse, a Hindu nurse,... over a Christian nurse. I cannot get close to people who in their head have an agenda to convert me by acting cool. I don't want that. I need honesty and total respect. Other religious nurses can do that. Christian nurses??? That never happens.

Keep it up. I hope you become a nurse by now. This noble profession needs people like you, not preachers in skirts.

And how did you develop this power to see into the hearts and minds of other people? Who are you to feel so confident that you understand the motivations of others? Once again, you are making sweeping generalizations about all "Christian nurses," when there is a wide range of approaches to Christianity and service across the US and across the world. I guess I should feel free to hate all Buddhists because some Buddhists, somewhere, have behaved badly and acted out of motivations I don't approve of. I would never want to have a Buddhist nurse, because Buddhists kill people who are members of other faiths -- I would be terrified that a Buddhist nurse would kill me for not being a Buddhist. That is the logic you are applying here, so I'm sure you think it is reasonable to apply the same logic to you and your faith.

Specializes in Emergency Department.
Soliloquy, I'm sorry that you had to endure such religious nonsense. I say this as a spiritual person. Honestly, I feel like Christians should not be nurses at all. Period.

I'm sure you can see their intent from the very beginning.

Christians treat people well so that people can see Jesus through them. This is a tactic of manipulation. They don't do good for the goodness sake. They do good for a religious ideology. They do good for Jesus, not for patients, not for everyone else but their deity.

On their lips, Christians say that they should be humble. In action, they want people to see goodness in them so that they will start worshiping Jesus. How insidious that is!

If I have a choice, I will absolutely pick an atheist nurse, a Wiccan nurse, a Sikh nurse, a Hindu nurse,... over a Christian nurse. I cannot get close to people who in their head have an agenda to convert me by acting cool. I don't want that. I need honesty and total respect. Other religious nurses can do that. Christian nurses??? That never happens.

Keep it up. I hope you become a nurse by now. This noble profession needs people like you, not preachers in skirts.

And how did you develop this power to see into the hearts and minds of other people? Who are you to feel so confident that you understand the motivations of others? Once again, you are making sweeping generalizations about all "Christian nurses," when there is a wide range of approaches to Christianity and service across the US and across the world. I guess I should feel free to hate all Hindus because some Hindus, somewhere, have behaved badly and acted out of motivations I don't approve of. I would never want to have a Hindu nurse, because Hindus kill people who are members of other faiths -- I would be terrified that a Hindu nurse would kill me for not being a Hindu. That is the logic you are applying here, so I'm sure you think it is reasonable to apply the same logic to you and your faith.

khminh,

I'm curious as to why you are resurrecting all these old religious threads and inferring (although in this latest one you are right out there) that christians cannot make good nurses. I am completely and utterly atheist and would never make such a general accusation or claim. Elkpark has stated it perfectly. She uses Hindus but perhaps muslims may be a better example.

If you feel that Buddhists are so good and such nice people can you please explain why the "peaceful" Buddhists are ethnically cleansing the Rohingya peoples in Myanmar?

khminh,

I'm curious as to why you are resurrecting all these old religious threads and inferring (although in this latest one you are right out there) that christians cannot make good nurses. I am completely and utterly atheist and would never make such a general accusation or claim. Elkpark has stated it perfectly. She uses Hindus but perhaps muslims may be a better example.

If you feel that Buddhists are so good and such nice people can you please explain why the "peaceful" Buddhists are ethnically cleansing the Rohingya peoples in Myanmar?

Buddhists are not saints. They can be violent. No body gets a pass when it comes to religion. I practice Buddhism, but I don't speak for other Buddhists. If they want to be violent and call themselves Buddhists, that is their choice. I don't have to justify my belief on their behalf.

Some teachings in Buddhism can cause people to have a pessimistic in life, but it's not enough to invoke violence. I have yet found anything the Buddha said that can support genocide and hatred. I don't hold the Buddha to be a god. If you can find something the Buddha say that is immoral, you can bet that I will abandon that teaching.

Will a Christian be able to do that? I doubt it.

Specializes in Emergency Department.
Buddhists are not saints. They can be violent. No body gets a pass when it comes to religion. I practice Buddhism, but I don't speak for other Buddhists. If they want to be violent and call themselves Buddhists, that is their choice. I don't have to justify my belief on their behalf.

Now you have just admitted that your religion does exactly what you are accusing Christians of doing.

"One is not called noble who harms living beings. By not harming living beings one is called noble." The Buddha

This does not explain Myanmar and the Rohynga.

Now you have just admitted that your religion does exactly what you are accusing Christians of doing.

"One is not called noble who harms living beings. By not harming living beings one is called noble." The Buddha

This does not explain Myanmar and the Rohynga.

The difference is that Christians do what they do using the Bible to back their action. I haven't seen any Buddhist citing Pali scriptures to justify their action. Same thing with Wiccan, Jain, Sikh, most Jews,... I have seen many Christians and Muslims coerce people into their faith either by words (Christians) or by physical action (Muslims), and they use their books to justify their action.

Bad ideas are indeed bad, but that doesn't excuse the person who follow them.

Being a Buddhist, I have to agree with Sam Harris that the most peaceful religious people are Jains. Gandhi, a Hindu, used Jainism principle of nonviolence for his work. I wish I met nurses who are Jains.

I don't know how much you know about the Bible and Koran. I don't see the reason why I want to be under care of a nurse who sincerely believes that I deserve to burn for eternity or to have my skin peeled off over and over simply for the fact that I don't believe in her deity.

Hence, I despise Christian nurses a lot when they intend to use their work to recruit souls for Jesus.

To be fair, in certain sects of Buddhism, it is believed that if people refuse to follow the Buddha's teaching, they would suffer endless reincarnation cycle. Other teachings have truth, but dharma is the only truth. This particular belief, as far as I know, is rare. If a Buddhist nurse harbors this mindset, I wouldn't her to be my caregiver, either.

Specializes in Emergency Department.
The difference is that Christians do what they do using the Bible to back their action. I haven't seen any Buddhist citing Pali scriptures to justify their action.

So again I am asking, "what is justifying their actions in Myanmar?"

Being a Buddhist, I have to agree with Sam Harris that the most peaceful religious people are Jains. Gandhi, a Hindu, used Jainism principle of nonviolence for his work. I wish I met nurses who are Jains.

No you don't, because an extreme Jain would be unable to function in hospital because antibiotics kill living organisms, as do chemo and radiotherapy.

I don't know how much you know about the Bible and Koran. I don't see the reason why I want to be under care of a nurse who sincerely believes that I deserve to burn for eternity or to have my skin peeled off over and over simply for the fact that I don't believe in her deity.

Hence, I despise Christian nurses a lot when they intend to use their work to recruit souls for Jesus.

Seriously how often is this view expressed? I'm not saying some people don't believe it but it has to be an extreme view. Considering you are of Vietnamese descent surely they would expect you to not be christian so why go to the bother.

I understand the bible very well - as do most atheists. I have read Sam Harris.

In UK I have had patients try to give me religious tracts and I have always refused, sometimes with a snort of derision but mostly just a polite refusal.

A nurse trying to convert a patient would be disciplined and eventually sacked if they did not stop. We have had court cases where nurses who were sacked for praying over or for patients lost their case.

Specializes in CVICU, MICU, Burn ICU.
The difference is that Christians do what they do using the Bible to back their action. I haven't seen any Buddhist citing Pali scriptures to justify their action. Same thing with Wiccan, Jain, Sikh, most Jews,... I have seen many Christians and Muslims coerce people into their faith either by words (Christians) or by physical action (Muslims), and they use their books to justify their action.

Bad ideas are indeed bad, but that doesn't excuse the person who follow them.

Being a Buddhist, I have to agree with Sam Harris that the most peaceful religious people are Jains. Gandhi, a Hindu, used Jainism principle of nonviolence for his work. I wish I met nurses who are Jains.

I don't know how much you know about the Bible and Koran. I don't see the reason why I want to be under care of a nurse who sincerely believes that I deserve to burn for eternity or to have my skin peeled off over and over simply for the fact that I don't believe in her deity.

Hence, I despise Christian nurses a lot when they intend to use their work to recruit souls for Jesus.

To be fair, in certain sects of Buddhism, it is believed that if people refuse to follow the Buddha's teaching, they would suffer endless reincarnation cycle. Other teachings have truth, but dharma is the only truth. This particular belief, as far as I know, is rare. If a Buddhist nurse harbors this mindset, I wouldn't her to be my caregiver, either.

I would be very scared to work under someone like you. The way you talk here in these forums makes me think if you ever got the chance to make policy regarding who could and could not be a nurse, we would have no Christian or Muslim nurses (and docs presumably?) -- or anyone? What about the patients? Are THEY allowed to express (or even quietly believe) what they want?

Not to mention --- how do your broad-brush assessments/judgements create a fair and equitable work environment that celebrates diversity? Lots of people believe REALLY interesting stuff. Trust me. There are lot of various world-views in and outside of religion.

Should we police that? Who gets to decide whose ideas are worthy of allowing them to work and contribute to society?

I would be very scared to work under someone like you. The way you talk here in these forums makes me think if you ever got the chance to make policy regarding who could and could not be a nurse, we would have no Christian or Muslim nurses (and docs presumably?) -- or anyone? What about the patients? Are THEY allowed to express (or even quietly believe) what they want?

Not to mention --- how do your broad-brush assessments/judgements create a fair and equitable work environment that celebrates diversity? Lots of people believe REALLY interesting stuff. Trust me. There are lot of various world-views in and outside of religion.

Should we police that? Who gets to decide whose ideas are worthy of allowing them to work and contribute to society?

Absolutely not.

I have been an immigrant for 5 years and a naturalized citizen for 10 years. I have never participated in any vote that outlaws Christians practicing their faith at work. NEVER. I'm not an atheist. I don't side with atheists with every issue. Removal of 10 commandment monument at Oklahoma state was unnecessary.

Vietnamese people typically don't like to involve with law enforcement unless they cannot help it. I'm Vietnamese, and I share similar view. Just because I despise Christians doesn't mean I will seek police help to wipe them out. I will do that myself without a fist. Believe whatever you want and leave me alone. Then we can get along.

When you begin to tell me how much Jesus loves me, that I will be condemned for eternity without your god, that my spirituality leads me to eternal suffering, you are fair game. I don't care how nicely you express your view. When you invade my personal space, I will dismantle your faith with your own holy book. Same thing with Muslims, Hare Krishna, Sikhs, or even Buddhists. It's that simple.

Patients can believe whatever they want. If they want my presence while they are praying, if they want me to go to church with them, if they want me to read the Bible with them, I will be honest with them that I don't believe in Yahweh. If they insist that my participation would make them feel better about themselves, I will not say no providing that I don't cross patient-provider boundary.

Can you do the same for me as a Christian?

Assuming that you have time and the policy allows it,

if I ask you to be present when I pray to Bodhisattva,

if I ask you to go to a shrine with me,

if I ask you to read the beggar and the Buddha story for me,

are you going to honor my wish and do that even though you don't believe what I believe?

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