Prevalence of Christians in the field of nursing

Nurses Spirituality

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I will be making a career change, from the banking industry to nursing. Thought about it over the past year. In my industry, Christians are far and few between. I suppose much of this has to do with the main focus being, money.

Wondering about the prevalence of Christians in the nursing field? I know much of this has to do with what area of the country one works. Also, non-Chrisitans may not be looking out for Christians in the workforce. I know in my industry, I feel alone, to say the least.

Specializes in none.

I am a Christian CNA and hopefully someday a nurse. There will be all sorts of opportunities to give people hope in the midst of anxiety, end of life, and dire situations. Sometimes, it may be appropriate to pray with a patient. I know personally I have had a few opportunities. Some people ask me if I am a Christian, and I tell them proudly that I am. Love to give patients words of hope when everything is going wrong with their physical bodies. Every day you go into work, you are on a mission opportunity. That is how I look at it.

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There are lots of good people who aren't Christian and you may find that you have similar values even if you don't worship similarly. Please keep an open mind.

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.
I am a Christian CNA and hopefully someday a nurse. There will be all sorts of opportunities to give people hope in the midst of anxiety, end of life, and dire situations. Sometimes, it may be appropriate to pray with a patient. I know personally I have had a few opportunities. Some people ask me if I am a Christian, and I tell them proudly that I am. Love to give patients words of hope when everything is going wrong with their physical bodies. Every day you go into work, you are on a mission opportunity. That is how I look at it.

I respectfully disagree. Going into work is not a mission opportunity. You are not there to bring people to Christ. Not everyone is a Christian nor wants to be one. You are there to do a job that your religion should not play a role in. Religion does not belong in the workplace.

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Specializes in Telemetry, IMCU.
I respectfully disagree. Going into work is not a mission opportunity. You are not there to bring people to Christ. Not everyone is a Christian nor wants to be one. You are there to do a job that your religion should not play a role in. Religion does not belong in the workplace.

You may not agree with her, but I do. Per the Bible we are to "go out into the world and preach the gospel to all nations. " That doesn't mean hammer down someone's throat, but it's essentially what we're called to do. It saddens me when I hear a fellow Christian state: " I don't mention God at work. I just keep it to myself. " Even if the CNA says: "God loves you, it shouldn't be a huge problem, especially if patients request it.

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You may not agree with her, but I do. Per the Bible we are to "go out into the world and preach the gospel to all nations. " That doesn't mean hammer down someone's throat, but it's essentially what we're called to do. It saddens me when I hear a fellow Christian state: " I don't mention God at work. I just keep it to myself. " Even if the CNA says: "God loves you, it shouldn't be a huge problem, especially if patients request it.

When my father was dying, the CNA in the hospice facility felt the need to say something overtly Christian nearly every time she came in the room. She clearly believed she was being helpful and comforting, but I found it really inappropriate and offensive. She's v. lucky I didn't complain to her superiors about her behavior.

If you want to "preach the Gospel," good for you -- but do it on your own time, to individuals who have the choice of getting up and leaving if they don't want to listen. It's really out of place at work.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Per the Bible we are to "go out into the world and preach the gospel to all nations. " That doesn't mean hammer down someone's throat, but it's essentially what we're called to do.

What the bible says only matters to Christians. When you choose to "share the word" with a person who is helpless and does not have the option of leaving to get away from you, like sick people in the hospital, hammering it down their throat is EXACTLY what you are doing. Our patients are completly dependant on us for their care. Don't put them in the position of being fearful of offending you as a Christian if they don't want to hear about your particular take on religion.

Sharing your religious views with patients is unethical and moraly corrupt. That doesn't mean you can't pray with a patient when you are asked to. I do when asked and I am not even a Christian. As a caregiver you should bring comfort to your patients. If they recieve comfort by having you pray with them AND they request it then fine. Otherwise discussions of religion are out of place.

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Specializes in hospice.
When my father was dying, the CNA in the hospice facility felt the need to say something overtly Christian nearly every time she came in the room. She clearly believed she was being helpful and comforting, but I found it really inappropriate and offensive. She's v. lucky I didn't complain to her superiors about her behavior.

How inappropriate and disappointing. :( I wonder if she got bad/no training, or just ignored her training. I'm a hospice CNA and my company's training is really good.

Now, I recently spent a good chunk of a shift singing How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace, and Were You There with a restless dementia patient. But that was because I knew she was Christian and that those fairly nondenominational songs were likely to reach her. (They did and she sang with me, and it was really sweet.)

Even with other Catholics, they may not live their faith the way I do, or practice it at all. Making assumptions is dangerous, and could set up a bad dynamic.

I once had a patient who had a pseudo-Buddhist new age belief system, and had little stained glass wheel things all over her room. My private thought: "ridiculous." But when I was in her room and she told me they needed to be in a certain configuration to maximize their effectiveness, I arranged them as she wanted and expressed my hope that she would be more comfortable now. It's not about me.

I'm sorry that such an important time in your family's life was tarnished by such thoughtlessness.

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Specializes in Telemetry, IMCU.
What the bible says only matters to Christians. When you choose to "share the word" with a person who is helpless and does not have the option of leaving to get away from you, like sick people in the hospital, hammering it down their throat is EXACTLY what you are doing. Our patients are completly dependant on us for their care. Don't put them in the position of being fearful of offending you as a Christian if they don't want to hear about your particular take on religion.

Sharing your religious views with patients is unethical and moraly corrupt. That doesn't mean you can't pray with a patient when you are asked to. I do when asked and I am not even a Christian. As a caregiver you should bring comfort to your patients. If they recieve comfort by having you pray with them AND they request it then fine. Otherwise discussions of religion are out of place.

That's okay if you don't agree. It's not like my decision to say "God loves you" is dependent on your opinion. All the best and good night. :)

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
That's okay if you don't agree. It's not like my decision to say "God loves you" is dependent on your opinion. All the best and good night. :)

I wasn't sharing an opinion. I was trying to educate you on the realities of ethical behavior for health care workers. You can agree with me or be wrong (unethical). If you go further in your education you will probably learn about ethics.

You already said that you weren't about "hammering it down their throat", but then seem to be saying that is exactly what you do.

Imagine yourself sick, worried, anxious, and in pain. Due to your illness you are confined to a bed and certainly don't have the energy for arguing with anyone and your nurse or CNA insists on telling you about how Islam is the one true religion. Instead of saying "God loves you" she says "Allahu akbar" (Alla is great) to you. How would you feel?

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Specializes in none.
I respectfully disagree. Going into work is not a mission opportunity. You are not there to bring people to Christ. Not everyone is a Christian nor wants to be one. You are there to do a job that your religion should not play a role in. Religion does not belong in the workplace.

That is fine to disagree, but spiritual care is an aspect of nursing. When someone has a need for prayer (requested), there surely is nothing wrong as far as providing it if you feel comfortable doing it.

My religion compels me to provide excellent care. But, not everyone is the same. I can't judge another nurse for their beliefs. Nor should I try and convert a muslim or atheist in the workplace.

My religion is interconnected to how I choose to care for people. I don't plan on ever changing that.

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That's okay if you don't agree. It's not like my decision to say "God loves you" is dependent on your opinion. All the best and good night. :)

Okey-dokey, go for the gusto, as long as you are aware that you're just as likely to offend people and give them a negative impression of your religion as you are to convert anyone ...

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That is fine to disagree, but spiritual care is an aspect of nursing. When someone has a need for prayer (requested), there surely is nothing wrong as far as providing it if you feel comfortable doing it.

My religion compels me to provide excellent care. But, not everyone is the same.

Yes, exactly, spiritual care, not religious care. We are supposed to assess and support the spiritual/religious beliefs of the client, not impose our own.

And I'm always amused by the posters here who make statements implying (or stating ouright) that their personal choice of religion makes them better nurses than people who don't share their particular views. Do you really mean to suggest that nurses who don't share your specific beliefs don't (can't) provide "excellent care"? Because that's what it sounds like you're saying.

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