The Nurse's Role in Providing Spiritual Care - Is It OK to Pray?

There has been recent discussion in one of the allnurses threads about a nurse in the UK who was placed on suspension for offering to pray with a patient. In this instance, the nurse only offered to pray. She reportedly did not follow through with prayer when the patient declined her offer. In this instance, we only know what was written. We can only guess what the entire story might be. Nurses Spirituality Article

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bethygean

12 Posts

I know what's "politically correct", but when you are in the Christian faith there is no such thing. Being a Christian effects everything you do and is appropriate in every situation, even in a work place. If you truly know God then you'll know that He's not something you can just leave out of certain "inconvenient" times in your life. Sure, you can't force a patient to pray with you but it is appropriate to ask, whether or not you think the person will accept. If they don't then all you can do is pray silently and go on, but as a Christian, the least you can do is offer hope to someone who is in desperate need of it.

Doc Lori, R.N.

1 Article; 135 Posts

Specializes in Dialysis,M/S,Home Care,LTC, Admin,Rehab.

This is an awesome and really thought provoking question! After consideration, I'd have to say that personally, the short answer would be "it depends".

Firstly, to me, the word pray can be defined in an infinite number of ways, taking on acts and practices such as meditation, blessing ceremonies, contemplation, summoning of deities, chanting, or traditional Eastern philosophies, Western religious prayer, etc. and thousands of other methods determined by religious, spiritual and cultural belief systems.

My goal would be to honor that patient and their family. I would never offer to partake in prayer, or to be part of any personal family rituals. However, if the patient, family and myself formed a bond, and they felt as though my presence and energy would somehow enhance the sacred experience of this person's death as well as to provide a memory for the remaining family to cherish, then I feel it is an obligation, or moreso an honor to be present with them during this time.

While your beliefs and rituals may be completely opposite of the patient's, your heart and spirit are present, sending loving light and healing to all present.

Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

I pray frequently when I start an IV. Or insert a foley. Sometimes it's a prayer for patience, or understanding. It's to myself and not out loud.

I will however, tell the pt to say a prayer when I'm attempting the IV for the third time. They usually smile...and say a prayer.:)

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN

1,398 Posts

Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
charlieccrn said:
Unless the RN is interfering with the hospital process, there is no reason to terminate just for offering to pray.

I would wager there were other issues.

Here's the thing, it sounds like the RN in question was addressing his or her OWN spiritual needs instead of the patient's. That's a no-no.

"I agree that a health setting is not the place for prosletising too, but if a patient asked me about my faith I think it overides what I do as a nurse. Although great care is needed here."

This was in an earlier post. I am a teacher of nursing assistants, and I would just like to get a little more clear about this matter, on how to explain these things to future nurses who have a strong personal faith. So, what if a patient did ask a Christian CNA or nurse about their faith? What if they asked the nurse to pray with them so that they could be saved? If the patient themselves brought it up, and they wanted the nurse (assuming the nurse was comfortable with this) to pray for their salvation, could said nurse have her license suspended because people thought she was "proselytizing"? (I do not live in the deep South, so this sort of thing I imagine is frowned upon.) What are the professional boundaries that must be respected if a nurse wants to keep her/his license?

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN

1,398 Posts

Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
conscientiousnurse said:
"I agree that a health setting is not the place for prosletising too, but if a patient asked me about my faith I think it overides what I do as a nurse. Although great care is needed here."

This was in an earlier post. I am a teacher of nursing assistants, and I would just like to get a little more clear about this matter, on how to explain these things to future nurses who have a strong personal faith. So, what if a patient did ask a Christian CNA or nurse about their faith? What if they asked the nurse to pray with them so that they could be saved? If the patient themselves brought it up, and they wanted the nurse (assuming the nurse was comfortable with this) to pray for their salvation, could said nurse have her license suspended because people thought she was "proselytizing"? (I do not live in the deep South, so this sort of thing I imagine is frowned upon.) What are the professional boundaries that must be respected if a nurse wants to keep her/his license?

If a patients asks a nurse to "pray with them so they could be saved" then that nurse should immediately get ahold of the chaplain so he or she can facilitate the "saving" process. This isn't just a quick prayer.

Here's the thing. Patients are labile. A nurse walks into a room one day and the patient wants to be "saved by my Christian nurse" so she does it. A couple days later the patient has been NPO all day, waiting hours to be picked up from a procedure and has to wait a few extra maddening minutes for a call light to be answered. Now she's tweaked off and wants some revenge. How difficult would it be for this patient to report to the nurse manager about "some Christian nurse trying to save me"?

Patients are not your friends or your spiritual companions. Nurses advocate for their patients, they don't "save" them.

Thanks for your input, MN nurse. So I could tell my students that they risk their license if they do this?

Another question is: would it be appropriate in such a case, to offer to the patient to contact an evangelical-type clergyman (not the nurse's own pastor, but any such clergyman of the patient's choosing?)

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tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN

83 Articles; 5,923 Posts

Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

Yes, offering to contact the chaplain or any clergy of the patient's choosing is quite acceptable. That is meeting spiritual needs.

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN

1,398 Posts

Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
conscientiousnurse said:
Thanks for your input, MN nurse. So I could tell my students that they risk their license if they do this?

I highly doubt it. I think they might risk getting in dutch with their superiors.

In general, it's the wrong way to go about things.

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN

1,398 Posts

Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
conscientiousnurse said:
Another question is: would it be appropriate in such a case, to offer to the patient to contact an evangelical-type clergyman (not the nurse's own pastor, but any such clergyman of the patient's choosing?)

Yes. That sounds like a nurse doing their job.

I personally don't feel there is anything unethical about the nurse praying with the patient in a situation like this where the initiative was clearly on the patient's side, and they specifically asked the nurse to do this. Some nurses would be willing to even put their job on the line in order to meet this person's spiritual need right away, rather than jumping through what appear to be political hoops and delaying them by having to go get the chaplain or clergy. What if the patient was about to die, and you delayed their request to go find the chaplain, etc., and by the time they got there it was too late? What if a nurse decided to go ahead and pray with them, or give them a sample prayer, asking the patient to pray on their own when the nurse left the room? And what if the nurse documented everything about her assessment of spiritual distress, the request for prayer, and what the nurse did, in the chart? Or, what if the nurse waited till her lunch break or after she clocked out for the day, and came back to fulfill this request on his/her own time?