Blood transfusions??? just say no...

chicookie, BSN, RN · Jun 30, 2011

I can't speak for any place other than the US, and from my knowledge the whole "only RN" on duty just doesn't happen.

It just amazes me that a profession whose ideal concept is to be a compassionate, empathic, caring person will go to GREAT lengths to be understanding and accommodating of a patients religious/cultural background but your fellow nurse/coworker who is with you knee deep in feces/urine/vomit, who might one day save your orifice, you can not hang one bag of blood for them. -_-

You aren't relinquishing care of your patient. I kind of see it like, you know those days where you are super busy and the charge decides to help you by maybe giving pain medication to one patient. You still assess for pain, you still take vitals, you still did everything except give that dose of pain medication. Or like when a LPN who can't give IVs, because of short staffing or whatever, has a patient that has IV antibiotics, as an RN you won't take 2 mins to set up the infusion? I have nurse friends with my same belief system all over this hospital. One is in the CV-ICU/Open heart recovery and they are #2 in the most amount of blood given, has never had an issue. One is a nurse anesthetist, has never had an issue. One is an ER nurse, has never had an issue. When I had clinical in the ER (I didn't even know she was one), a patient came in needed blood stat, there are at least 4 nurses in the room with the patient. The nurse asked one of the other ones to hang it while she charted and checked the line. The other nurse didn't even blink. I think anyone would prefer to hang a bag than to fill out stacks of papers.

The only issue I have had wasn't even a big one and it was with another nurse. Think of your worst coworker ever and multiply by two. I ended up in a short staffed unit with these 2 nurses that NO ONE wants to work with. Short tempered, ill mannered, not team players. I had a patient that was going to receive blood and I turned to the "less evil" nurse and I said, hey can you hang this? I have everything done, all I have to do is the final check and charting. All you have to do is hang the bag. Everything we need is in the room already. She gave me this little smirk and said something along the lines of she will check it but she wouldn't hang it because she wanted to see me do one. This wasn't because she couldn't due to personal reasons she just didn't want to, she wanted to put me in a spot as she is notoriously known for doing that to everyone. Now everyone knows my religious beliefs. I have never tried to hide it, I don't want anyone to get offended if I don't wish them a happy birthday or give them presents. I just turned to the other nurse and said can you do this for me? Afterward you can just let me know when you want to go to lunch and I will look after your patients. She just nodded, happy with idea of an early/uninterrupted lunch and did it for me.

Honesty and teamwork. That is all that is needed.

@Azo49008: hey hey I said undies because most males don't wear panties! And not all nurses are female.

@carolmaccas66: just because the hospital is bloodless doesn't mean they don't transfuse blood. it just means they have policies and procedures in place for those patients that refuse it. I work at one

@the OP: I really think its admirable that you consider your belief system before trying to find a job. I understand your patients come first but at the end of the night you are sleeping by yourself. If you feel uncomfortable that feeling won't go away. As that one Doc on True Life Stories of ER said who are we to get between you and your beliefs? Like Vivalasviejas(I absolutely love you, btw) and Trauma53 both said, pick and chose where you want to work. If you aren't comfortable with the idea, find a place that is more accommodating. An eye surgery center for example or pace, school nursing, case management.

OK I've said my two cents! I'm out!

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

I can't speak for any place other than the US, and from my knowledge the whole "only RN" on duty just doesn't happen.
It just amazes me that a profession whose ideal concept is to be a compassionate, empathic, caring person will go to GREAT lengths to be understanding and accommodating of a patients religious/cultural background but your fellow nurse/coworker who is with you knee deep in feces/urine/vomit, who might one day save your orifice, you can not hang one bag of blood for them. -_-
You aren't relinquishing care of your patient. I kind of see it like, you know those days where you are super busy and the charge decides to help you by maybe giving pain medication to one patient. You still assess for pain, you still take vitals, you still did everything except give that dose of pain medication. Or like when a LPN who can't give IVs, because of short staffing or whatever, has a patient that has IV antibiotics, as an RN you won't take 2 mins to set up the infusion? I have nurse friends with my same belief system all over this hospital. One is in the CV-ICU/Open heart recovery and they are #2 in the most amount of blood given, has never had an issue. One is a nurse anesthetist, has never had an issue. One is an ER nurse, has never had an issue. When I had clinical in the ER (I didn't even know she was one), a patient came in needed blood stat, there are at least 4 nurses in the room with the patient. The nurse asked one of the other ones to hang it while she charted and checked the line. The other nurse didn't even blink. I think anyone would prefer to hang a bag than to fill out stacks of papers.
The only issue I have had wasn't even a big one and it was with another nurse. Think of your worst coworker ever and multiply by two. I ended up in a short staffed unit with these 2 nurses that NO ONE wants to work with. Short tempered, ill mannered, not team players. I had a patient that was going to receive blood and I turned to the "less evil" nurse and I said, hey can you hang this? I have everything done, all I have to do is the final check and charting. All you have to do is hang the bag. Everything we need is in the room already. She gave me this little smirk and said something along the lines of she will check it but she wouldn't hang it because she wanted to see me do one. This wasn't because she couldn't due to personal reasons she just didn't want to, she wanted to put me in a spot as she is notoriously known for doing that to everyone. Now everyone knows my religious beliefs. I have never tried to hide it, I don't want anyone to get offended if I don't wish them a happy birthday or give them presents. I just turned to the other nurse and said can you do this for me? Afterward you can just let me know when you want to go to lunch and I will look after your patients. She just nodded, happy with idea of an early/uninterrupted lunch and did it for me.
Honesty and teamwork. That is all that is needed.
@Azo49008: hey hey I said undies because most males don't wear panties! And not all nurses are female.
@carolmaccas66: just because the hospital is bloodless doesn't mean they don't transfuse blood. it just means they have policies and procedures in place for those patients that refuse it. I work at one
@the OP: I really think its admirable that you consider your belief system before trying to find a job. I understand your patients come first but at the end of the night you are sleeping by yourself. If you feel uncomfortable that feeling won't go away. As that one Doc on True Life Stories of ER said who are we to get between you and your beliefs? Like Vivalasviejas(I absolutely love you, btw) and Trauma53 both said, pick and chose where you want to work. If you aren't comfortable with the idea, find a place that is more accommodating. An eye surgery center for example or pace, school nursing, case management.
OK I've said my two cents! I'm out!

It is not just 'hanging one bag of blood'. As one RN said it's all the checking and doing the 15 minute, then hourly, then 2 hourly obs, dealing with any reactions, etc. I've also had to accommodate people who wanted to go off and pray (ridiculous when ur busy!) because they were Muslim and management were too scared to say no, in case it causes a racist riot or something. When ur at work in a specific job YOU DO ALL THE WORK! How would you like it really if a surgeon said: Hi Mr X, I will only be doing half your surgery and some unkown Dr will be finishing the rest cos I don't believe in XYZ? Surgeons do not do this and neither should nurses.

We are all not intolerant of people's beliefs. I couldn't give a rats what anyone believes personally - if you believe in the Sun God and walking around naked at home, good luck to you! But can you - and others tell me - why on EARTH people go into professions where they HAVE to do duties they do not believe in? Do you really think that is fair when it is busy? It's highly annoying to have to do half or part of one person''s duties on patients that are not yours - it gets confusing and complicated. Cos if THEY are doing something on YOUR patient while you're doing their blood (or whatever), then u have to go check they have done their work on YOUR patient. And I will say something else: mistakes can happen when this is done as well, because everyone is running around trying to double-check meds have been given or procedures have been done. A nurse who was suppposed to give a needed medication to one of my patients didn't do it one night, & I had to waste time chasing her up for it (the patient only wanted her in the room instead of 2 nurses so she said she'd do all his care, etc). Well she didn't & it messed everything up.

I have JWs in my family but I've known very sensible people of that faith who did not go into nursing, due to the blood issue. I told them that is the best thing, though we nurses try to accommodate anyone as much as possible. I respect all people's beliefs - you should all respect our wish to work in a safe and timely manner - is THAT too much to ask? Also religion is used as a convenience excuse, I've noticed on more than one occasion, to get out of doing work - don't tell me it doesn't happen, cos it does.

Here's the thing: NURSING = BLOOD = CARING FOR YOUR PATIENT HOLISTICALLY (caring for their every aspect, not just parts of it). If you don't want to do this, PLEASE DO NOT BECOME A NURSE, or find a job where you don't have to deal with this. We nurses are not all going to be so accommodating when it is a very busy shift.

And one more thing: when I'm the shift coordinator, do NOT tell me halfway through the shift that you cannot pick up the blood/hang it/spike it/check it/can't do the obs - then I either have to do it myself, or get another nurse to take over your patient. HIGHLY annoying to say the least, and extremely rude in my opinion!

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

JWs also need to check with their elders re what they can and can't do with blood, as I have known some who won't handle any blood, but do obs; others were told to follow their own conscience re this contentious issue.

And I've also known others who said as long as the don't have blood themselves (even autologous blood), they don't mind giving it cos it's the patient's personal choice.

There seems to be much confusion re this with JWs anyway.

But all I'M SAYING is please RESPECT us other nurses - as we try to respect all ur differing beliefs - when we are busy and we get annoyed when u say you cannot do such-and-such, and please try to understand when u become a coordinator how hard it is to ask others to do other people's work, & 2 re-organise the workload.

Respect works BOTH ways you know! And we are not all non-religious heathens who don't care about anyone!

As I said, if you don't want/can't do all the work, DON'T GO INTO THE JOB.

I do realise nursing is a different kind of job as we deal with abortions and human lives, but you really have to become non-judgemental and if a procedure is allowed in a certain state/country, you have to accommodate that or.....as I've said multiple times....

DON'T GO INTO THE JOB. I may not agree with a patient's 10th abortion, but I still care for them. Not caring for them will not stop them asking for an abortion, or trying (God forbid) to do it themselves (a horrid, messy, sad business). If nurses like me didn't care fo them, who would then? I know my faults, but I try hard not to judge, though I may not agree with what a patient has done.

Get into politics maybe and try to change the law instead. Or find out the facilities' policies re this b4 taking a particular nursing job perhaps.

But don't make life MORE difficult for the rest of us on a shift - try to be considerate and think of OUR workload too!

chicookie, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

It is not just 'hanging one bag of blood'. As one RN said it's all the checking and doing the 15 minute, then hourly, then 2 hourly obs, dealing with any reactions, etc. I've also had to accommodate people who wanted to go off and pray (ridiculous when ur busy!) because they were Muslim and management were too scared to say no, in case it causes a racist riot or something. When ur at work in a specific job YOU DO ALL THE WORK! How would you like it really if a surgeon said: Hi Mr X, I will only be doing half your surgery and some unkown Dr will be finishing the rest cos I don't believe in XYZ? Surgeons do not do this and neither should nurses.
We are all not intolerant of people's beliefs. I couldn't give a rats what anyone believes personally - if you believe in the Sun God and walking around naked at home, good luck to you! But can you - and others tell me - why on EARTH people go into professions where they HAVE to do duties they do not believe in? Do you really think that is fair when it is busy? It's highly annoying to have to do half or part of one person''s duties on patients that are not yours - it gets confusing and complicated. Cos if THEY are doing something on YOUR patient while you're doing their blood (or whatever), then u have to go check they have done their work on YOUR patient. And I will say something else: mistakes can happen when this is done as well, because everyone is running around trying to double-check meds have been given or procedures have been done. A nurse who was suppposed to give a needed medication to one of my patients didn't do it one night, & I had to waste time chasing her up for it (the patient only wanted her in the room instead of 2 nurses so she said she'd do all his care, etc). Well she didn't & it messed everything up.
I have JWs in my family but I've known very sensible people of that faith who did not go into nursing, due to the blood issue. I told them that is the best thing, though we nurses try to accommodate anyone as much as possible. I respect all people's beliefs - you should all respect our wish to work in a safe and timely manner - is THAT too much to ask? Also religion is used as a convenience excuse, I've noticed on more than one occasion, to get out of doing work - don't tell me it doesn't happen, cos it does.
Here's the thing: NURSING = BLOOD = CARING FOR YOUR PATIENT HOLISTICALLY (caring for their every aspect, not just parts of it). If you don't want to do this, PLEASE DO NOT BECOME A NURSE, or find a job where you don't have to deal with this. We nurses are not all going to be so accommodating when it is a very busy shift.
And one more thing: when I'm the shift coordinator, do NOT tell me halfway through the shift that you cannot pick up the blood/hang it/spike it/check it/can't do the obs - then I either have to do it myself, or get another nurse to take over your patient. HIGHLY annoying to say the least, and extremely rude in my opinion!

:confused:

I think you misread what I wrote. If you notice I said that I did check the vitals and I did all the paperwork for that patient. I even went down to the blood bank and got it... My example of the charge nurse, same thing. Even though the charge nurse gave the pain medication, you still check vitals/pain assessment/document etc. That is the primary nurses responsibility just because she didn't give pain medication doesn't mean she isn't caring for the patient. It meant she was busy and the charge nurse stepped in.

Just because I don't hang blood doesn't mean I give up my patient. That will still my patient. The only thing I will not do is spike the bag (which takes 2 seconds) and push the button (which also takes two seconds). That is what I meant by hanging one bag of blood. I meant the actual action of doing it. The 15 mins you are at the patients bedside, yeah I stood there. I always find it awkward but that is most likely because I'm staring holes into the patient body because I know how severe those reactions can be. If there was a reaction, which there wasn't, I would have dealt with it.

The situation that happened with me and that nurse, all she had to do was spike the bag and push the button. Everything else was DONE, she knew that I felt uncomfortable about it and purposely wanted me to do because she knew how I felt. That is what I referring to when I said about how some nurses are unemphatic and have no compassion whatsoever for their fellow nurses. I don't mean all of them. :rolleyes: I will go through great lengths for my fellow nurses even take on 8 extra patients so a nurse can enjoy her lunch in peace(OH and BTW that day I ate lunch at the nursing station because neither one wanted to cover me.)

I don't know if you just scanned my response or what but I don't think you understood what I was trying to say.... :confused:

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

It is not just 'hanging one bag of blood'. As one RN said it's all the checking and doing the 15 minute, then hourly, then 2 hourly obs, dealing with any reactions, etc.

The OP has stated before in this thread that she only has a problem with hanging and spiking the blood, not any of the before/after care. So it really is just hanging one bag of blood.

When ur at work in a specific job YOU DO ALL THE WORK! How would you like it really if a surgeon said: Hi Mr X, I will only be doing half your surgery and some unkown Dr will be finishing the rest cos I don't believe in XYZ? Surgeons do not do this and neither should nurses.

Actually, surgeons do this all the time. Residents? Interns? First-assists? Surgeons can hand off any task during the surgery to another doctor/medical staff who is similarly trained and able to perform the task. Just as a nurse can delegate his/her tasks to another nurse.

I see absolutely no problem with a nurse with a religious objection to blood transfusions being either reassigned to another patient or having another nurse simply hang the bag. There are also nursing roles that do not require blood to be given or it is given very infrequently. To suggest that a Jehovah's Witness should not be a nurse simply because they do not want to administer blood is ridiculous.

nola1202 · Jul 1, 2011

:twocents:

I would like to become a nurse, but I don't believe in blood transfusions, getting them or giving them. That said I would never tell anyone not to get one, or say anything against the doctors order, I believe it is a personnal choice but I don't want to have to give them. I'm in nursing school now. Do you or anyone you know have this issue and if so how do they deal with it and what areas or floors can they work on? I know oncology and ortho are poor choices. I was hoping for a job where It wouldn't come up often and if it did I could get the supervisor or another nurse to do that. while I did all other care.

I admire your strength and willingness to address this issue. I haven't ever met somone from your religion as an RN or MD but I'm sure they are out there. (anyone on this forum?) I truly could not be in the room if someone was having an abortion. I could care for them before and after, but not during.

Fortunately I can choose to work in an area that will prevent me from this, or I could work in a Catholic facility who would honor that choice. Ironic because I don't consider myself that spiritual or religious.

As an individual co-worker, yes I could deal with you not giving blood products. I can see where others are comming from because I've worked floors with a high Sickle Cell Anemia, Oncology or post surgical pt population needed blood. Even in the NICU those tiny little peanuts needed blood fairly frequently. It's a big pain in the rear-end to have to give a transfusion to more than one patient, so there would likely be some resentment for you to deal with. As you say, you could possibly take over IV meds or maybe take one of their patients and carry one extra on your load. I'll be interested in what you decide to do. I hope you update this thread at a later date or others with similar concerns add to this post

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

I've said all I will say on this topic. I can't make it any clearer:

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH BLOOD/BLOOD PRODUCTS, DO NOT BECOME A NURSE!

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

I think you misread what I wrote. If you notice I said that I did check the vitals and I did all the paperwork for that patient. I even went down to the blood bank and got it... My example of the charge nurse, same thing. Even though the charge nurse gave the pain medication, you still check vitals/pain assessment/document etc. That is the primary nurses responsibility just because she didn't give pain medication doesn't mean she isn't caring for the patient. It meant she was busy and the charge nurse stepped in.
Just because I don't hang blood doesn't mean I give up my patient. That will still my patient. The only thing I will not do is spike the bag (which takes 2 seconds) and push the button (which also takes two seconds). That is what I meant by hanging one bag of blood. I meant the actual action of doing it. The 15 mins you are at the patients bedside, yeah I stood there. I always find it awkward but that is most likely because I'm staring holes into the patient body because I know how severe those reactions can be. If there was a reaction, which there wasn't, I would have dealt with it.
The situation that happened with me and that nurse, all she had to do was spike the bag and push the button. Everything else was DONE, she knew that I felt uncomfortable about it and purposely wanted me to do because she knew how I felt. That is what I referring to when I said about how some nurses are unemphatic and have no compassion whatsoever for their fellow nurses. I don't mean all of them. I will go through great lengths for my fellow nurses even take on 8 extra patients so a nurse can enjoy her lunch in peace(OH and BTW that day I ate lunch at the nursing station because neither one wanted to cover me.)
I don't know if you just scanned my response or what but I don't think you understood what I was trying to say....

I'm baffled - I really don't know how else to get this through people's heads! I don't CARE what you believe - good luck to you with your beliefs - I really mean that! And what didn't I understand BTW? I don't have to 'understand' everyone's opinions and posts on here, to post my own thoughts either.

But as Ms Aretha says - R-E-S-P-E-C-T - it works both ways. You respect us and our non-beliefs, and we respect your beliefs as much as we are able to in an often hectic work place. Sometimes you may not be accommodated.

Did u read my other posts? Sometimes you may be the only RN in an isolated place & you HAVE to give blood. I KNOW SOMEONE THIS HAS HAPPENED TO & they struggled with their beliefs vs the patient.

The patient should ALWAYS get the best care, regardless of YOUR BELIEFS, that is all I'm saying. And I'm saying yes you should do ALL YOUR DUTIES WHEN WE ARE BUSY, regardless of what you believe.

Think on this: are you REALLY giving the best care when you refuse to do a procedure? The simple answer is no, you are not.

And I also believe as this subject causes such controversy, that hospitals should not be hiring people who REFUSE - by their own admission - not to do a job 100%. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs or non-beliefs, but not when it impacts on patient care. And it also impacts on staffing rearrangement of duties and simply ******* people off.

Religious people can be VERY blind as to how their refusal to do something impacts on other staff members. It is arrogant in the extreme to assume other people should do your work, BUT we are not allowed to discriminate against you in the work place. I will follow the law every time of course, BUT...it doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

Religious people do not want to accept sometimes that others do not share their beliefs - they get angry and annoyed with us non-believers. Well get used to it - everyone has a different set of beliefs. You respect mine, and I will respect yours.

And BTW, I have NEVER refused to help any JW nurse with blood or berated them re their beliefs as that would be extremely unprofessional, and have always tried to accommodate others' beliefs. But for the record it irritates me to the umpteen extreme when I'm ++ busy, and people just seem to think we other nurses can just drop everything to help them. No it's not fair, and life isn't fair, but hey we all find our own way to deal with it.

I don't know what else to say on the subject - think I've had my rant for the night!

chicookie, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

I'm baffled - I really don't know how else to get this through people's heads! I don't CARE what you believe - good luck to you with your beliefs - I really mean that! And what didn't I understand BTW? I don't have to 'understand' everyone's opinions and posts on here, to post my own thoughts either.
But as Ms Aretha says - R-E-S-P-E-C-T - it works both ways. You respect us and our non-beliefs, and we respect your beliefs as much as we are able to in an often hectic work place. Sometimes you may not be accommodated.
Did u read my other posts? Sometimes you may be the only RN in an isolated place & you HAVE to give blood. I KNOW SOMEONE THIS HAS HAPPENED TO & they struggled with their beliefs vs the patient.
The patient should ALWAYS get the best care, regardless of YOUR BELIEFS, that is all I'm saying. And I'm saying yes you should do ALL YOUR DUTIES WHEN WE ARE BUSY, regardless of what you believe.
Think on this: are you REALLY giving the best care when you refuse to do a procedure? The simple answer is no, you are not.
And I also believe as this subject causes such controversy, that hospitals should not be hiring people who REFUSE - by their own admission - not to do a job 100%. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs or non-beliefs, but not when it impacts on patient care. And it also impacts on staffing rearrangement of duties and simply ******** people off.
Religious people can be VERY blind as to how their refusal to do something impacts on other staff members. It is arrogant in the extreme to assume other people should do your work, BUT we are not allowed to discriminate against you in the work place. I will follow the law every time of course, BUT...it doesn't mean I'm happy about it.
Religious people do not want to accept sometimes that others do not share their beliefs - they get angry and annoyed with us non-believers. Well get used to it - everyone has a different set of beliefs. You respect mine, and I will respect yours.
And BTW, I have NEVER refused to help any JW nurse with blood or berated them re their beliefs as that would be extremely unprofessional, and have always tried to accommodate others' beliefs. But for the record it irritates me to the umpteen extreme when I'm ++ busy, and people just seem to think we other nurses can just drop everything to help them. No it's not fair, and life isn't fair, but hey we all find our own way to deal with it.
I don't know what else to say on the subject - think I've had my rant for the night!

I'm just trying to figure out where you are coming from. I don't know if I'm not understanding or what

No one has ever had to re-arrange assignments for me or done my work for me. If anything, I will do something for them when they help me. Like I stated before I took that nurses patients so she could have a lunch break while neither one wanted to cover me for lunch, but she hung the bag for me which literally took her less than 5 mins and it wasn't like she was doing something. If we worked together and I see you running around busy, of course I'm not going to ask to you to drop everything to hang it! I'll find someone else. Now if you are talking about people who are lazy and don't do anything then I can see where it would be an issue, I can only speak from personal experience and I've never met someone who says I don't hang blood,I'm not going to deal with this patient.. I've never met someone who had to hang blood by themselves either. *shrugs*

IDK to me it sounds like you thought I was talking about you. Which is not true. You sound like a knowledgeable respectful nurse. My comments were more directed at the ones that said just because she didn't want to hang blood she shouldn't be a nurse. I've been RN for almost 3 years and I haven't had a problem. I know various other nurses with my same belief system that have NEVER had a problem with this issue. That was my point.

Again, if you know that its going to be an issue don't put yourself in that spot. I do have one friend who couldn't stand the thought so she is working at an eye surgery center. Problem solved.

As to your question of are you REALLY giving the best care when you refuse to do a procedure?

When you are discussing blood transfusion for most cases (NOT ALL!) every blood transfusion a patient receives especially an unnecessary one compromises patient safety. Don't believe me? Look at the SABM website. Also research what happens to stored cells. I'll give you a hint it loses its shape and it loses the essential 2,3 DPG. For the first 24 to 48 hours, you might as well given the patient a volume expander. The blood isn't doing its job of delivering oxygen, as a matter of fact its actually stealing Oxygen from the the tissues. So while you see the red count go up, the tissue oxygen saturation goes down. Not only that but they are also immunosuppresssed so they are more at risk of getting infections.

Remember fellow peers knowledge is key!

As to the question again I can only speak for myself: I give 110% of myself when I take care of my patients. No one can accuse me of not giving a patient the best care I can give. That assumption that just because I refuse to hang it but do all other work involved means that I'm not caring for the patient annoys me. I just don't think its the big deal everyone makes it out to be but hey whatever floats your boat.

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

I see absolutely no problem with a nurse with a religious objection to blood transfusions being either reassigned to another patient or having another nurse simply hang the bag. There are also nursing roles that do not require blood to be given or it is given very infrequently. To suggest that a Jehovah's Witness should not be a nurse simply because they do not want to administer blood is ridiculous.

People who don't want to administer blood for any reason should not work where part of their job duties is to administer blood. Having the supervisor and coworkers reassign or do their work for them is not acceptable.

Religious beliefs are no different from any other. If I don't want to hang blood because I think that my red blood cells will be jealous and jump out of my body, my coworkers and supervisors should not have to alter their jobs to accommodate my personal beliefs.

If you have a job to do, you do it. If you don't want to do that job - for any reason - go find one you do.

MyGranniePanties · Jul 1, 2011

This whole post is extremely entertaining :) you know what they say about politics and religion!

All I know is that for anyone that has a problem with her becoming a nurse because of her religion, I would like to request that Christians sthu about having Sunday off. I know I would much rather not work every Sunday because you need to be off to practice your religion. :) what about doctors that will "discourage" abortion based on their religion? What about doctors/psychiatrist that will refuse to write scripts because of their ethics? WhY about all the "praise Jesus" and "thank you lords" that everyone everywhere is forced to listen to everyday because that is just something you say when you believe that? I know I'm pulling nose hairs here because I'm just being ****** about having to deal with what is considered a "majority" where I live and I am looked down upon because I don't believe the same thing.

Anyway, this is the first time I have heard about this issue. I am not very savvy when it comes to all the various belief systems; I'm more of a live and let live. This might have been discussed, and I either read it when I was too tired to retain or just missed it-- can someone tell me why it is "against the rules" to hang blood for a patient? I get that it may not be an option for you to receive blood, but why is hanging it such an issue? Do you take blood, or is that not an option either? I not trying to put down or object, I am actually kist curious....

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

I've said all I will say on this topic. I can't make it any clearer:
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH BLOOD/BLOOD PRODUCTS, DO NOT BECOME A NURSE!

I clearly understand what you are saying, but I still maintain it is an illogical statement. There are areas of nursing that deal very little, or not at all, with blood products. When was the last time you say blood given in long term care? In rehab? In a school? If a person does not want to give blood, they can simply find a role in nursing that does not include this skill. There are many out there. Being a Jehovah's Witness does not disqualify one from nursing.

Imagine that someone says "I really don't like dealing with tracheostomies" for no particular reason. Should they not be allowed to be a nurse because trachs are part of nursing care? No. They just choose to work in an area that does not have patients with tracheostomies.

Furthermore, as much as you assure us that you are not prejudiced, your posts convey quite the contrary. Fortunately for the OP and other JW nurses, most health care workers and employers are much more open minded than you are.