Faith-based Hospitals.. can anyone apply?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Can anyone apply to Faith-based Hospitals??? or are they only looking for particular religious candidates...?

0 Votes

Yes, anyone can apply. They can't discriminate based on your own religious beliefs. Many non-religious people work for faith-based systems. There may be a cross hanging on the wall, or scripture quotes as decor but you're not forced to follow their beliefs, only to be respectful of them.

0 Votes

ohhhh I didn't know that. Good to know! I will start applying now!

I always see posts from some hospitals (Adventist Health) that ask you to do a pre-application survey. With questions like, How do you feel about praying during work and other religion related questions. They say they are looking for a certain group of people who are also religious. Can anyone really apply to those jobs? I stopped looking at their ads the minute I see Adventist Health now b/c i didn't think i qualify.

0 Votes

I don't know about that specific hospital system, but if they are an EOE, they cannot legally discriminate against you based on your own religious beliefs. However, if they do incorporate some sort of religious practice into their care I can see why they would want people that share their same beliefs. Most aren't like this though. Even thought they can't legally discriminate, I'm sure if you don't answer their pre-employment screenings with the answers they seek, they will weed you out this way. Not telling you to lie on the application, but don't automatically pass up a health system just because it has a religous name.

0 Votes
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

The Catholic Hospitals and the Adventist Hospitals around me do not require that you share the religion they are founded on. I didn't even need to be Catholic to go to the Catholic High School right next to the Catholic Hospital. :)

0 Votes

I worked at an Adventist hospital in the Sunbelt system for many years. For the most part, it's an excellent place to work. There were a few down sides (if you aren't an Adventist). The cafeteria in my hospital was vegetarian (fake meat, yuck), although they did offer the patients meat if they requested it. We ordered out for lunch a lot. They make efforts to allow the Sabbath off if you're an Adventist, but if you worship on Sundays, you're out of luck. Of course, most of the nurses had to rotate weekends just like everybody else. Some of the surgeons routinely prayed with the patients before surgery, whether asked or not. For the most part, everybody I worked with knew that not only was I not Adventist, I didn't practice any religion at all. Nobody tried to convert me, and they all respected my decision, but it's obvious that those who worshipped together have a stronger bond than they have with non-Adventist. They were friends as well as coworkers, but that's understandable.

Even though I'm not an Adventist, or any religion for that matter, it's an excellent place to work. I'd happily work in an Adventist hospital again. There is a level of respect in their hospitals that you don't see very often. You'll very rarely have a doctor curse you or even raise their voices at you. There are some non-Adventist doctors at the Adventist hospitals, but upper level administration is typically Adventist. They strongly encourage everyone to treat each other with respect, and when I've had problems (very few) admin was very supportive. They are extremely conscious of patients' and staff's spiritual needs, but they typically won't try to force their religion on anyone.

My hospital in particular was a great place to work, but I can't speak for all of them. As I said before, I'd happily go back to an Adventist hospital. If you can deal with being in a religious setting, you'll be fine.

An interesting story that happened to me personally. I was a scrub tech in this hospital, and my mother was a late-stage COPDer. I was scrubbed in with one of the Adventist surgeons one particular time when she was a pt out on the floor. For some reason, I had a really bad feeling about her (I fully expected to hear them call a code to her room that day), and I was so concerned that I had difficulty concentrating on the surgery. When the surgeon realized why I was distracted, he immediately said a prayer for mom. We finished the surgery, and as I was taking my dirty instruments out to decontam, one of my coworkers caught me in the hall to tell me that Mom had crashed and they had transferred her to ICU. The surgeon who prayed for her overheard, and he went with me to ICU. We got to her room just as she went into asystole. He started the code on her, and he stayed with her until she stabilized again - even after the crash team arrived. When she stabilized enough that we felt comfortable leaving, he gave me emotional and spiritual support. Mom lived for several years after that, and I'll be forever grateful to him for going far beyond the call of duty that day. He and another surgeon (his partner) frequently stopped in to check on her, even if I wasn't in the room with her. Everyone knew she was my mom, and they treated her as if she were their own mother. She was amazed that she got the "VIP" treatment. I was proud that she was being treated so well in my hospital, and I was proud to work in such a caring hospital.

0 Votes
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Wow- that is refreshing to hear someone actually praise their hospital!! Nice to know places like that actually exist! :up:

0 Votes

Anyone can apply and work at the local Jewish home, but you have to comply with their dietary guidelines. But they supply you meals for you, so its a good deal. It is a great place to work from what I understand.

I would think as long as you are willing to respect whatever religious guidelines are in place, you would be able to work there.

0 Votes
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

StudentNurse2011, your story brought tears to my eyes! I'm not done with school yet, but I hope to be able to have coworkers like that around me when I'm an RN!

We have two hospitals in our town, and the one I usually use happens to be a Catholic facility (I'm a Christian, but not a Catholic). When I'm in the common areas (like the outpatient and lab waiting areas), I'll hear a chime and a prayer over the intercom at 8am, but other than that (and the occasional cross on the wall) you'd never know you were in a religious facility. I had my son in that hospital ten years ago, and my midwife was part of the hospital's OB/GYN practice, and I never experienced anything in my time there that would have told me it was a religious hospital -- no praying in the room, and the intercom prayers weren't audible in the patient areas.

I actually forget entirely at times that it's a Catholic hospital... a friend recently had her 4th child via c-section there, and she wanted to get her tubes tied but they wouldn't do it. I felt like a dork when I asked her why they refused, and she reminded me that it's a Catholic hospital! (Fortunately, their OB/GYN practice doesn't refuse other forms of birth control -- I just love my Mirena IUD!)

I also had a relative who used to run an Adventist hospital (maintenance once labeled his parking spot with a sign that said HOTWO -- head of the whole operation). He's been deceased for quite a while now, but he was always one of my favorite relatives, even though he lived several states away and I didn't get to see him all that often. He always had such an aura of peace, calmness, and caring about him... if that's the type of person that Adventist organizations regularly hire to run their hospitals, I can see why working for an Adventist hospital would be a positive experience.

As for the original post, I think the biggest thing they're likely concerned about is whether you'd MIND if someone prayed in the workplace, or if a patient asked you to pray with them at the bedside, etc. Some folks would feel uncomfortable in that situation, and that wouldn't be very conducive to a healing environment for the patient, IMO.

0 Votes
Specializes in home health, dialysis, others.

I'm Jewish, but I have worked at 2 Catholic hospitals, back in the day when they were still being run by nuns. Never had a problem with the administration, learned a lot from the nuns, and they asked me occassional questions, too.

Every day at 8:10 am, there was a prayer over the PA system. Mostly the 'Our Father'. One day, a patient asked me to pray w/her, and she began the Our Father, and I said the entire prayer along with her!!! From hearing it so often, I knew all the words! I was so surprised!

0 Votes

I worked for an Adventist medical center in the past, and I'm certainly not LDS. Most of the people I knew there were not. I was not even asked about that in the application process, as I recall. It was a v. good hospital and a good employer. As a previous poster noted, the cafeteria and meal trays abided by the LDS dietary restrictions (helpful tip -- turns out "vegetarian" does not necessarily equal "healthy"; they only avoided meat, not fat, salt or sugar :D), and all meetings were officially mandated to begin with devotions/prayer. The minimally-staffed/ancillary-departments-closed day for them was Saturday and Sunday was just another work day. Other than that, there wasn't much that was different from the other hospitals I've worked at over the years.

0 Votes
I worked for an Adventist medical center in the past, and I'm certainly not LDS. Most of the people I knew there were not. I was not even asked about that in the application process, as I recall. It was a v. good hospital and a good employer. As a previous poster noted, the cafeteria and meal trays abided by the LDS dietary restrictions (helpful tip -- turns out "vegetarian" does not necessarily equal "healthy"; they only avoided meat, not fat, salt or sugar :D), and all meetings were officially mandated to begin with devotions/prayer. The minimally-staffed/ancillary-departments-closed day for them was Saturday and Sunday was just another work day. Other than that, there wasn't much that was different from the other hospitals I've worked at over the years.

Adventist aren't LDS. They are 7th Day Adventist.... nothing to do with Latter Day Saints.... except the long name! lol LDS do have a health code called the Word of Wisdom and meat is to be eaten sparingly but not at all vegetarian. You aren't the first to confuse LDS and Adventist though.. I was once dating an non-active Adventist and when I told him I was LDS he said, "HEY I go to that church sometimes!" I said "Uh,... no you don't. They are completely different churches" lol

0 Votes
+ Add a Comment