What do you think about this...

Tait, MSN, RN · Oct 5, 2009

I have worked in two Catholic hospitals. One was a very small rural hospital in Wisconsin, the current one a very large metropolitan hospital in Georgia.

In Wisconsin (worked there seven months) I really didn't see the influence of religion in our night shift. We did not have a chaplain in house at night, so when people died it was the RN's responsibility to deal with all of the family issues, funeral homes etc. Sometimes at six am that was a bit of a stretch.

In my current job we have 24 hour chaplains and they are amazing. I am assuming even non-religion affiliated hospitals have someone to manage cultural and religious needs. At our hospital they are always available, they help with transfers to the ICU, manage family interactions during that time, help with codes, talk to patients about living wills, power of attorney issues and designation, DNR status, concerns, conflicts and also staff stresses and concerns. Amazing.

As far as other interactions with religion, our Catholic status does not impede us in helping patients of all religions. I recently took care of an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, which was by far the most interesting religious interaction at work I have had to date. I had to learn how to take care of someone who didn't believe it was clean for women to touch him. He was very sweet, and I quickly swallowed my feminist pride, but when someone needs help, sometimes they have to deal.

I am not sure if this was what you were looking for but its a bit of my world.

Tait

southernbeegirl, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2009

i worked for a catholic hospital and LOVED it! it was a not for profit organization. the nuns were always there. you truly felt as if you were doing God's work.

then they sold us to a forprofit company and i am now in hell.

tryingpatsy · Oct 5, 2009

Tait that was exactly what i was looking for. thank you both for your responses.

BluegrassRN · Oct 5, 2009

I work in a smallish community hospital, not religiously affiliated.

At admission, we ask every pt if they would like a visit from the hospital chaplin. We have a chaplin on call 24hrs a day. Additionally, we have the phone numbers of other religious leaders should a patient request to meet with someone of a specific denomination.

Our chaplain is paged each time a code blue is called. She is also a part of the ethics committee and the palliative care team. She really is fantastic.

We have a small chapel within the hospital that is open 24 hrs a day for anyone's use. There is a variety of reading materials available, including books from many religions.

I'm an atheist, but I fully recognized the importance of religion has to many people, and I'm glad our hospital does a good job trying to address this.

mamamerlee, LPN · Oct 5, 2009

Many, many, many years ago, I worked in a large Catholic hospital in Philadelphia. Dayshift started at 8AM, and morning prayer came over the PA system about 815AM, while we were usually still in report. We had a nun who was an LPN on our floor; she was very efficient and very sweet. She wore a habit; there was no denying who she was. Anyway, about 3-4 months of working there, I was with a patient, and she asked me to pray with her. She started saying the 'Our Father', and I chimed in right along. I am Jewish! All those morning prayers had sunk in!

The floor I worked on had many private rooms; we got all the isolation cases and most of the VIPs. Priests, nuns, higher ups in both the religious and secular communities. Nuns tended to be extremely modest, sometimes making us go thru 3 or 4 layers of clothing to get to where we needed to be. That did not seem to be the issue with the priests....

I also worked in a Catholic hospital in a smaller town, the only clerics were in administration. No morning prayer over the PA. Staff w/small town attitudes.

Each place, religious or secular, has its own atmosphere.