I am new to hospice. I have been a nurse for three years and have previously worked in a fairly religously nuetral environment. I suppose I shouldve guessed that hospice would not be such an environment, but I think what has surprised me the most are my coworkers, who seem to be completely unaware that any religious trains of thought exist outside of christianity. I have no problem listening to them and am glad that they believe so whole heartedly in their views, I simply do not agree with them. But the other day I attended my first group meeting with our aide, volunteers, chaplain, sw, etc and they actually prayed before the meeting, assuming, everyone in the room shared the same beliefs as them! This, I found offensive. I am Pagan, Wiccan, more specifically, and I also value religious tolerance, but I am rapidly becoming aware of how much tongue swallowing I am about to be doing.Many of our patients are Christian as well, I expected this, and am ok with it. I am hoping I can find some advice from others who have already walked in my shoes. What is the best wat way to "handle" , if you will, co-workers and patients in a way that is respectful to them but also to....myself??
