It's not my job to pray with you.

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I am not religious. I do not pray. If praying makes you feel good then awesome. Do that. When patients are religious and need spirutual support, I am the first one to find their local pastor/rabbi/medicine man/etc. for them. This is how I can support my patient. I do not feel however, that I should be pressured to say prayers. yes, I will give my patient space and quiet time to pray if they want, but i don't feel it's my job to pray with patients. I feel this is over the line.

These studies are not scientifically defensible. How does anyone know that no one was praying for the patients in the control group?

Agree but for different reasons, how does one know if any gods are actually listening?

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How does one know that there is a God to listen?

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How does one know that there is a God to listen?

That is a good question, it requires faith which as an atheist I do not have. I'm not the best to answer this question lol

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

I don't believe there is a way to accurately measure the efficacy of prayer, but I qualify that by knowing there is a vast amount of things I know I don't understand. Doesn't bother me in the least to just send people thoughts of (for lack of description for same in other faiths) agápē or brotherly love. I can't imagine that would actually be unacceptable to anyone who cares for a loved one, and if it is, well that's just how we'll leave it.

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I'm not religious in the least (I actually kind of resent most religions) but I don't mind praying with my patients. I believe that positive energy and hopeful thoughts are a good thing and if my patient feels like doing what with me I'm not going to tell them no. I get why some people are uncomfortable with prayer but how hard is it to separate yourself from the situation and just be there for someone? It seems stubborn to me. Everyone is different I guess.

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Specializes in ICU, Postpartum, Onc, PACU.

I think it's the nice thing to do. I never pray anymore and barely consider myself a Christian most of the time, but how much is bowing your head and sharing a moment (not a prayer, specifically) with a dying patient hurting anything?

I have had friends who are atheists/agnostic come over to my house as a kid and when my dad said the prayer before a meal they bowed their heads and were respectful. You don't have to close your eyes or be into prayer, but having a moment with a patient who is obviously in need at that time is a good thing.

Of course you call the chaplain or whoever else is available, but if it's a quick little thing I don't know why that's so difficult for people. I've participated (to the best of my ability) in Wiccan rituals in hospital rooms before and it did me no harm, plus it was appreciated by the patient. Win/win.

xo

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Specializes in Medical-Surgial, Cardiac, Pediatrics.

I don't pray with patient either, and I don't pretend to. Were I polytheistic, I wouldn't ask someone to pray to a god they don't believe in just because it makes me feel better, and I wouldn't ask them to be silent and pretend, since that would largely just be disingenuous. People need support, but they don't need empty gestures or pretending.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

I think a lot of praying/not praying with a patient is also figuring out what the patient is looking for when they ask you to pray with them. Are they asking for you to reassure them? Are they asking you to keep them in your thoughts because they fear being forgotten? To spend a quiet moment supporting them? Are they wanting spiritual affirmation? Are the looking for support with in the context of a specific religious framework? Are they struggling with spiritual questions and concerns?

I am happy to keep a patient in my thoughts, but it is not my role to pray with them. I find the patients who most frequently ask this of me all come from a similar faith background and mistake me as belonging to their faith, which I do not, and it feels ethically sticky to me to offer them spiritual support under what feels like false pretense. I will offer support to them and refer to spiritual care. Our chaplains are excellent and readily respond to requests. They are far better equipped to navigate the spiritual needs of our patients than I am. If a chaplain isn't available or the patients isn't comfortable with a stranger coming in, I've also coordinated with their local spiritual leader to have a support from their religious community involved, be it clergy or otherwise.

Usually providing support even if it is not direclty spiritual and letting a patient know that their spiritual needs will be addressed by chaplain/clergy (who is coming at X time) makes them feel heard and is enough to settle their anxieties until spiritual care arrives.

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Specializes in Psych.
I am not religious. I do not pray. If praying makes you feel good then awesome. Do that. When patients are religious and need spirutual support, I am the first one to find their local pastor/rabbi/medicine man/etc. for them. This is how I can support my patient. I do not feel however, that I should be pressured to say prayers. yes, I will give my patient space and quiet time to pray if they want, but i don't feel it's my job to pray with patients. I feel this is over the line.[/QUO

I am an atheist, in the deep south, no less. Its like wearing a scarlet letter, though, if you " come out" as an atheist, at least in these parts. When people say they'll pray for me, or something like that, I take it as a sign of their good will, nothing more. I just say, " Thanks." If someone asks me to pray with them, I say something like, "I'm not a believer, so I'll bow out and give you some space.

Sometimes, people assume I'll be part of their rituals, like saying grace. I don't interrupt, but I don't bow my head or close my eyes or say amen. Heck, if they are all bowing their heads and praying, they shouldn't be focusing on me anyhow.

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Specializes in LTC.

Heck, where I work I wouldn't have time to pray with a patient or to be silently respectful of prayer if I wanted to. Too many patients and too little staff. I call their family or listed clergy on the fly if necessary (no chaplain here).

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).

All this serious talk of religion and the great questions of the comos makes me want to lighten things up a bit

Andy Andrews Recalls His Rendition Of ‘Amazing Grace’ That Has Church In Hysterics | VIRALVO

Hppy

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In the past, when people have asked me to pray with them, I've said, "I'll stay here with you while you pray."

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