This is my first time posting a thread. I was just wondering if anyone is or knows of a Jehovah's Witness nurse who works in a critical care unit. Also if you dont mind can you tell me at which hospital? The reason I am asking is that I am also one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I just passed my NCLEX. Yay I really want to work in the critical care unit, specifically the CCU. However, when I explained to the supervisor of the ICU/CCU about the issue with the blood transfusion, she said she couldnt hire me on to the critical care unit. Yes, this hospital is offering critical care positions to new grads. I was really devastated because i wanted to really work in the CCU. So I was wondering if it's the same for other hospitals. I explained to the supervisor that I am willing to care for the patient who is receiving the blood transfusion, but that I would need a second nurse(most likely the nurse who would be verifying the blood with me) to spike the blood and press the start button. I do understand why the critical care environment may not want to have a nurse who cannot initiate the blood transfusion. So I was just wondering if I do not have a chance at all in a critical care unit. For now I am orienting in the med-surg floor and I still have lingering feelings for the critical care unit.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i am a jehovah's witness and the person who aided me to becoming a witness has been one for 34 years and a registered nurse for 43 years prior to retiring last december. i work on a very busy med-surg floor and i am very happy that i have not come under the scrutany that the original poster has encountered by asking a simple question. it often amazes me how people who are looked at as being "saving graces" for many can be so cold to their own. nurses treat their fellow nurses so badly sometimes, which is evident by many of the rude and offensive responses posted.
the op asked a question; she got honest answers. i didn't see any rude or offensive answers. direct and honest is not the same as rude or offensive. nurses are not "saving graces", we're hardworking people. the op was not mistreated but you, i think, by holding nurses to a higher standard are being unjustly hard on your own.
OP, I respect you for wanting to stay true to what you believe. I would encourage you to not stray from your beliefs just because other people think it would be easier on your career. However, I think the nurses on here have given plenty of examples of why the ICU/CCU may not be the best option for you.
You have to think about the patient. Seconds do matter. As someone who is a part of a community that has to receive blood on a regular basis to survive, I know from their stories that seconds can count.
How would you feel if a patient of yours died because you had to find someone to do these things for you?
I strongly encourage you to look into other areas of nursing where you will be a better fit. I think this area of nursing would put a strain on you and on your beliefs.
I am sure the OP will giving blood transfusions on any floor not just Critical Care Units. This would mean another nurse would have to hang the blood and push the start button for the OP everytime. This would take care from other patients. Most nurses already feel we don't have enough time for our patient now. As nurses we do check blood with one another but we dont have hang it or start the blood for the other nurse. This could cause an uproar.
I'm sure she explained her predicament to the manager on the med/surg unit and s/he is aware of it. There aren't that many transfusions on such a unit that it should be a problem; I would gladly help another nurse with a task under such circumstances (just how difficult is it to initiate the transfusion if you're already at the bedside to cosign)?
Huh, I've never thought about this, but as a nurse we have to carry out doctor's orders regardless of our own beliefs or whatever. I have plenty of patients who are full code and 90-something years old with all sorts of cardiac problems and diabetes wanting tube feedings and the whole 9 yards. While I don't agree with their wishes personally, I still have to carry out the patient's wishes. There's few instances where nurses won't be giving blood transfusions, except for home health and perhaps a doctor's office, but as a new grad you would benefit from that year of Med/Surg. Are you able to care for a patient who has received transfusions in the past, or during the transfusions?
I don't really have an answer to your question. But I think even if it turns out that you can't work in ICU, the Lord will give you a job somewhere else that is even better for you. I know that may not sound good to you now but it will all work out in the long run.
BTW, I think it's cool that you were able to stick to your beliefs and congratulation on finding a job in Med Surg!
Codes are run by multiple people...there should always be enough people to spike the blood because an emergency doesn't mean that all safety measures, such as verification, are thrown out the window. It is merely a matter of her switching places with another nurse.
Yes, and often the room is so crowded , that you cannot "switch" places. Often getting to that corner or the IV site is a nightmare.
And the average ICU. may have multiple code-like situations going, or have parceled someone out to M/S on a rapid response, thus, you may not have those extra hands there.
One suggestion that hasn't been mentioned yet is this: if the OP waits a while, the JW position will change. It may be years from now, but there's a very good chance the prohibition against starting a blood transfusion will change. Just look at the history of the religion:
JWs used to be allowed to celebrate holidays, birthdays, etc. Now they are not.
JWs used to be forbidden from using aluminum cookware. Now, there is no such prohibition.
JWs used to be forbidden from receiving an organ transplant. Now, it is a matter of conscience.
JWs used to be forbidden from receiving ANY blood fractions, now some are allowed while others are not.
An so on and so on. Once the rules change, her religion won't be a barrier anymore.
I think some people misinterpreted my previous post (on the first page of this thread.) I think I need to clarify. I didn't mean that this nurse would not be giving blood on a med-surg floor. I just meant it would be (usually) less likely to be a code/emergency situation, so I can see more how she would be able to work on the floor than an ICU. It still wouldn't be easy.
Yes, and often the room is so crowded , that you cannot "switch" places. Often getting to that corner or the IV site is a nightmare.
And the average ICU. may have multiple code-like situations going, or have parceled someone out to M/S on a rapid response, thus, you may not have those extra hands there.
If there is a person present at the code, regardless of where they are standing, that cannot connect an IV, then they probaby don't need to be working the code-at all. They need to stay out of the room.
The only person that would apply to, is the respiratory therapist.
I think that people that don't work in an ICU can not understand just how fast blood is transfused here.
In an non-emergent situation, such as a pt that is going back to surgery in the morning with low counts. I could be giving 2-3 units of PRBC's, a 6 pack of platelets and 2 units of FFP. They will all come up together in a cooler, and get checked off with another nurse on arrival with the pt's armband. That other nurse will then go back to his/her own pt's and I will hang/start the blood. In the non-emergent situation a unit of blood will be finished in about 10 minutes, with the next unit started immediately after it. You can not ask another nurse into your room every 10 minutes to start your blood.
Now in an emergent situation a unit of blood/FFP/platelets will be pushed into the pt every 3 minutes and this can go on for what seems like forever. To give you some idea of the amount of blood products that can go into a pt in the ICU, when I totaled up the volume it was over 15 liters within 2 hours the last time I did a rapid transfusion.
A question -- If a nurse is hired and is granted certain restrictions (won 't do certain things) as discussed here based upon religion or some other factor, does the patient have a right to know this under informed consent? Some patients, (or their families or advocates) may not want a nurse with certain restrictions working with them. Some thoughts on this?
I really want to work in the critical care unit, specifically the CCU. However, when I explained to the supervisor of the ICU/CCU about the issue with the blood transfusion, she said she couldnt hire me on to the critical care unit. Yes, this hospital is offering critical care positions to new grads. I was really devastated because i wanted to really work in the CCU. 
So I was wondering if it's the same for other hospitals. I explained to the supervisor that I am willing to care for the patient who is receiving the blood transfusion, but that I would need a second nurse(most likely the nurse who would be verifying the blood with me) to spike the blood and press the start button. I do understand why the critical care environment may not want to have a nurse who cannot initiate the blood transfusion. So I was just wondering if I do not have a chance at all in a critical care unit. For now I am orienting in the med-surg floor and I still have lingering feelings for the critical care unit. 
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
the op asked a question; she got honest answers. i didn't see any rude or offensive answers. direct and honest is not the same as rude or offensive. nurses are not "saving graces", we're hardworking people. the op was not mistreated but you, i think, by holding nurses to a higher standard are being unjustly hard on your own.