I'm a nurse working in a medical ward in New Zealand and I'm really interested in this site and all the things you say here. You've helped me in the past - each time I've asked.
I know that many nurses working in hospice care have definite views on what happens after people die. I don't believe in purely "dust to dust" - I believe the soul lives on.
You could say that I have an "issue" with God about heaven and hell and how, according to the Bible, a lot of people aren't saved because they don't trust Jesus.
I get really stressed over this issue.
Do you find it affects your work in hospice care, worrying about "where people will spend eternity"?
Do you ever want to say something to sway a person's chosen way?
I'm fully aware that pt choice comes first, pt autonomy etc, but I have this conflict inside.
i understand, nettie, that your question was about your own personal conflict, but it stikes such a strong chord in me that my first response is to continue to advocate for the support of the patient's own personal spirituality. i'm going to do some looking and see if i can find some advice from some of those much wiser than i about handling conflicts such as you are experiencing. i understand what you are saying and i sympathize, but cannot really empathize since i am universalist in my beliefs.
Life begins and it eventually ends. That is our reality. What a person chooses to believe is their own conviction. For caregivers, repetative loss of patients or residents can be very trying.
This is my reality check. Life is an ecosystem. Our reality of life ends for all as we know it. In our world, life is everything and death is final. But I do not believe it is. Death is the passage way to another realm of "LIFE". Unless we have demonstrated monsterous disregard for our fellow people, we will all share in this reward.
I am not talking Meryl Streep here. I am talking a belief that there is a greater life for us to lead following this life but not in this realm. As a caregiver of the life cycle, I do everything possible for those still here. If death is iminent, I encourage the person to leap into the next life.
Faith is important. To be successful at comforting your patient at the time of death, you must have resolved your own fear of death.
I wish I knew what lies ahead for us but I don't. I have faith that when I do die, God will enlighten me with those answers.
Life begins and it eventually ends. That is our reality. What a person chooses to believe is their own conviction. For caregivers, repetative loss of patients or residents can be very trying.
This is my reality check. Life is an ecosystem. Our reality of life ends for all as we know it. In our world, life is everything and death is final. But I do not believe it is. Death is the passage way to another realm of "LIFE". Unless we have demonstrated monsterous disregard for our fellow people, we will all share in this reward.
I am not talking Meryl Streep here. I am talking a belief that there is a greater life for us to lead following this life but not in this realm. As a caregiver of the life cycle, I do everything possible for those still here. If death is iminent, I encourage the person to leap into the next life.
Faith is important. To be successful at comforting your patient at the time of death, you must have resolved your own fear of death.
I wish I knew what lies ahead for us but I don't. I have faith that when I do die, God will enlighten me with those answers.
i once had a patient of a certian religion that i have issues with. i had such a hard time personally with it. i felt for his soul. i worried about his soul. i questioned my own beliefs. i think hospice nurses have a huge challenge in this area to go beyond and look beyond this. it is very tough.
i don't know if there is an easy answer to it.
my belief is thati have a lot to learn about spirituality. and maybe, maybe i can learn from each death. that maybe i can expand my 'shallow' views and be more open. but it is not an easy task.
nettie01
35 Posts
ok, thanks for your comments.