Nurses' Spiritual Lives

[FutureMaleOhioNurse, BSN, RN]

I spoke to an ER nurse about his spiritual life. He told me that he's now closer to God than before he became a nurse. He went on to explain that he found himself praying more for his patients and has even witnessed several miracles. This, in turn, strengthened his relationship with God. He said, "How can something that defies medical/scientific laws occur? The only explanation is divine intervention." I'm curious as to how your spiritual lives have been affected by being a nurse. Have you witnessed any miracles that physicians cannot explain? Please share them here. Has your faith been affected because of the tragedies that you've witnessed and thought, "How can there be a God?" As a Christian, I would really like to hear from you. My faith is strong, but I want to know if I have to prepare myself before I start nursing school this fall. This thread can also serve as a motivational tool to help those in the medical field who are having problems with their faith. :) What can I do to keep my faith strong while witnessing the things that nurses deal with every day (e.g. a child dying, domestic violence, etc.)?

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

I am a christian and have a strong relationship with God. As a nurse I feel as though it is my purpose to provide others with healing and good quality of care. God is apart of my work day always. Everyday before I go to work I pray for my patients, myself, and I just ask God to protect my license as well.

If I feel overwhelmed or upset I pray at work or encourage myself with biblical verses to keep me going during the day.

There are some patients that share the same faith as me and I have no problem praying with them privately.

If they are a different faith I do refer them to someone else, however I still give them the care they deserve.

I do believe God is a healer and I also believe that God allows certain diseases and illness to take place for reasons that is beyond ones own understanding.

God definately got me through nursing school. Before every exam my class mates and I would pray and God allowed me and others to pass every single exam. Ofcourse I studied as well, however I did feel His power through nursing school.

He carried me through that tough program and showed me that I had strength that I never thought I had.

Oh boy, I can go and and on. Anyway, I hope this answered your question.

[JulieCVICURN, BSN, RN]

I have seen amazing things at work. I've seen people purposely wait for their loved ones to leave before they die, and I've seen the reverse (waiting until they arrive and then promptly dying). I've seen a patient who was technically dead for 10 minutes be hollered back into life by a daughter who was unable to let go (only to die again 15 minutes later, but hey, she got to say goodbye). I've seen someone who had absolutely no chance to survive walk back into my unit to thank us for saving his life.

I am an atheist, and none of these things has changed that belief. I believe in the power of the human spirit, love, and the connection all living things have on some level that none of us comprehend in our day to day life. And if someone believes differently than I do, I smile and listen and don't push my own beliefs on them. My job is to support, not to change their views in the last hours of their lives.

[loriangel14, RN]

I am more spiritual than religious and I haven't been to church in years.But I do believe that God is not an entity that lives "upstairs". I think he resides inside of us, whether we choose to acknowledge him or not and I believe that we are doing his work with our acts of caring and compassion.

[JustEnuff2BDangerous, BSN, RN]

I consider nursing to be a way that I can serve my God better by serving His people. I have seen great tragedy, great suffering, but also great healing and great peace. What you must remember is that life is not fair. Death is no respecter of persons, and tragedy happens everyday. You must also remember that you have no control over death, nor over life. As a nurse you guard life, and try to defeat death, for your patients, but in the end you do not have the final say.

Being a nurse has also made me more religious because it is simply amazing to see how the human body works, how it is put together, and how it can overcome the most outrageous of odds. Small miracles happen everyday, too.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I worked 10 years in an inner city level one trauma center. I consider spiritual but not necessarily really religious.

However, I have come to cherish the fragility of our existence. It can be snuffed out in just a second and we only have now.

By the same token, I now work with chronically ill pts and their spirits amaze me! Many of them are an inspiration.

[MsBruiser]

This job has made me into a raging atheist. The sheer amount of waste and human suffering does not equate into belief in a "higher power." Different strokes for different folks.

[RNBearColumbus, BSN]

As a buddhist, I do not believe in a creator god with whom one can have a personal relationship. I have seen nothing in my career that would convince me otherwise.

Buddhism teaches that life is characterized by suffering, or unease (or dis-ease if you will.) Through buddhist practice, we seek to end that suffering. I see my job as a way for me to help alleviate the suffering of other beings.

[RetRN77]

I've witnessed many miracles in my time both as a nurse and in my personal life. It's strengthened my faith, yet I recognize that we cannot understand the ways of God in all things, for His ways are far above ours.

Just a few...

One of my family members was near death from a bowel obstruction, and the nurses said they did not think he would make it through the night, but he made a full recovery. Earlier he had survived massive injuries in WWII, and the miracle of penicillin, which had just recently been put into use, probably had a lot to do with that.

Another was hit by a car as a young child. First prognosis was that he would not live due to the depressed skull fracture. It was the 50's, so there were not the vast advances we have now. Second prognosis was that if he lived, he would probably remain comatose. A later one was, OK, he lived and was alert, but would probably never walk again. He not only lived and walked, but he made it through school and recently retired from a position he'd held for over 35 years. His mom had prayed at his bedside for his life.

Another member nearly died of a GI bleed. Hemoglobin was something like 3.5. Even the doctor admitted to being scared he would not survive. When a later bleed began, our family was praying fervently. By the time he reached ER, there was no bleeding at all evident; lavage showed nothing at all. However, it was obvious he had been bleeding because his H&H had shown he'd had another frank bleed, as did other results. He didn't bleed during the hospitalization, but he did have to stay to complete transfusions and other treatment.

Another person had not been feeling well, but couldn't put her finger on the problem. She had been putting off a routine choly, and one day felt like God was telling her it was time to stop messing around and get it done. She asked the surgeon to check around very carefully, just in case. He blew her off, saying he always checked around during surgery. It turned out that she had two pre-cancerous ovaries. After the surgery, he kept asking her how she knew. She tried to avoid the question, thinking he would never believe her. But he would not relent, so finally she said, "The Lord told me." But instead of laughing, he exclaimed, "Well, He must have, because there is no other way you could have known. You are one fortunate woman. A close friend's wife just died of ovarian cancer." He told her that because of her pressing him, he did check her out more thoroughly than he might have otherwise done, and said he might have missed it if she hadn't been so persistent.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I don't believe in God as a separate entity. Even if someone could prove he was there I don't have a whole lot of use for him.

There are miracles, and there are moments where everything went wrong and created a tragedy- both in equal numbers. I have to think that's just chance, and not a divine hand. I think we have a duty to help each other through the crap life throws at us. God, to me, is the forgiveness and love we can give to one another, knowing that we're all flawed and struggling.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Nursing has made an Agnostic out of me. If God exists, God doesn't seem to care about people at all. I've learned a lot about cruelty and suffering, but I've also learned about love and duty.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

This job has made me into a raging atheist. The sheer amount of waste and human suffering does not equate into belief in a "higher power." Different strokes for different folks.

I don't agree with you, but I applaud the fact that you posted your beliefs. Kudos to you for that.