Nursing Spirituality

Nurses Spirituality

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The reason I became a CNA was because the very first time I opened the textbook (and I was a total newbie-outsider to anything like that), I felt like I was looking at the Gospel. I felt like caring for people, and being good at it, WAS the Gospel. Now, I'm an RN, and I still feel that way. That a shift at work is worshiping God, and a really hard shift, is glory.

Sometimes I feel the world needs nurses, not priests. But that's me, and even by my own reckoning, I'm utterly insane. So, what do you think? Does nursing have spiritual implications for you?

PS. I tried to get rid of the oversized image of the Good Samaritan up there, but it won't let me, and it won't let me delete my post and start over either. Sorry about that. Next time I'll know to resize my images first. :bag:

Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
Holy Holy-War Batman:

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I don't care is they worship Jesus, Budda, Satan or the Cat in the Damn Hat.

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Nurses occasionally will try to push their flavor of mysticism on each other but those are typically private conversations between zealots that I could care less about. At no time should this impact in any way how we treat patients.

This is the essence of providing quality care regardless of what our patients believe, who they are, or if they're "deserving " of our services.

This is the essence of putting principles before personalities.

Kudos to you, Spanked!

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Why thank you Davey!!!

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Oh wait!!! I missed the "absolutely nothing" nonsense. Who is anybody to say that much less a "religious" person. Are you pretending to know me? Doesn't the plastic Jesus on your dashboard tell you that judgment is his when he talks to you? As for me the Cat in the Damn Hat tells me this is just another judgment cast by the holier than thou God-Squader's when they have no business casting judgment nor basis thereof except for the fact that somebody else has the temerity to deny having the Jesus in Technicolor telling them when to change their underwear.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
And notice, you call yourself "jaded." But hey, if it means nothing more than a job to you, then that's what it is. So long as YOU do your job, and don't leave people suffering because you are spiritually absent.

You didn't ask if Nursing was more than just a job/paycheck for me, because my answer would have been completely different. Instead you chose to ask if Nursing has spiritual implications for me. And then you chose to make assumptions and pass judgements simply because you didn't like my answer. Shame on you.

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:madface: My intent is not to insult anyone, nor is it my intent to get bullied by a bunch of atheists. If I want that, I have other forums I can go to. What the hell is it with nurses anyway? Why are they often such bullies to people? Not that you have victimized me; I personally couldn't care less, but it has never ceased to amaze me how the cruelest eat-your-young bullies get into nursing.

If you don't serve God (and in nursing you get the opportunity to love your neighbor when they most need it--which is serving God), then you have no purpose for anything you do. Life is too short; it's too meaningless; everyone dies, so if you're just out there acting like some evolutionary automaton with no clear reason at all for the service you do as a nurse, then I think you are in a lost and sad place. I'd rather suffer and die than have you philosophical zombies caring for me (philosophical zombie...just Google it).

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.
:madface: My intent is not to insult anyone, nor is it my intent to get bullied by a bunch of atheists. If I want that, I have other forums I can go to. What the hell is it with nurses anyway? Why are they often such bullies to people? Not that you have victimized me; I personally couldn't care less, but it has never ceased to amaze me how the cruelest eat-your-young bullies get into nursing.

If you don't serve God (and in nursing you get the opportunity to love your neighbor when they most need it--which is serving God), then you have no purpose for anything you do. Life is too short; it's too meaningless; everyone dies, so if you're just out there acting like some evolutionary automaton with no clear reason at all for the service you do as a nurse, then I think you are in a lost and sad place. I'd rather suffer and die than have you philosophical zombies caring for me (philosophical zombie...just Google it).

Your words are spiteful and arrogant.

Did G-d give you the exclusive on righteousness?

Google Micah 6:8.

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Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.
Oh wait!!! I missed the "absolutely nothing" nonsense. Who is anybody to say that much less a "religious" person. Are you pretending to know me? Doesn't the plastic Jesus on your dashboard tell you that judgment is his when he talks to you? As for me the Cat in the Damn Hat tells me this is just another judgment cast by the holier than thou God-Squader's when they have no business casting judgment nor basis thereof except for the fact that somebody else has the temerity to deny having the Jesus in Technicolor telling them when to change their underwear.

Oh, didn't you know, she has super special powers conferred to her by Jesus that enables her to determine who is fulfilled or not. See, seeing as you don't have her super special Jesus, you can't be fulfilled.

She is just another shining example of why I became a pagan. I can find fulfillment without all the bloody strings.

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Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.
:madface: My intent is not to insult anyone, nor is it my intent to get bullied by a bunch of atheists. If I want that, I have other forums I can go to. What the hell is it with nurses anyway? Why are they often such bullies to people? Not that you have victimized me; I personally couldn't care less, but it has never ceased to amaze me how the cruelest eat-your-young bullies get into nursing.

If you don't serve God (and in nursing you get the opportunity to love your neighbor when they most need it--which is serving God), then you have no purpose for anything you do. Life is too short; it's too meaningless; everyone dies, so if you're just out there acting like some evolutionary automaton with no clear reason at all for the service you do as a nurse, then I think you are in a lost and sad place. I'd rather suffer and die than have you philosophical zombies caring for me (philosophical zombie...just Google it).

No way would I want to serve your idea of God. Your judgmental, rude, and hypocritical. Might I suggest that you worry about the plank in your own eye before you try to remove the speck from ours.

And I would avoid throwing the bully comments around: You aren't being bullied. You WERE being disagreed with. Huge difference. And if we have our backs up now, it's because of your own comments

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Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.
mmm buh bye.

Very mature. Wuzzie had some very good points.

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No way would I want to serve your idea of God. Your judgmental, rude, and hypocritical. Might I suggest that you worry about the plank in your own eye before you try to remove the speck from ours.

And I would avoid throwing the bully comments around: You aren't being bullied. You WERE being disagreed with. Huge difference. And if we have our backs up now, it's because of your own comments

I really like this line of yours. The feeling of transcendence is there. That's why we believe what we believe. However, OP stretched to the extent that anyone who is a caring healthcare professional is serving Jesus or Yahweh. If that is not arrogant, I don't know what is.

A lot of Christians cannot accept the fact that their feelings about Jesus cannot be translated to another person. Otherwise, we wouldn't have so many religions.

You see how she said it. If we do not serve God, our lives have no purpose. In this case, if we don't serve Jesus or Yahweh, our lives have no meaning.

Well, if she really believes that, so be it. My life may have no meaning because I am a Buddhist. However, I have moral principles (not commandments) from my culture and family, and I am who I am because of those principles. My life means nothing in Jesus' eyes, but it means something to myself and my loved ones. That's good enough.

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Oh the actual victims of the holy war are???

First of all I think we got to see in high-def 3D the whiney nursey-poo poor victim in action. This individual uses her supreme judgement to state that I have "absolutely nothing" and another nurse to "spiritually absent". She then says I should speak up for myself. When I do she flips right into martyr mode. After that she get to her real point that if we aren't serving god (her version no doubt) we have no purpose. Well twit-mistress I don't believe so I ain't serving him. What I do however is take care of my patients. I've done this for years and have been rewarded and recognized richly for such. So much in fact that my employer footed the bill for me to get my DNP and start a new chapter in helping folks. I still won't be serving whatever cartoon character you envision in the sky but hopefully I can help a few more thousand people before I'm done.

Oh the real victim? It isn't me or your fellow nurses. Heck you're good for a few belly laughs along the way. We aren't dependent on you or your ilk for anything. Oh you will find some low self-esteem types along the way that will listen to your incessant yakking about your beliefs and more than likely a few similarly minded nurses who think all who don't believe the way you / they do are contemptible and damned to whatever cartoon version of hell you have in mind.

The real victims are your patients. How can you help but to judge if they are "nothing" unless they serve your god? How do you manage to care for these inferior beasts who have not seen the light? Do similarly minded god-squad folks get more attentive care then some "sinner" who hasn't seen your version of the light?

I'll say it again, whatever flavor of deity you pray to is your business. It has no place in a profession designed to help all sick patients regardless of their belief or how they got into whatever situation they are in. It's divisive as I'm sure you know but that's probably why you went down this road. What fun is martyrdom if nobody is there to worship you for your sanctimonious "sacrifice".

PS: You said "she" should respond to you. Time for a new plastic Jesus on the dashboard because his little, holy brain must be baked. I'm a guy

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Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
And notice, you call yourself "jaded." But hey, if it means nothing more than a job to you, then that's what it is. So long as YOU do your job, and don't leave people suffering because you are spiritually absent.

I take exception to this comment.

Someone may not be conventionally religious, doesn't mean they are not capable of delivering exceptional nursing care.

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