Plan of care for jehovah witness with blood loss

CBsMommy · Jan 6, 2011

What have you come up with so far? Have you done a google search or looked in a Fundamentals text?

What are some of the JW beliefs about accepting blood from others? Or even if they store their own blood for situations like this?

The above situation you describe is a little vague as well. Is the patient talking? Lucid? Able to tell you their beliefs? You should be care planning with the patient, or is this just a "scenario" that the school gave you?

sarymil · Jan 7, 2011

It is just a scenerio. They don't really give us much only that the patient is a Jehovah witness in a MVA with excessive blood loss. We have to use the decision making process to write a paper

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Jan 7, 2011

Any thing you can other then blood products! If the patient can't speak for themselves to tell you whether they want blood or not, you have to look for a will or advance directive, if he states no, even if the family tells you to do it, you can't! Now if the patient doesn't have a document or can't speak, then the responsible family member chooses!

CBsMommy · Jan 7, 2011

Some JW will bank their own blood in case of an emergency like a MVA though. Depends on the individual and what they believe.

I agree with the post above.

Fins Up!, ASN, BSN · Jan 7, 2011

Just took care of a JW recently, but add on a sickle-cell crisis, Hgb 4.4, and pain.

Hydration IV, pain meds, O2, and reposition to keep comfortable.

Of course I had to ask if she ever received a transfusion. She replied once when she was pregnant and she stated she felt like something entered her body to change her attitude and made her feel weird.....probably better because she could breath!

To each their own beliefs.

rnrainy · Jan 10, 2011

I grew up as a Jehovah's Witness, so here's what I know. Witnessess believe blood from others is unclean, and this is supported by scripture. When Witnessess go to surgery, I have seen better recovery times, perhaps because the surgeons take more time to clamp off blood vessels and they lose less blood. Also, Witnessess accept plasma, their own blood, or iron to increase hemoglobin... The majority of blood is volume (plasma)....

Your care plan would not include any knowledge deficit, because this religion educates from very young what their stance on blood products is, although we as nurses may think there is a deficit there, this is experience speaking...

Perhaps you can find a nursing dx to address values/beliefs and psychosocial needs?

So, besides the BLOOD issue, you would treat it as any other MVA...what are your interventions as a nurse? Do you have a care plan book? I loved mine and could not have made it without it.

ukstudent · Jan 10, 2011

It is just a scenerio. They don't really give us much only that the patient is a Jehovah witness in a MVA with excessive blood loss. We have to use the decision making process to write a paper

A pt with excessive blood loss will be in hemovolemic shock. Look up signs/symptoms of it and what interventions would you do for it. The one difference that the pt being a JW makes is that you can not tank them up with normal saline/ LR etc. like you would for other pt's. In this case you would go directly to the use of vasopressors.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2011

I have to write a plan of care for a patient that is a jehovah witness with blood loss due to an MVA. Does anyone have any information that would help me. I think all the other care except blood loss would be the same. Most of the information about JW is very vague.

http://www1.us.elsevierhealth.com/MERLIN/Gulanick/Constructor/:redpinkhe

Here is a great link.....

nyanbensmommy1 · Jan 10, 2011

I've been a Jehovah's Witness my whole life and I never heard of banking your own blood.

Here's a link of various articles from the organizations website that I hope will help you with your care plan.

http://www.watchtower.org/e/20000108/article_02.htm

jcaron · Mar 28, 2013

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I want to correct something here. The official stand of JW's is that Whole Blood, Plasma, Platelets, Red Cells and White Cells, even autologous forms are prohibited. Beyond whole blood and these main components, there is room for individual decision. Procedures where autologous blood remains in constant circulation (e.g. hemodialysis) are also up to the individual.