I'm three months into my new job as a hospice RNCM and have been learning a lot. I generally love, love, love my job.
My question today is about praying in the workplace. I know that Medicare requires a spiritual counselor on staff, but I also know that patients can refuse that service.
At my work place, meetings have recently started to begin with prayer lead by the SC. This seems a bit odd to me, coming from years of experience in the work world where things like prayer before meetings did not happen.
Also, I hear a lot of statements from fellow workers that I find offensive regarding patients having a hard time with EOL because they "don't have a belief system." They have a belief system, it just may not be the same as other people. From my limited experience, it seems people die differently, not relatable solely to their belief system. Some with strong beliefs have a hard time, others who don't believe find peace at the end.
I will pray with my patients all they want if that brings them peace and comfort, but prayer in the work place feels like a violation.
I live in a country with an offical state religion, but most of the population is not religious. I would feel uncomfortable praying with patients, despite the fact I have faith myself. I believe that faith is a very personal thing and should be private in the workplace. In the NHS, we have chaplains of all faiths which the patients can call on to pray with them or whatever. If a patient asked me to pray with them, I would contact the chaplain. Not our job role, IMO.
Wow lots of great answers, and thoughts. Thanks you guys.
It's the assumption that somebody will have a hard time with EOL (end of life) because they "don't have a belief system," when the lack of belief system may not be the reason at all that bothers me. I've seen many people with strong belief systems struggle, while others who are self-professed atheists find peace and have a beautiful quiet death, and I've seen the opposite.
Also, not having a belief system seems to be confused with "not sharing my belief system." They have a belief system, it's just not the same as many others have.
I do believe the chaplain is the best choice for the job, but sometimes I'm at a death in the middle of the night by myself. This doesn't make me uncomfortable. If my pt or their family is in crisis, then I will do my best to bring them comfort.
Prayer in the work place is a whole different ballgame though!
Wow lots of great answers, and thoughts. Thanks you guys.
It's the assumption that somebody will have a hard time with EOL (end of life) because they "don't have a belief system," when the lack of belief system may not be the reason at all that bothers me. I've seen many people with strong belief systems struggle, while others who are self-professed atheists find peace and have a beautiful quiet death, and I've seen the opposite.
Also, not having a belief system seems to be confused with "not sharing my belief system." They have a belief system, it's just not the same as many others have.
Is your employer/organization affiliated with a particular religious denomination? I used to work at an SDA hospital and all the official meetings were supposed to begin with prayer. Since that was a basic value of the employer, I didn't object (I also noticed that most managers simply ignored the practice. The ones who did follow the expectations used the book of devotions/prayers that was provided by the SDA for that purpose, and it was very bland and nondenominational, more "warm fuzzy thoughts" than anything overtly religious.
If you agreed to work for a hospice operated by a religious group, then I guess what you're encountering is appropriate and reasonable -- otherwise, definitely not and, if it were me, I'd be saying something to my boss.
I recall that, when my father was in hospice, dying, several years ago, all the staff were wonderful to us but there was one CNA who made a point, every time she came in the room, of saying something overtly religious and basically pushing her beliefs on us. I found it v. offensive (although not to the point of complaining about her to anyone -- I just didn't respond when she attempted to engage me in a coversation about this).
Lots of people in this country seem to forget that "freedom of religion" also includes freedom from religion. We all have a right to our religious beliefs and practices, but not a right to force them on others.
No, it is a for profit hospice business, but what gets fuzzy I think is that to qualify as a medicare hospice company, you must provide a spiritual counselor on staff. So he there, in the building, at the meetings. I was on vacation when it was decided that the prayer before meetings thing start, so I don't know the dialogue that went on to come to this decision. I know that most of the people I work with do seem to be religious, so were probably pro-prayer at work.
I work at a catholic hospital and prayer is done daily on the overhead of the hospital. In fact, yesterday me and my preceptor were sent to a prayer service at work in the chapel. It is not a violation. Do what you feel comfortable doing. No one is forcing you to do anything.
I recently started a new job at a hospital that used to be part of a Catholic hospital system, but was acquired by a company with no religious affiliations about a year ago. Many of my co-workers have worked there for years, back when it was Saint SoandSo Hospital. Monday morning I was in the break room, about to go out on the floor to start my shift. I'm getting over a cold and I had a tissue up to my nose and was about to give it a big honking blow, when I hear people start to pray. I peek around the corner and several people are holding hands in a circle, and a free-form prayer is being said by the unit secretary. I put my tissue down and wait. And I wait some more as they proceed to thank God for their daily blessings. Finally they finish and I can blow my nose.
I was a little taken aback, but they didn't require me to participate, or even invite me to. I'm sure if I wanted to jump in I would have been welcomed. But I am an atheist, and I prefer not to disclose this unless I'm backed into a corner. It didn't really bother me, besides having to wait it out in fear of being disrespectful.
During my general orientation we were told there are lots of little things that still remained from the hospital's former Catholic background. For example, many of the nurse's assistants are in the habit of writing a daily prayer on the patient's whiteboard. Many crosses still hang above the doors in the patient rooms. I think I just need to do a cultural assessment and if the patient appreciates these things, I will leave them be. If not, then I will remove the religious references and speak with the aid if need be. I doubt any crosses that are removed from doorways will go back up.
Although I'm an atheist, I was raised a Catholic and I know how to pray. I don't mind praying with a patient if that's what they want or need. It does feel a bit ....dishonest or something... to pray when I don't believe in it, so if I see someone who I know is religious and they have the time, I will mention that the patient needs someone to pray with and send them in there instead.
I'm just wondering if this is common practice for you with all of your hospice pts??
The reason I ask is because if you ask every pt if they have ' taken Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour"...to me, that could be seen as offensive, ( to some) as we are meant to be impartial with our care. I'm just wondering if you know for sure that your pts are Christians or not? And if not, if they are of a differing spirituality, would you still ask that question?
I can only speak for myself, but I would never presume to ask such a question...not knowing the spiritual path of all my pts. And if it were me, as your pt, I would feel like the question came with a certain amount of judgement or bias.
Having a different faith ( ie. Muslim, Hindu, etc...) and being asked this by you, the nurse, could place you in a rather difficult position, professionally speaking.
I know you have the best of intentions, I don't doubt that! Just be careful not to appear too presumptuous.
If you are a Christian, I believe that you must not stand down because someone denounces Christ. I may not be right but I always pray with my patients, ask God to have mercy on their souls and then ask them if they have taken Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.
Hats off to you, ybanurse. Dealing with acute deaths in the ER, I do the same, whether they (patient, family, coworkers) hear me or not. You can pray with your mouth shut as long as your heart is open! Nobody can denounce you for that. If Jesus Christ is your Saviour, who can deny you the right to invoke Him if you are doing it for what you believe to be the benefit of your patient? If the patient is a non-believer, at least he might get it that you care enough about his suffering.
I hope you mean you always pray with your CHRISTIAN patients.
Posting from my phone, ease forgive my fat thumbs! :)
If I pray openly (with words), I ask the patient and family first. If they decline, I still pray FOR them on my own. As a Christian patient, I would not be offended if a Native American caregiver offered me a charm with the belief that it would help me in my suffering: I would see it as a sign that I got a great nurse taking care of me!
I would not be offended if others prayed in the workplace, or as a patient, if a nurse of any denomination prayed for me. I just would never feel comfortable being "forced" to pray. And I don't like being harassed about what my beliefs are and I hate when others try to cram their beliefs down my throat.
I am an atheist who worked for a Catholic hospital for several years. . I liked the way the hospital handled it. Yes, some meeting did begin with a prayer, but no one was made to feel uncomfortable about not being Catholic. The prayers were usually brief and ecumenical in tone. People took turns being responsible for the prayer, and when it was my turn, I would read a poem or quotation and encouraged people to think about its meaning and to be inspired by it.
I didn't "advertise" my atheism ... and when asked, I said I had been raised in a Protestant church, but did not attend any as an adult. Several times, people told me that they really liked it when it was my turn to do the prayer thing because I always brought such interesting material to share. That always made me smile (like I had a little secret).
JDZ344
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I live in a country with an offical state religion, but most of the population is not religious. I would feel uncomfortable praying with patients, despite the fact I have faith myself. I believe that faith is a very personal thing and should be private in the workplace. In the NHS, we have chaplains of all faiths which the patients can call on to pray with them or whatever. If a patient asked me to pray with them, I would contact the chaplain. Not our job role, IMO.