I had made a post about this earlier. I would like to go into nursing, but am against abortion completely at all times, I am Catholic, and I would never ever take part in an abortion procedure, nor would i want to care for someone immediately after they had the procedure becuase without me there to do that, the abortion couldnt have happened, so in a way i am still contributing to the abortion. I will make this clear from the start, If somebody had an abortion a year prior or a month prior or whatever else of course i would still care for them. As long as i am not being responsible for that abortion happening,, I could still care for them.
Alot of people said, that is fine just don't work in the ER, OR, OB/GYN areas.. but truthfully i would like to work in all of these areas more then others.... is this possible?
Note: I do not feel that it is any of my business if my patient had an abortion in the past and i would never treat anybody differently becuase they had one in the past. I just need to know that when i sleep at night I am doing the right thing and not going against my beliefs and I think that i deserve those rights..
Thanks for your input! i would love to hear from other pro life nurses most of all and any experiences you have had with this
Answer me this, do you think nurses should be forced to assist in abortion procedures?
That is my concern, nothing else,, so instead of going on and on about wht kind of person you think I am focus on my point there... and i truthfully believe that murder is not thesme as telling a lie,, but i gues thats the difference between catholicicsm and other christian faiths and we both have theright to have our own opinions on that, and this website isnt about that
I understand you here. I do NOT think that nurses should be forced in being there during an abortion, not if it goes against beliefs or religion. I would go to bed every single night with guilt, knowing I assisted in murdering an innocent child's life. I am an adopted child and so greatful, I believe there are other options than abortion. However, I doubt if you will ever have a choice if you want to work OB. I've never heard of an ER performing an abortion. Maybe dealing with the infections, etc., that can occur afterwards, but never heard of one being performed in the actual ER.
I hate all these posts saying we shouldn't be in the healthcare field if we can't do this! Whatever!! Be a little more open-minded and have some RESPECT for beliefs and religions, if you can't then YOU shouldn't be in the health care field, as a nurse anyway! That's what you focus a lot of on in nursing 101 is learning about all the different backgrounds and religions you may face with your patients.
Luckily, I'm going into psych, this won't be something I deal with on a DAILY basis, or even regular basis, but being I want to work with children, and teens, I'm sure I will run into quite a few whom are pregnant, want to abort, or parents want them to abort, but my role is to make sure they understand all the risks and benefits, and to provide deep, emotional, one-on-one counseling with the teen to make sure this is what she wants to do. If I can save a life, it'd make my day. However, everyone has their own opinions, they're rights, and that's fine, but... I will NEVER be there when that takes place. If I'm picking and choosing patients, so be it, but this is completely against what I believe in. WWJD? In my eyes... wouldn't be to kill a child he just put in that mothers womb. Things happen for a REASON, who knows why, but to me if it's there, maybe it's meant to be. I was a young mother at 15, and while yes, it's been hard, I've got by. My daughter is following in my footsteps, looks up to me, is a great well-rounded child, and is going to be very successful in life. I hope to use my story as motivation for other teens down the road.
So then I am to take this that it must be ok to work with kids or adults who sin against God willingly by drugs/violence/what have you, but it's not ok to take care of women who choose to end a babies life (and so sin in your eyes). -again the problem with certain religious types of ppl. They think that they have the right to decide whether a sin is "big or little."
To me, this makes you the judge of what is acceptable in God's eyes vs. what isn't. To God, sin is sin. It matters not if the person has ended the life of a child or simply told a lie. In God's eyes, all things are equal, and "blasphemy is the only sin unto death."
I'm not attempting to start an arguement. I simply stand by my earlier statement that perhaps you should reconsider your thoughts to enter nursing. If you're unable to lay aside prejudice at the door when you clock in, then you're actually unable to be a good nurse.
The OP clearly stated that she had no problem working with any sort of people without taking part in their actions that she does not agree with. She said that she doesn't have a problem providing care for a woman who comes in post abortion with complications. I am pro-life and will work everyday to bring the best possible care to ALL my patients. I can care for a child abuser without abusing the child myself; I can care for an drug abuser without helping him roll a joint; I can care for a woman who had an abortion without participating in the abortion. I'm not religious so throwing all the God stuff in my face doesn't work with me. I will not take a viable life and I will be a damn good nurse.
I'm sure I will run into quite a few whom are pregnant, want to abort, or parents want them to abort, but my role is to make sure they understand all the risks and benefits, and to provide deep, emotional, one-on-one counseling with the teen to make sure this is what she wants to do. If I can save a life, it'd make my day. However, everyone has their own opinions, they're rights, and that's fine, but... I will NEVER be there when that takes place. If I'm picking and choosing patients, so be it, but this is completely against what I believe in. WWJD? In my eyes... wouldn't be to kill a child he just put in that mothers womb. Things happen for a REASON, who knows why, but to me if it's there, maybe it's meant to be. I was a young mother at 15, and while yes, it's been hard, I've got by. My daughter is following in my footsteps, looks up to me, is a great well-rounded child, and is going to be very successful in life. I hope to use my story as motivation for other teens down the road.
Sorry for going a little off-topic, but that is most definitely NOT your role as a nurse in a child psych setting ... It's not the staff nurse's role to provide "deep, emotional, one-on-one counseling" about anything, let along reproductive choices. As you say, everyone has their own opinions and rights, and it's not your job to try to change their mind.
If you want to be doing "deep, emotional" counseling, please consider pursuing graduate education as a psychotherapist. That's the appropriate level of training for that kind of practice.
I am an ER nurse and I am also Catholic. All I can say is don't work at an abortion clinic or something like that. Also no matter where u work there will be things u don't agree with etc.. Rapists, child abusers, all kinds of situations that r hard to handle. But you know we r all humans and its not my place to judge and if u collapsed on the street I wouldn't ask ur beliefs or past before I tried to help you. If the situation is that hard for you then just ask another nurse to swap that room for another. I have done that for others and vice versa. If u think u can pick or chose ur pt population in any unit u r not realistic. Sleep well at night knowing u helped and mayb even made the difference in that person. Leave the judgement to the man upstairs you aren't assisting a procedure. No one deserves to be left in pain or danger because they have different beliefs, made mistakes, or anything else. You have to separate it. My belief about abortion is my business but you need to evaluate what you are doing and why.
I'm Catholic, too. But even if you don't work in ER/OR/OB/GYN you can still run into the situation. What about a person on methotrexate for arthritis -- if she happens to get pregnant (early enough so she doesn't know, or doesn't tell you because her RA is making her miserable, or she doesn't care), and you give her the pill, you may have given her an abortion. Same with a lot of other drugs, including Lipitor. Here's a study about how often Category X drugs were prescribed to women on TennCare https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14996249
I'm not willingly going to be part of an abortion for the sake of a woman not wanting another child; aside from the whole "automatic excommunication" thing, it would break my heart. However, the reality is I give a lot of people a lot of medicine, and some of that medicine would kill a fetus in the blink of an eye. I can ask a woman if she's pregnant, but I can't do a pregnancy test on everyone I give methotrexate, lipitor to. So I may be unknowingly guilty. Also, some drugs, like isotretinoin, acitretin, and thalidomide, are so toxic the woman HAS to be on some kind of contraceptive (and no doc is going to prescribe them if a woman's method is rhythm, there's too much liability).
If you want to completely avoid the situation, I suggest being the nurse in an elementary school or working in long term care. That's the only two areas where you're not likely to run into it, and even in the local elementary school, there's girls in 3rd grade who have already started their menses. Long term care looks like the safest bet, because you will see it in the fields you mentioned (unless you're lucky enough to live near a Catholic hospital who's hiring).
I just do the best I can, God knows my intent is to help not hurt, and I leave it with Him.
Sorry for going a little off-topic, but that is most definitely NOT your role as a nurse in a child psych setting ... It's not the staff nurse's role to provide "deep, emotional, one-on-one counseling" about anything, let along reproductive choices. As you say, everyone has their own opinions and rights, and it's not your job to try to change their mind.
If you want to be doing "deep, emotional" counseling, please consider pursuing graduate education as a psychotherapist. That's the appropriate level of training for that kind of practice.
Sorry for going a little off-topic, but that is most definitely NOT your role as a nurse in a child psych setting ... It's not the staff nurse's role to provide "deep, emotional, one-on-one counseling" about anything, let along reproductive choices. As you say, everyone has their own opinions and rights, and it's not your job to try to change their mind.
If you want to be doing "deep, emotional" counseling, please consider pursuing graduate education as a psychotherapist. That's the appropriate level of training for that kind of practice.
Oh, and not sure where you're from, but in my hometown hospitals-- the nurses ARE the ones responsible for groups, one-on-ones, and counseling type sessions. They typically have 3 nurses on, as well as 2-3 mental health techs. My son has been in and out of psych units as he has a severe mental disability, so I think you should speak for yourself and your career and where you work. I know how our hospitals work. And as I said, I will be getting my MSN in Psychiatry. So, at that time is when I plan to do more one-on-one counseling. IF, I did have a patient come in while working as a staff nurse that had this issue, what kind of nurse would I be to not give her the attention or advice she may need? If I had to stay after to talk to her, then that's what I would do. Where I'm from our nurses are compassionate and take the time to talk to patients and counsel them.
Also, when I get my BSN, I plan on doing homecare cases as a case manager. I only plan on being a "staff nurse" for no more than 2-3 years. With case management, especiall in home, you do A LOT of care planning, one-on-one counseling, and getting them to talk. Again, don't know where you're from or what kind of nursing you do... it's different everywhere ya go!
Well, the possibility to care for a post-op abortion pt is possible in ANY area of nursing. I've even seen it happen on peds. So.
I am personally against abortion. I am not Catholic, but I have nothing against Catholicism the way some in the southeast do. My views on religion are pretty tolerant since my own beliefs are contraversial. Anyhow- there are other things that go against Catholicism... so the problem is not so much caring for post-op abortion pts as it is how strict you are in general with your beliefs. I'm all for personal beliefs.... but there is a fine line in pt care- and eventually we all do something we'd rather not do. However, we had our beliefs and convictions before working as a nurse- so we make our own choices.
An absolute devout Catholic wouldn't even work in a hospital that performed abortions, D&C's, dispensed birth control, etc. If you are that steady in your conviction- I applaud you- but you're not going to find many places to work outside of a Catholic-run hospital.
Otherwise- there are ways around it, even in ER, OB, and OR. You just have to find the right place. If you live in a really large urban area.... it will be fairly easy in most regards beyond OB, if you can work in a strictly adult or peds hospital. For example- I once worked at a huge facility where peds and OB/women and infants are stand-alone facilites but still a part of the whole hospital complex- so most things you would have the biggest problem with never went to the 'regular' hospital. Each had it's own ED and OR. (By the way, this was in a Catholic-majority northeast state) I now work in a very small rural ER, so the same, to an extent, applies there. No abortion services exist close to home, and our OB unit doesn't care for post-op D&C's because most of our pts who need those are devestated at the loss of their child- it happens d/t fetal demise, so they are rarely placed on OB... and if so... again, fetal demise. Elective D&C's d/t birth defects and the like are rare in our hospital- they are usually sent to a speciality center but if not, they definatley don't go on OB. What few occur are usually a life and death situation- as in, Mom will die if something isn't done now. However, almost any ER will administer Plan B in some situations, so if you have a problem with that it may be tricky if your coworkers are not willing to administer it for you- even a Peds ER does this. I have a Catholic co-worker, and I have no problem with administering Plan B for her pts... but not all nurses are willing to do so. We have had a few pts who showed up w/ day one post-abortion complications.... she doesn't agree w. their decision, but doesn't let that impact her pt care. The choice was already made, she's not supporting it. She doesn't let her beliefs prevent her from saving someone's life- as that's judgemental and not very Christ-like.... her words, not mine.
As for OB.... again, even at a facility that doesn't perform abortions, all OB units I know of offer the Depo-shot post delivery if Mom wants it. There's also elective tubals which you'll see in OB and OR. So, if you are against all forms of BC, you'll have a problem.
So I think it can be done if you can find the right facility.
hmm you would not work for a hospital that dispensed birth control? Seriously we live in the 21 centuries,even public school have machine that dispense birth control!
Ps.Also a trully religious person should be filled with compassion,non-judgmental attitude and emphathy instead of self proclaimed pseudo-rightenousness or self-love! Please learn how to respect people from all walks of life after all you have taken an oath to treat pt with dignity..but why do I even bother responding to your judgmental post,maybe to show you another side of the coin!
hmm you would not work for a hospital that dispensed birth control? Seriously we live in the 21 centuries,even public school have machine that dispense birth control!
The OP stated she has no problem with birth control that doesn't let them child be conceived and then kill it. My friend is a strict catholic, and condoms are ok. If you're aware the birth control pill, you take it, possible conceive, and then it kills the child. No, not a medical professional but when I was seeking birth control, my friend didn't know this, told me and I asked my very trusted OB/GYN, and she said yes this is true. I have researched it and it's true. So, it's actually a good thing children have access to condoms. What she is referring to, though, is birth control in which conception takes place, then is chemically aborted by the birth control.
IF, I did have a patient come in while working as a staff nurse that had this issue, what kind of nurse would I be to not give her the attention or advice she may need? If I had to stay after to talk to her, then that's what I would do. Where I'm from our nurses are compassionate and take the time to talk to patients and counsel them.
this has absolutely nothing to do with being "compassionate", and everything to do with scope of practice.
yes, nurses are taught how to therapeutically communicate, limit-set, redirect and other interventions we apply in 'managing' a symptomatic pt.
but we are not licensed to be counselors or therapists.
nor are we licensed to give (medical) advice.
if you are saying your state bon allows this, i'd love to know what state you're from.:)
Beebop25
143 Posts
I did confuse it with another post I am very sorry..