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
You can't pick or choose your patients.....unless you are in a Catholic hospital....it is a possibility you will be faced with all types of procedures which you don't support or agree with...
Good luck to you...we all have to live the life we believe in....
Well...in my case...if a young woman comes in with an ectopic pregnancy....or even with a planned termination....it is probable I would triage and perform pre-op work on the patient.
Although we don't administer it, I have heard of methotrexate being administered in the ER for termination by the OB residents.
Anything is possible....and that's my point....we never really know the patient....any patient...their past....their problems....their reasons...their beliefs.
Nothing is black and white....and nursing I think is very hard because the very tenets of caring demand we not place our beliefs and their accompanying burdens on the patient.
A very hard place to be for someone who lives by a strict code of beliefs...what ever they may be.
Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.
OK, after reading your past thread and then this one (all 9 pages), I have decided to weigh in. You say that you will refuse to participate in abortions, yet you want to work OB, L&D, or ER? My opinion is that you seem determined to make things as hard for yourself (and your coworkers) as you possibly can.
That seems no different that me saying that I would refuse to treat a murderer, but I REALLY wanted to work corrections, or that I refused to give someone their fix, but I REALLY wanted to work addictions or in a pain clinic. It doesn't make good sense.
First, you are REALLY limiting yourself. I know, it's your career, and you have a right to choose where you want to work. But, think about this....
One night, you're on the floor, wherever it may be, and an elective AB comes in. You're next up for an admit, she's your patient. All your coworkers have several patients apiece, and are slammed. What will you do in this case? Beg and see if somone will swap a patient with you? Ask one of your already overloaded coworkers to take her? Flat out refuse and ask the house sup to send her somewhere else? Any of those answers will definitely make you NOT popular with your coworkers, and may cause you to be subject to disciplinary action by your workplace.
Bottom line, you're setting yourself up to have a very hard road. I would advise that you think long and hard about this decision. Nursing is very hard when you start out anyway, and you're adding heaps of extra stress on to what will already be a stressful situation to begin with. I also have to wonder what a hospital will think if you interview as a new murse, state your belief, tell them you will not participate in the AB process, and then ask to be placed in your desired area. They won't be able to guarantee that this won't occur, and setting limits and making demands at the start of a new job, while definitely assuring them of your position and letting them know where you stand, may be detrimental to your finding employment.
To the "you can't pick and choose which doctrines to follow" people- Catholic doctrine changes. Many parts are not immutable and this change largely has to do with the sentiment of Catholics. Spirituality doesn't always fit in seamlessly with religion, but you can still have beliefs and values informed by your religion. There's the faith, and then there's the leadership of the faith. Whether or not the Pope has a direct line to God, the Pope is still a man and as humans we are imperfect.
I come from a long line of Catholics, nearly all of whom have been prochoice and pro gay marriage. I don't go to church because the political differences became too much for me (and there's the whole not really believing in God thing), but I still say Hail Marys in times of fear and stress. There are prochoice Catholic groups out there, and my college Catholic group was welcoming to gay students. There are Catholics that believe priesthood should be opened to women. My great grandmother stopped taking communion based on the Church's views on birth control, yet she attended Mass every Sunday. Despite disagreeing with certain tenets of Catholicism, people can still find divinity in Mass and the Catholic faith, so it's really no one's place to tell them they're inconsistent in their views.
I think it's time for a mod to step in and close the thread- the question was about being in situations that violated the OP's beliefs and whether that would be likely in certain fields. It's too bad it's turned in to a thread where people are gleefully seeking out contradictions in the OP's faith. I hope you all are active in prochoice political activism when you're not on the internet.
To the "you can't pick and choose which doctrines to follow" people- Catholic doctrine changes. Many parts are not immutable and this change largely has to do with the sentiment of Catholics. Spirituality doesn't always fit in seamlessly with religion, but you can still have beliefs and values informed by your religion. There's the faith, and then there's the leadership of the faith. Whether or not the Pope has a direct line to God, the Pope is still a man and as humans we are imperfect.
I come from a long line of Catholics, nearly all of whom have been prochoice and pro gay marriage. I don't go to church because the political differences became too much for me (and there's the whole not really believing in God thing), but I still say Hail Marys in times of fear and stress. There are prochoice Catholic groups out there, and my college Catholic group was welcoming to gay students. There are Catholics that believe priesthood should be opened to women. My great grandmother stopped taking communion based on the Church's views on birth control, yet she attended Mass every Sunday. Despite disagreeing with certain tenets of Catholicism, people can still find divinity in Mass and the Catholic faith, so it's really no one's place to tell them they're inconsistent in their views.
I think it's time for a mod to step in and close the thread- the question was about being in situations that violated the OP's beliefs and whether that would be likely in certain fields. It's too bad it's turned in to a thread where people are gleefully seeking out contradictions in the OP's faith. I hope you all are active in prochoice political activism when you're not on the internet.
I must beg to differ, with all respect to your statements.
Any religion, Catholic, the many Protestant denominations, the various Jewish denominations, and any other religion you choose must have some basic, fundamental beliefs or it's not really a religion. What individuals do with the religion as a whole certainly varies but I do not comprehend how one can say "I am a ________" if one does not accept the basic views and tenets of that religion.
I must beg to differ, with all respect to your statements.
Any religion, Catholic, the many Protestant denominations, the various Jewish denominations, and any other religion you choose must have some basic, fundamental beliefs or it's not really a religion. What individuals do with the religion as a whole certainly varies but I do not comprehend how one can say "I am a ________" if one does not accept the basic views and tenets of that religion.
The Apostles and Nicene Creeds presents the basic views of the Catholic Church. Here's a nice site on the basics of Catholicism:
With respect to all for your beliefs or lack there of....the reality in any healthcare venue someone will find care, end of life decisions, and choices difficult to deal with....to me, keeping someone alive through artificial means and continued suffering no matter the reason is A SIN! But that's just me....
No one is telling the OP being a Catholic is bad, just that the reality of nursing and other healthcare professions is that we will always come across someone or procedures outside of our realm of beliefs and comfort zone and will not have the luxury to refuse the assignment.....we must be able to do our job without placing our values on the patient.
If beliefs need to be followed to the letter then a private hospital or organization who espouses those beliefs would be the way to go....
If Jesus chose not to judge, then I believe that is the path that must be followed....
op, while your religious beliefs should be respected and upheld, i don't think it would be right to work in a specialty where you could feasibly encounter abortions or complications of abortions.
so please be conscientious of where you'd like to work, and this way, it remains a win-win situation.
best of everything to you.,
maisy- girl, i am soooo with you about the SIN of watching those suffer while being sustained on vents and 100 lines.
i want to cry every single time....which happens more than one would think in hospice.
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MAISY, RN-ER, BSN, RN
1,082 Posts
You can't pick or choose your patients.....unless you are in a Catholic hospital....it is a possibility you will be faced with all types of procedures which you don't support or agree with...
Good luck to you...we all have to live the life we believe in....