RedBrick

Actually, the legislation that has happened in parts of the country around this topic are due to protecting the public's understanding of the title "nurse." We have used this title too long to likely change it, but I really don't like the word nurse very much. To me it connotes a female person. Believe me, Christian Science nurses are NOT trying to take away business from any professional nurse. They do not even believe in medical practice as the preferred healing modality.

I couldn't agree with you more. I do not diagnose anyone based on the Bible or any other book. I do not even identify as a Christian. I am a registered nurse, and I use the NANDA nursing diagnoses to direct my practice. I have not been speaking about Christian Science here as an adherent. I just find it interesting that there are many ways to approach caring for others. Science does have a common ancestor with religion, that is, philosophy. Human thinking, whether deemed rational or otherwise, is at the beginning of any endeavor, be it scientific or not. I want to thank everyone for joining in this conversation. To my way of thinking, nursing is the holiest and most humane profession, embodying as it does the directives of every positive form of human thought.

The lay public is unlikely to encounter a Christian Science nurse outside a CS facility. I have never met such a person who was impersonating a registered nurse. Quite the contrary, such nurses would probably not want to be confused with being a registered nurse. As far as the term nurse is concerned, I really do not like referring to myself as a nurse. The word nurse to me connotes a female person, and I am a man. The word nurse comes from nutrire...to suckle, and it first meant a woman who nursed a child, as a wet-nurse (16th century English usage). It was first used as meaning a person who cared for the sick in 1736.

Of course this begs the question, who decides what is rational? Not all religious theory is irrational. If it were, it would just be superstition. There would also be no place for chaplains in hospitals. There are nursing diagnoses that specifically address spiritual crises. Religion is involved with spirituality, but spirituality is not necessarily involved with religion. I agree with you that one's religious beliefs should not deter from one's medical practice. However, it is naive to think that people in healthcare often do not work from a spiritual conviction of one type or another. I believe Florence Nightingale was a deeply spiritual person, and that inspired her to do her work.

I have wrestled with Christian Science my entire life. My grandmother was a Christian Science Practitioner. At the end of her life, she opted to go to a Christian Science nursing home, where she was cared for by Christian Science nurses. As I understand it, it is basic palliative care without medication or medical interventions other than simple wound care. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, grew up in an era when medicine was much more primitive than it is today. We have a museum in Colorado Springs with photographs of doctors and nurses who induced pneumothorax to TB patients, thinking they should give the lungs a rest. Do some Christian Scientist children die for lack of medical care? Yes, this has happened. But medical interventions do not always keep children from expiring, either. My particular criticism of Christian Science is that a practitioner will not treat a Christian Scientist at the same time that person is under the care of a physician, presumably because the two different modes of treatment would be at odds with each other. Curiously, Mary Baker Eddy was an admirer of Florence Nightingale, and was her contemporary. Check out http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/about/press/release/mary-baker-eddy-library-celebr for a description of a nursing conference held last year to celebrate Women's History Month. I would like to hear if there is anyone else here who grew up in CS. I am not a member of CS at this point in my life, but I do admire Mrs. Eddy's pioneering work and conviction. Prayer is not an amulet, but a different way of thinking. This type of thinking has found its way into modern psychological thinking and is reflected in some aspects of quantum physics. Christian Science is not the only religious body that holds to these ideas.

I graduated in December 2008 and I am finding now there is a hiring freeze on for grad nurses. I am glad I have other talents from which to earn a living. This was totally unexpected. Some of my grad friends are working, many are not.

I'll be 55 when I graduate with ASN in December 2008.

Doulalove, This is a really interesting thread. I think it speaks to a greater reality than just L&D, but what is the role of a man in nursing...how is that different than a woman in nursing? What exactly is the nature of nursing? As far as L&D is concerned, it is also often a matter of cultural differences why men may be asked to leave the room. Where does cultural sensitivity end, and the need to learn begin...because nursing schools have ordered men to learn maternal nursing. And then the various male nursing students themselves also come with their own cultural biases. For many of these male students, this may be the first time they have come face to face with the birth experience. It is an awesome thing. We should all approach nursing with dignity and awe, and try to get our ego out of the way. Easier said than done.

I would not assume that some think it is sexist, or that the students do not have the patient's interests in mind. The concern here is that we spend x-number of hours in clinicals each week, and if we are not able to see and do, what is the point of being in the clinical? OB is a sensitive area, to be sure. We all just want to do our best so we can be great nurses.

I have another semester to go. This has been the most challenging thing I have undertaken. It has forced me to explore ways to increase my self-esteem, which is a very good thing. We are tested, in one way or another, just about every day. It can be exhausting. The sad thing is, before NS began I was very enthusiastic about nursing, but I can't say I feel the same way today.

I had been a CNA for 3 years, doing routine baths and bathroom detail with female clients without incident, when a new male RN at the hospital took me aside and said "it is not if, but when you will one day be sued for doing intimate care on a woman." I thought to myself , what??? I had excellent in-hospital training as a CNA and I was planning to attend nursing school at the time. I figured someone would have told me if it was inappropriate for a man to attend to female clients. I mentioned it to the RN on duty, someone of many years experience and leadership who told me not to worry, that male nurse had no business saying something like that to me. Now I have one more semester until I graduate as RN, and I wonder what kind of precautions I should use in the future when caring for female clients? My nurse manager had told me that I have a professional demeanor, and this should not become a problem. As a CNA, I had been asked by a few clients to find a female aide, but this did not happen very often.

Jeff, I am sorry for your loss. However, if you are intelligent and compassionate, you will be a fantastic nurse. If you have any interest in this, why not? I will be 55 by the time I graduate. I, too, came to nursing after seeing a loved one go through extensive medical treatment and thought to myself how wonderful it would be to be a nurse. I think nursing is one of the noblest professions in the world, perhaps the very noblest.

I just finished OB and Peds rotations. I am 54 years young. At first I felt unfairly treated. I wondered what I was doing in OB, because I was not allowed in the rooms during delivery. As time went on, for some reason this was suddenly no longer an issue. I do not know if my instructor had anything to do with it. I did mention to my instructor early in the rotation that I felt left out. I think also that the staff nurses became more familiar with me as time went on. I remember the birth of my own children nearly 30 yrs ago. OB is fascinating. At the hospital where my clinicals took place, there was a male nurse midwife...but I think most patients thought he was an obstetritian. I find having a positive outlook and demonstrating that you want to learn will help you get the experience you need, whatever the rotation. Nursing school has been a lot more challenging, both emotionally and intellectually than I had anticipated.

I was a CNA for 3 years while taking prereqs before full-time nursing school began for me. To be honest, I never gave it much thought when it came to giving someone a bath. I took the CNA course through the hospital where I worked. I was taught very well, and I knew exactly what was expected of me. I only remember very few times when a female patient asked for a female CNA. I am in my 50s and I think that may have something to do with the comfort level. I am there to care for my patients, and I think my approach bears that out. Most of the time I had a pretty good time with my patients. I use humor a lot in my dealing with people.

Sure, I have worked with guys who have tats and they were excellent nurses. I never heard a complaint about it from anyone.