Shocked At Nurses Actions Tonight

[PMFB-RN]

I work part time at a local SNF / rehab faciliety. On PM and NOC shift it is staffed with 3 or 4 LPNs and one RN charge nurse (tonight it was me). One of our LPNs is a sweet young girl from a very small town near by. She is in a BSN program to become an RN as well. She was late to work and I assinged her to care for a new admit who is recovering from a serious MVA. She took report and went to meet her patient. She came back out of the room about 5 min later very upset. She demanded to know why I hadn't told her the patient was a muslim in report. I asked her why it mattered. She said that "those people are all trying to kill us!" and she couldn't understand why the patient was even admited or even given medical care in America! She flatly refused to provide care for this person. Nothing I said to her had any affect on her. She actually got angry at me for trying to explain why this person needs and deserves nurses care.

I ended up sending her home without pay and doing to work myself. I am only part time at this place and while I supervise LPNs and CNAs I am not their boss with the power to hire and fire. I did write a letter to the DON explaining the stuation and recomending that the LPN be fired. I also intend to inform our state board of nursing of her actions. I had another LPN who heard the whole thing write down what she had heard and submit it to the DON as well.

I consider her to have abandoned a patient that she had taken report and accepted responsibiliety for.

I understand that she is from a small, all white town and know from previous conversations with her that she has never so much as had a conversation with an african america person or any other minority except the Amish (many in this area). She aslo claims to be a very devout christian and is very involved in her church but I think her attitude is not compatable with nursing.

[wmarat, BSN, RN]

Is every Hartheim a Jew? Is every Kim or Chung or Yamamoto a Buddhist? Is every Smith a Christian?

Every Muslim is certainly not a terrorist.The terrorists are the extreme faction, much like KKK or NeoNazis. They do not represent the majority in this country, and terrorists do not represent the majority of Muslims.

OP, I agree with your actions, including reporting her to the BON. Refusing a pt under certain few circumstances is acceptable, but not in the manner in which she did it, and certainly religious intolerance is not on that list. It's the same as caring for HIV/AIDS pts........25 years ago nurses were allowed to do that, but not anymore. The "sweet young thing" is entitled to her opinions about people but she is not entitled to refuse care like that.

As for caring for the enemy in war, Americans have always, in this century, cared for the injured regardless of the uniform they wear. Maybe that should be pointed out to Young Thing.

You have no idea what you're talking about. How many muslims have you happened to know?

[wmarat, BSN, RN]

Obviously, we're not going to cure her prejudice by firing her. But allowing her to stay sends the message that it's o.k. to discriminate against patients based soley on religion. I would not want her working with me.

If she were a soldier seeing people killed by Muslims and was having flashbacks, or any number of possible reasonable explanations other than merely looking at a person's religion and refusing to care for them based on the ignorant presumption that this (more than likely) American in her assignment is Muslim, then I would perhaps give her the benefit of the doubt.

I still say fire her. Zero tolerance. Sure, she's going to be prejudiced. Perhaps she'll keep it to herself and bite the bullet and care for a person of another faith in the future and realize they are a human being worthy of her care, or perhaps not. But there should be consequences.

I'd suggest you to reread Dalai Lama's saying, because what you're sayng is square opposite what Dalai Lame said. Are not you prejudiced, because that YOUNG and probably UNEXPERIENCED nurse thinks differently from you?

That's true, even more, that's unwritten law that the nurse has to provide professional care to her/his patients and that does not matter who and what those patients are, but supprise, a nurse is human being too, with thoughts, believes, feelings, moods, periods, etc. I honestly believe that she ( or any other nurse) has the right to refuse to take care of a patient for ANY reason, but this must be done properly without screaming and crying. So, do not fire her, educate her, explain her what she did wrong etc.

[gr8rnpjt, RN]

Or, it's kind of like ME saying that I will no longer take care of patients that have diarrhea because I don't like cleaning poop.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[CHATSDALE]

the lpn was wrong, it is not up to a supervisor to know the prejudices to the staff, esp one who comes in late, perhaps if she had come in on time she could have requested in a calm reasonable way that an exchange of pts be made,

a pt can not be left unattended because a nurse chooses not to care them, whatever the reason

i have know afro-american and catholics care for kkk pts

however we should not judge our fellow nurses for their opinion if it does not effect their work, ie happy nurse, her experiences have shaped her opinion don't judge her until we have walked in her shoes [God willing it will not happen]

i know a family whose grandfather was a POW under the japanese, to his dying day he had an intense hatred of all japanese and all products, including cars and tvs etc this didn't make any sense to his family but then they couldn't understand the horror of those days

[SharonH, RN]

Well darlin'...when somebody shows up at your door telling your husband/wife won't ever walk again because of a war...a war being fought against a group of Muslims..your opinion on my thoughts might change..until then, don't stand in judgement of me.

That's just an excuse you're making to justify your hatred/prejudices. And it doesn't wash.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I'd suggest you to reread Dalai Lama's saying, because what you're sayng is square opposite what Dalai Lame said. Are not you prejudiced, because that YOUNG and probably UNEXPERIENCED nurse thinks differently from you?

That's true, even more, that's unwritten law that the nurse has to provide professional care to her/his patients and that does not matter who and what those patients are, but supprise, a nurse is human being too, with thoughts, believes, feelings, moods, periods, etc. I honestly believe that she ( or any other nurse) has the right to refuse to take care of a patient for ANY reason, but this must be done properly without screaming and crying. So, do not fire her, educate her, explain her what she did wrong etc.

I see that you're in Israel, so I'll take that into consideration.

First of all the Dali Lama I'm sure has a lot to say about tolerance of others, but let's leave him out of it.

Secondly, while there is no law written that nurses have to care for each and every patient they come across, there are policies written into most employers personnel books about prejudice and discrimination, and most places it's zero tolerance.

If I were the employer of this person, I would most definately attempt to educate her on her wrongdoings as I am firing her.

This person certainly is entitled to her prejudices and her right to refuse to care for someone. But there are consequences for those types of decisions. This is for the protection of all of us.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Well darlin'...when somebody shows up at your door telling your husband/wife won't ever walk again because of a war...a war being fought against a group of Muslims..your opinion on my thoughts might change..until then, don't stand in judgement of me.

Gee, here I thought we were in a war against terrorists and people with weapons of mass destruction, I didn't know we were at war with a religion.

I'm seriously bothered by an attitude that what is happening thousands of miles away dictates how we treat someone suffering from motor vehicle accident injuries who happens to be of the same faith. Doesn't make sense to me.

Naturally, I've never been over there and perhaps if I have I would feel differently if my child was killed in Iraq, or I fought and watched American die, but I seriously doubt I could turn my back on a patient based on religion. As a minority it's repuslive to me and violates the core philosophy I have of nursing.

I am fully aware that to many Muslims we are the "Great Satin" and they hate us with a passion that scares me to my core. But still.............anyway I'll get off my high horse, because all you have to say is "until you've walked in my shoes.............".

Regardless, prejudice has no place in nursing. This nurse in the original post didn't say "I lost a child in Iraq and I just can't care for a muslim" or another other trauma. She's full of hate and prejudice and deserves to be fired. I won't change my mind.

Obviously, I respect your right to hold your opinion and certainly wouldn't dream of trying to change your mind.

[nurse15dc]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. Totally agree with OP. Pt abandonment must be reported to the BON by the laws of the practice act. And IMHO she should be canned asap.

[banditrn]

If I were the employer I would not want a racist such as her working for me. I would fire her. Most employers have zero tolerance for "isms" and I support these policies.

Refusing to care for a patient because of their reliigion goes against the very core of nursing in my opinion.

Yes, this person will carry this attitude wherever they go, but at least they wouldn't be working for me.

Tweety - I've gone thru most of the posts on this thread, and one thing I've been thinking about is - if I were the patient, I wouldn't want her caring for me, nor would I as an administrator.

I used to get fed up with some of the reasons nurses would want to switch patients: I knew their cousin's aunt's sister, etc. I stated in an earlier post the times I've asked to switch patients.

I'm not a saint - I've had patients I've disliked for whatever reason - but in that case, you suck it up, and give the best you can.

Which was one reason I frequently got the most difficult patients, because others didn't want to deal with them. Or if I heard even a hint of what I thought might be racism in report, I'd take the patient, rather than subject that patient to even the thought of it.

I don't like terrorists - and I'm NOT a liberal, but I don't imagine that terrorists come in just one color or religion - just like bigots and racists don't.

[HappyNurse82]

That's just an excuse you're making to justify your hatred/prejudices. And it doesn't wash.

I'll remember your comments when DH goes to get fitted for his prosthetic. Get over yourself.

[Simplepleasures]

This is how I see the situation.

They came first for the Communists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics,

and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,

and by that time no one was left to speak up.

Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892-1984)

Inscribed at the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston.

Wow , very profound statement.Are we not in Helping profession, isnt it part of our job to advocate for people, our patients, ourselves?

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

IN my entry interview for my new job, I had to answer and list patient sceneros where I would switch care and not accept a patient! That way a charge nurse knows what type of patients I am uncomfortable giving care for. That can be changed upon getting report however if you so chose...

I thought that was a good idea...let it be known straight off the bat before being hired, and have it documented right of the bat too!

I didn't choose anyone for any religious purpose, just put down "ask me first" on scenereos like giving chemo drugs to a pregant person (especially if that is being done for abortion), and complicated infant cases (I am not trained and I get way to emotional to be a good nurse with those littleins...heck I get tearful watching St. Judes Hospital comercials! Just a part of me I have learned to accept). Since I have never been asked...guess all is fine!