What if the Boston bomber was your pt

This is very very hard question to answer.

After my original posting, I thought "What if I walked into work tomorrow and found Paul Bernardo (a Canadian rapist and serial killer) (Google him - he is not a nice person) on my assignment . What would I do. And I honestly don't know. As a nurse, I would like to say I would provide top notch care. As a female, I just don't know.

How would I feel if I found the Boston Bomber on my assignment? Again, I just don't know. It certainly is a difficult position to be in.

And I truly admire anyone caring for this person - nurses, doctors, techs, support personal , etc.

I don't think I could do it without prejudice. I would 'do my job', but he certainly would not receive gold standard treatment from me.

Some boston nurses are answering this question here:

http://news.yahoo.com/boston-nurses-tell-bloody-marathon-aftermath-200449911.html

I work for the police department in a local jail. I'm always professional, but not warm and fuzzy. That will get you hurt. I see murderers, rapists, child molesters, drunk drivers, child abusers, etc. I can tell you, I'd give him the same care that I give all of my inmates! To those who would do less, please reread the Nightengale Pedge!!

I took care of a trauma patient who had been stabbed in the chest by his father. The men were attending a wedding reception of a family member and arguing over money. Both men had been drinking when the son was stabbed. After his chest was cracked open by the trauma team, I could see a large stab wound in his chest. He was pronounced dead. The next day I had the father as a patient. I took care of him as I would any other patient. That being said, if the Boston Bomber was my patient, i would give him the same care rendered to any other patient I have had. I would do my very bust to keep him alive as I want him to stand trial and be sentenced for the harm he did to society. My license does not make exceptions.

I think I would have to go with "Don't ask, Don't tell" also. I know that it would be difficult to care for him, but my essential job as a nurse is to provide safe medical care for every patient, every time. I care for inmates all the time in our local community hospital and I just don't ask, I try not to think about what they might have done because I know that if I knew they were a child molester, it WOULD color my care for them.

My heart and mind goes out to those who are in a difficult situation right now and having to care for this boy who has carried out such a senseless act of terrorism. Praying for peace for all of those affected by this tragedy.

Iwould care for the patient as any other on my assignment. Yes, it would be difficult seeing that he did commit these hideous crimes. Why did we get into this profession in the first place. to help people when they need it the most. This young man, nearly the same age as myself, is ovbiously a troubled person and needs help. refusing the assignment is not an option we knew in nursing school that we might encounter these types of people and were taught to care for them the same as everyone else. It saddens me to think people would refuse to care for a critical, dying patient. Yes, his actions make it difficult but, I believe it takes a strong person to be a nurse and we see terrible things each day. He is a human being as well the only one who can decide who lives and dies is God , or whoever your religion may honor. ( this statement is not intended to offend any readers on religion simply stating my opionion.).

I would have to care for him as I would any other patient. I would be nervous though. If a mistake happened it would be hard to prove it was a mistake and not retribution.

Agreed. My reference to him as a "kid" is in the context that I have a 19 yr old son (a young man but still very much kid) & to think of my son or one of his friends doing something like this is beyond comprehension. I can't help but wonder what his background & influences have been to cause him to take the path he chose.

When contemplating where someone ended up in life, I have a tendency of thinking about the fact that at some point they were someone's beautiful baby, pride & joy. (I tend to do this a lot when taking care of confused elderly pts or comfort care pts.)

A very classy answer. I feel that way also. I am so tired of hate and tired of hating. Hate is what brings about atrocities like this in the first place. It takes a brave person to replace hate with compassion.

I am so glad you posed this question. I have been asking myself the same question since the kid was apprehended.

Here's my take:

He's a CHILD. Maybe he was brainwashed by his older brother, maybe he was influenced by a culture that we don't even know about. Maybe he is just a lost kid just trying to seek the approval of his older brother...who knows what the real story is. We can make up things from here to next Thursday to try to understand what this kid did.

Back to the question: what would I do if he were my pt?

If he came into my OR, I would comfort him, I would hold his hand while he was induced, and I would make certain that he was warm and as comfortable as possible when he emerged from anesthesia.

That's my role. That's what I expect of myself as a professional.

In the back of my mind, I would know that this would likely be the last kindness that this kid would receive. I hate to sound Polly Anna, but if he took only one moment in time to really feel what it's like to be cared for, perhaps it might change his viewpoint. Maybe he will pay forward the kindness that he received from his health care workers.

It takes one person to dramatically change the lives of thousands of people. We all witnessed how two people changed the lives of an entire nation. Wouldn't it be great if one nurse, one doctor, one health care worker helped this 19 year old to understand what caring actually means?

To answer the question WWJD? THAT's what Jesus would do.

There are very, very few instances where I feel a nurse could say "I can't take care of this pt" because of said patient's monstrous actions.

A personal connection to the patient and/or his victims is obvious. Or perhaps if the nurse lost a loved one in the past to a similar terrorist attack.

But, really, no, a nurse simply cannot refuse to give care to someone like the Boston bomber. Or give him sub par care. That's completely unacceptable. If you can't control your emotions in these situations, you shouldn't be a nurse.

Sorry if that sounds harsh.

And whether the suspect is a kid who was brainwashed by his crazy family or not is utterly immaterial to the question at hand.

What if he wasnt brainwashed? What if this were his older brother we were talking about instead? What would it change? If he's just a brainwashed 19 year old would he deserve better care?