The patient, who is christ

[Guest372004]

Your behavior belongs only for patients who are of your religious beliefs. Please do not treat other people in a way that they may not believe. It is rude. It is selfish. It is crazy. If someone like you came to my hospital bed with your behavior, I would be shocked as hell. I suggest you keep these thoughts to yourself and get what good you can from it, but leave the patient alone unless the patient needs and asks for it. I would be insulted. The problem with people like you is that you think others are thinking like you and that you are doing them a favor. Wrong.

[talaxandra]

I'm glad you politely excused yourself, but am concerned that your emotional response over-rode your duty of care to your patient. That this response manifested as some kind of religious experience is irrelevent - your primary responsibility as a nurse or student nurse is to the wellbeing of those in your care. Seeing the suffering of Christ in the suffering of your patient doesn't help him, doesn't serve him, doesn't do anything but use him as a conduit for your own ends.

And the sentence "Once again I felt that I am placed..." leads me to believe that this is not the first time this has happened. Should you become registered will you again abandon a patient who triggers this kind of emotion? I'm distressed that your thoughts lay solely with your religion, your connection with God, the meaning this had for you, with nothing for your patient except how he served as a tool for this experience.

Clearly your faith is important to you. If this kind of religious incontinence is common perhaps you should consider abandoning nurisng and instead look at some kind of religious career.

[JDougRN, BSN, RN]

This entire "article" ( using the term VERY loosley here) Gave me a RAGING case of the ickies. Not appropriate at ALL! I'm surprised AN included this as an "article...." Seriously...The author seems like he might be on the edge of some psychotic episode, cloaked in religious fervor. Again....NOT APPROPRIATE!

[Guest372004]

At first I thought I was being dissed for my response;thanks it was not me. It just "got to me" so fast when I read that post. Please Bro D. maybe going into some sort of religious work where people are on the same page as you is what you need. The patient needs to be the person who is focused on; not your "revelations". I certainly hope you are not a bedside nurse and not a chaplain for a hospital either. I work at a Catholic hospital and EVERY patient is respected for their beliefs and our chaplains are non-denominational so there is never an uncomfortable time between patient and chaplain. Of course, if the patient requests a certain religious person, it is found for them without difficulty. Please learn that "awakenings" or having "moments" are yours and not to be confused with the patient. This patient WAS NOT CHRIST. Poollleeeaaassseeeeeeee.

[rn/writer, RN]

Your behavior belongs only for patients who are of your religious beliefs. Please do not treat other people in a way that they may not believe.

What behavior? The OP specifically mentions keeping himself from acting inappropriately for the patient's sake.

I suggest you keep these thoughts to yourself and get what good you can from it, but leave the patient alone

Nowhere does it say he shared his thoughts with the patient or anyone else.

I'm glad you politely excused yourself, but am concerned that your emotional response over-rode your duty of care to your patient.

I don't think we can make that assumption from the information given. We don't know how soon after this feeling occurred the OP excused himself. Nor is it clear that he neglected the patient's physical needs. I'm not saying he didn't, only that we can't say for sure that he did.

Seeing the suffering of Christ in the suffering of your patient doesn't help him, doesn't serve him, doesn't do anything but use him as a conduit for your own ends.

How is the patient a conduit for the OP? Seems like the OP was saying he was motivated to give his best because he saw the face of his savior in the eyes of the suffering patient. Is that wrong--to see the one you ultimately serve--in the patients before you?

No less a figure than Mother Teresa said, "Each one of them is Jesus in disguise." This is heart motivation from the servant that in no way intrudes on the beliefs of the served one.

And the sentence "Once again I felt that I am placed..." leads me to believe that this is not the first time this has happened. Should you become registered will you again abandon a patient who triggers this kind of emotion?

I took the, "Once again," to refer to the OP having the same awareness of Christ's suffering in the chapel as he had in the patient's room. And as I said earlier, we don't know if the OP neglected any aspect of patient care, so saying that he abandoned the patient is speculation.

the author seems like he might be on the edge of some psychotic episode, cloaked in religious fervor. Again....NOT APPROPRIATE!

Seriously? A psychotic episode because he made a connection--an internal connection, mind you--between the suffering of a severely burned patient and the suffering of Jesus?

I certainly hope you are not a bedside nurse and not a chaplain for a hospital either. I work at a Catholic hospital and EVERY patient is respected for their beliefs and our chaplains are non-denominational so there is never an uncomfortable time between patient and chaplain.

You really have to extrapolate to get from the OP's inner experience and his statement that he refrained from acting inappropriately all the way to assuming he made his patient uncomfortable.

The Catholic hospitals I am familiar with encourage employees to carry out the healing ministry of Jesus and to see serving their patients the same as serving their Lord. Some of them use Matthew 25:40 "As you did to one of the least of these my brothers, you did to me," as the basis for this directive.

To be sure, this was an emotional account of a personal moment. But to insist that this automatically resulted in impropriety and should disqualify him for a nursing career is a slap to many of us who take our beliefs and our spiritual principles with us everywhere we go.

The challenge for the OP will be to discipline his spiritual fire so that he is not distracted from meeting his patients' needs. But that can be done. Many of us do it every day.

[JDougRN, BSN, RN]

Staff note: Some separating of text done to clarify who said what.

the author seems like he might be on the edge of some psychotic episode, cloaked in religious fervor. Again....NOT APPROPRIATE!

Seriously? A psychotic episode because he made a connection--an internal connection, mind you--between the suffering of a severely burned patient and the suffering of Jesus?

YES SERIOUSLY!!!! This was certainly NOT internal, otherwise he wouldn't have run from the room crying, or been up all night thinking about his patient, nor would he have written this.I found this entire article very disturbing. Our job, as NURSES, are to care for the PHYSICAL and Psychological health of our patients. What I read didn't sound even close to that. It was a nurse who was having "religious dreams" about his patient! You have a nurse who 1. Has a POOR grasp of the English language.- I seriously hope that the reason this post is so disturbing is because the OP didn't have the correct grammer to get across his points. To me, this sounds like a very ethnocentric person who "SEES CHRIST"- As a non-catholic...I find this flat out creepy. 2. It talks about (again, in broken, hard to understand English) that he wanted to "Throw his arms around the patient"- In this instance, it isn't a giving the pt. a friendly hug of support....but an embrace filled with religious zeal. Don't get me wrong- I've had many instances where my interactions with patients has endorsed, or challenged my faith. But imagine how uncomfortable it would be if I submitted an article about how my ED patient "Embodied the FAITH OF WICCA_ MOVING ME TO SOBBING TEARS and making me want to go build a bonfire...." If I posted "Calling the patient During the night I can’t sleep . All my mind was occupied by the tender love of God to us. Giving His most precious son Jesus Christ. Meditating on the Paschal mystery of Jesus. The pain and the joy combined. Pain because of my sins, my shortcomings and my naughtiness. Joy for this treasured moments and experienced that HE (Jesus) unveiled to me.

I had served the patient with all my Best. Serving a King. I saw in him the Lord . My Master my Love my all! And that experienced was cherished inside me. The calling within the call as mother Theresa said was experienced by me.. Thank you Lord… Thank you Jesus!!!

Sorry- this is NOT my faith, and the fact that he was projecting this on his patient seems wrong to me. I have no problems with a nurse seeing their care of a patient as a service to their higher power, again...I believe this might be directly caused by the words chosen. But I could honestly tell you, this entire post gives me the icks. I'm NOT catholic, nor do I agree with most of what is taught in their faith. It would make me VERY uncomfortable having this man care for me....and THAT is what makes this wrong.

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

terms of service reminder

members may disagree with the op, however we ask that you express yourself in a polite and constructive manner refraining from personal attacks and insulting comments.

tnbutterfly

co-administrator

[Guest372004]

How come the person who wrote the original post has not responded? Perhaps he is not in some sort of delusional state? No matter what anyone believes, the patient is not or was not Christ. Sorry bud. And by the way, what was the religion of the patient? Did this person even know?

[N.U.R.S.E.]

Personally what he expressed is no different than a person who is reminded of a passed loved one by someone who may exhibit some of their traits no different than anyone who has de ja vu. Some people often bring us back to a place in time where we were happiest have u ever met someone and felt u have known them all your live not one time did he say he pulled out his Bible and start trying to lead him to Christ seeing him just reminded him of the sufferings of Jesus a case of de ja vu and reflection that was his ah ha moment making the connection

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

The OP is a Brother, a Catholic religious order. In this story he is providing care in a Philippine hospital-major religion is Catholicism in this country and had a religious experience while caring for a severely injured patient ---that in his experience equated to suffering of Christ.

Many nurses working in Catholic hospitals have reported having a religious experience/connection with a patient --often someone who has been through the extremes of physical illness or injury; especially in hospitials that have in their mission statements invoking the healing power of Christ as part of their ministry.

Assencion Health:

Mission

Rooted in the loving ministry of Jesus as healer, we commit ourselves to serving all persons with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Our Catholic health ministry is dedicated to spiritually centered, holistic care, which sustains and improves the health of individuals and communities. We are advocates for a compassionate and just society through our actions and our words

Catholic Health Bufalo

Our Mission

Our mission - to reveal the healing love of Jesus to those in need - is what sets us apart. It's the human side of healthcare - the touch, smile or comforting word that can help make your healthcare experience better. It's treating all people with respect and dignity, and providing comfort in times of greatest need.

Our mission has its roots in a legacy of care and compassion that began more than 160 years ago. Today, that same care and compassion can be seen throughout all of our hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies and health centers.

Catholic Health associates bring our mission to life each day with a firm spiritual foundation and a holistic approach to care that recognizes that a person's health and well-being means more than just treating their physical condition.

It is through this lens that I see how this member interpreted how this burned patient changed his life.

[morecoffeepls, BSN, RN]

I'm glad this seminarian did not hug this patient while weeping and crying out for forgiveness. I hope he is able to put a lid on his "hardheadedness" and "naughtiness" and his hyper-religious ideation. My inital reaction to the original post was somewhat similar to those who have been gently chided by administration; however, the "ickiness" or "inappropriateness" of his thoughts or feelings (however fervently expressed on an online forum) are not things we should be judging. His actions seemed appropriate, and that's what matters. If Bro. David saw Christ, whether figuratively or literally (preferably figuratively), in each of his patients and was able to care for them and ease their suffering with a full heart and hopefully not creep them out by throwing himself at their feet and speaking in tongues or something, then there ya go. Sure, a part of me finds this whole thing a little ... distasteful(?), but another part of me wonders what I would do if I saw, say, Veronica Lake walking toward me at the nursing station or had to give a young Sophia Loren a bedbath. The "ickiness" and "inappropriateness" of my thoughts might cause a stir if I posted them on the 'Changed Our Lives' forum. What a terrible analogy/comparison, but whatever, lighten up. Also, I keep suppressing the urge to write what I really think and feel.