I had a very interesting discussion with a work colleague today based on a topic he saw on another forum. It turned into a very heated argument amoungst staff members and so I would be interested to see what anyone else thinks.
The question posed was: 'Could a health professional refuse to treat a patient?' The answer to this was of course: yes a health professional does have that right.. especially in cases where treatment options can be unsafe for the nurse or the client.
However.... could a health professional refuse to treat on the basis of religious or cultural beleifs??
For example.. lets say a catholic pharmacist refuses to fill a prescription for an oral contraceptive based on the fact that this is against the pharmacist's beleifs?? The pharmacist has the right to refuse.. but by doing so is he infringing on the cultural beleifs of the client?? Or should he deny his own beleifs between the hours of nine to five to appease others??
Or another example: a surgeon in an emergency department refusing to give a patient a blood transfusion due to the surgeons religious beleifs??
My workplace was split in two by this argument. On one hand some people think that the right to refuse should be irrespective of the type of reason, or simply you should not enter a job in which you have obvious personal dilemmas.
On the other hand, some believe that letting your own personal beleifs affect the health of your clients is unprofessional, and that refusal of treatment should not be for personal cultural or religious beleifs but instead should be for safety or precautionary reasons.
There is alot of talk about cultural safety when a nurse is dealing with a client.. but how about the respect of our own cultures in our nursing practice?
It poses some interesting questions.. Id be glad to know what you all think
