When I graduated from nursing school, my mother (who is now a retired nurse) said to me, "Never forget a patient's religious/spiritual needs when death is near." I have kept this with me throughout my thirty one years as a nurse. As the decades have past, I have noticed that many nurses I have worked with, as well as those I currently work with, view religious/spiritual needs as an "afterthought."
I currently work in LTC; many of the residents I care for attend weekly Mass, pray the Rosary every Friday, and attend the non-denominational service every Thursday evening WITHOUT fail. (The facility where I work is not affiliated with any specific religion; it has tremendous recreation/social services depts. that seek to fulfill every aspect of a resident's needs). When any of these services is canceled for some reason or other, the residents are disappointed.
That being said, when a resident is actively dying, I will ask the nurse caring for the resident if the resident has practiced any specific religion. Sometimes the nurse looks at me as if I have two heads; other times the nurse will be honest and say "I really hadn't considered it." Without stepping on toes, I talk to the family and ask if they think their loved one would like a blessing or receive the sacrament of the sick. The MAJORITY of the time, the family and/or resident (if they are able to express their desires) is so grateful to have this need met. I will hunt down a priest, minister, or chaplain until I find one.
One nurse I work with used to laugh at me, but she has since become more conscious of this need. I am not forcing religion down anyone's throat; I am thinking about a need that often falls by the wayside.
I'm an atheist, but a patient's spiritual needs must be addressed.
This can work both ways. I once had a resident who was a world reknowned atheist and had developed severe dementia. Just a wonderful person.
One day, his wife and daughter came to visit him in the LTC facility. He was not in his room and I suspected someone had taken him to "Hymn Sing" a couple floors up. We looked and sure enough, there he was. His wife sort of sighed, smiled and asked me, "Can you get him out of there?"
Our facility had a hard and fast rule about never taking anyone out of a worship service. So I said, "Absolutely!"
I extracted this fine person from the service under the steady glare of the pastor and the Activities Director.
Of course, I also made sure that residents who wanted to attend services did so, with just as much enthusiasm as I got my friend out of that other service.
TDCHIM
686 Posts
@leslie: I knew that medical ethics class would come in handy, even if I am just studying to become a paper-pusher!