During my first semester in the nursing program at UOIT, I have become more aware of my personal beliefs and how they affect my judgment. However, I wonder if this self awareness will continue to persist or if my personal beliefs will ever over shadow my critical thinking skills. Lately, the choice between following religious beliefs and life has become more evident within the health care profession. Some patients are choosing death over saving their lives because of what their religion says. I know that I have to respect my patient’s wishes, but dealing with life and death situations is not one of my strongest traits. I begin to wonder what I would do if one of my patients ever tells me that they choose to follow their religious beliefs over saving their life. I know that the first question that would come to my mind would be “why?”. Although I try to separate work from my personal beliefs, sometimes it can be hard when dealing with a life and death situation. So my question to anyone who reads this post is, “what would you do if one of your patients chose to follow their religion over saving their life?”.
Elfstrom, J. (2006). A woman holding a candle [Picture]. Sweden. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/Article____15193.aspx
2 comments:
This is a very good point. If I was stuck in that dilemma, I would place and throw all my personal beliefs to the side and aim to support and help the clients goal of health. The essence of nursing is to help, cure or improve the health of others. However, helping the dieing patient can not only mean to save lives but to support and understand the clients beliefs or requests.
In addition, CNO Guideline states, “The role of the nurse is to help the client meet her/his specific health goals. This requires exploring the client’s view and attempting to understand the meaning behind a particular request, as well as the client’s overall goals for treatment.”
Hopefully, my point of view gave you more open doors to think about!
Excellent point! I don't think that I can do anything because we are under the CNO, therefore we have to follow orders and be sure to act accordingly to not disrespect their culture. However, I understand that under such circumstances it is hard to decide what to do. I know that these circumstances can occur but I don't think that I am ever ready to determine between life or death. Death is already a difficulty and touch area for me personally and determining life and death is even harder. But I know that whatever the situation is, you must respect the client's decision and believe that it is what they want.
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