what do ido when my patient has some beliefs and he doesnt want me to treat him the way he should be treated?

Question

im a sophomore nursing student and my professor is asking me that question, im having a hard time finding the answer coz the internet is full of useless things which are getting in the way of my search..

an example of this is a patient who is unconcious and brought to the ER, lost a lot of blood...but while looking in his wallet, you see that he is a jehovah`s witness, and it clearly states that they have a "NO BLOOD" policy...
so what do you do?

RN`s and doctors..please help..thanks :-)

Answer 1

As a Jehovah's Witness,

I would hope you would honor my legal document.

I would hope you would honor my right to choose which treatments I will or will not accept.

Please know that we have done the research and have made a decision based on our faith and the medical risks of that decision.

Every Witnesses I know, will only ask that, you as a health care provider, do your best in helping us, while respecting our request in this area of treatment.

If you try to 'force' blood on us, we view that as rape.

If you try to talk us into taking blood, that is the same as a rapist saying, 'If you submit, I won't hurt you.'

I am telling you this not to make you agree with us, but I hope you will understand us better.

No doctor can guarantee life, only Jehovah can.

Jesus said 'of what benefit would it be to gain the whole world, but lose our life?'

This is what we believe about blood.

Thank you for allowing me to answer your question.

I respect your desire to help people, and I applaud your efforts in the saving of lives.

Answer 2

In my experience most medical professionals honor the patients religious or personal beliefs no matter the outcome. As a pharmacist, I have witnessed not one, but two Jehovah Witness women giving birth die because they refused blood transfusions.

Really, all you can do is point out the potential deleterious effects of refusing certain treatments and modify your treatment regimen to accommodate the patient's wishes. In the case you listed above you'd just pump them full of fluids to maintain pressure and hope for the best.

Answer 3

This has come into legal arenas but if the person is an ADULT you have to honor their wishes and notate that it was AMA (against medical advice). You could be charged with assault otherwise. Jehovah's Witnesses are very strict about not wanting someone else's blood mixed with theirs. I learned about this in a Transcultural Nursing course in grad school.

In the case of a person having a card in their wallet, it would have to clearly match up with other photo identification in his wallet before you decide to withhold treatment, and it would be imperative that someone not attending to him attempt to locate a family member who can confirm this.

Make sure you document everything properly and that would include copies of his ID and his "no blood" card INTO THE FRONT OF THE CHART. Always cover your a$$. Documentation is the most important aspect of nursing.

Answer 4

You must honor his written wishes. Notice that it is a legal document, signed and notarized. Treat the patient with all other care and hemo builders, but not transfusions.

Also check out noblood.org for more suggestions. Blood transfusions are on there way out due to complications after the fact. Even open heart surgery has been done without any transfusions.

Answer 5

You always do what the patient wants regardless of age, unless that person has a durable power of attorney.