The Doctor’s Diagnosis or Prognosis versus Religious Beliefs

The Doctor’s Diagnosis or Prognosis versus Religious Beliefs

Most patients comprehend, deal with, and navigate illness experiences through an explicit reference to personal religious values and beliefs. However, there are times when religious ideas disagree with physicians’ recommendations (Curlin et al., 2020). This could pose major challenges for healthcare providers as some patients believe that the doctor’s intentions are good, but a higher power, in some instances, God, is the one who knows what is best (Rumun, 2018). I have encountered several instances where patients have blatantly refused to accept the diagnosis of the doctor and have instead depended on their religious beliefs.

I started my career as a medical ICU nurse at the age of 20. Providing culturally competent care posed a key challenge, especially when the patient’s religious beliefs and values got in the way of proper treatment. This has happened many times among Jehovah’s Witness patients who are against blood transfusion. In one instance, a patient had been involved in a major motor vehicle accident and had lost a lot of blood. The patient needed an urgent blood donation, but the family refused. The patient was in no condition to make any decisions at that time, and even though there was no Advance Decision Document, we were forced to respect the family’s decision. Alternatives like intraoperative cell savage were used due to the high amount of blood that the patient had lost.

In another incident, a family brought a hen to the ICU in order to perform rituals. The hen was to be sacrificed after the rituals had been performed, and it so happened that the hen escaped from the family member’s hand and began flying around the ICU. We were forced to chase after the hen, which messed with the surgical team and room. The patient suffered from lupus and needed a kidney transplant after hers had failed. The family insisted on the need for a ritual before any surgical performance could be done to enhance the surgery’s success. Such instances tend to bring major problems among health care providers.

References

Curlin, F. A., Roach, C. J., Gorawara-Bhat, R., Lantos, J. D., & Chin, M. H. (2020). When patients choose faith over medicine: physician perspectives on religiously related conflict in the medical encounter. Archives of Internal Medicine, 165(1), 88-91.

Rumun, A. J. (2018). Influence of religious beliefs on healthcare practice. International Journal of Education and Research, 2(4), 37-48.

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Many patients under a physician’s care will not accept what doctors say about their diagnosis or prognosis. They trust in their spirituality or faith leaders.”

In my previous job, we had several incidences where patients prioritized their spiritual beliefs rather than the physician’s diagnosis and prognosis. I recall we had a patient from Haiti. She was in an advanced stage of pregnancy, about 36 weeks. if I recall correctly. The Obstetrician wanted to deliver her as soon as possible by cesarean section. However, she and her family wanted her to visit her spiritual leader in Haiti. The Obstetricians advised against it but agreed that her spiritual leader would attend the hospital and perform their religious rituals.

The patient’s condition deteriorated a few days later. She was rushed to the operating room. The obstetricians were able to save the baby but we lost the mother.

Share an experience where you or someone close to you, either at home or in the workplace did not accept the doctor’s diagnosis or prognosis and relied on their religious beliefs.