That's an excellent 3 way split. I don't have any data to suggest what percentage of patients ask for opinions. But many people seem to trust the authority of the medical industrial complex. They take the drugs they're told to take, have the surgeries their specialists recommend, etc. So, my guess is that even _if_, for example, a hospice nurse or doctor isn't specifically asked the question, their manner and the other things they say and the tone they use, has an effect on the patients world view.
As for the uninterested professional, most of these, if they're professional at all, are trained to consider the spirituality of their patient in treating them. So, even if they're personally uninterested, they should be professionally interested ... otherwise they're considered unprofessional. It's easy to summon the imam (or whatever), because they ask you, pointedly, your affiliation when you check in. So, the extent of the professional consideration is usually limited to deciding when to summon the spiritual guidance. But that doesn't address the fact that patients who are awake still hear the ancillary conversation of the staff around them. Renee's (mostly) a Christian, which results in lots of interesting conversations between us. But she often asks me for my opinion on interesting ethical dilemmas that come up at work. (Cthulu only knows why she would ask me... I guess cause there's nobody else in the room.) So, from my perspective, it's more a systemic question. With media reports of "death panels" and Obamacare, etc. the issues start to take on a reality I wouldn't ordinarily perceive. Your last answer is the best, I think. And with hospice care, it may even apply to professional-patient relationships. I've been hunting for a new home for my mom if/when she finally can't live independently. And the facilities where the staff is simultaneously professional, but willing to (at least simulate) a partnership with the residents, seem best to me. Marcus G. Daniels wrote at 04/25/2013 11:15 AM: > If the patient is asking a for an opinion, and the nurse has no reason > to think the patient's mental faculties are especially compromised, then > I think it is best to engage honestly. It could distract them from > their physical condition. > > If the patient is asserting a bunch of random fundamentalist nutcase > things about the nature of the universe and forcing the engagement of an > otherwise uninterested professional, then that patient could be in the > `burst' side of a side-by-side study. (In the case of being an > employee of a hospital with a religious affiliation, this could be > professionally risky.) > > If it is not a patient, but a relative or friend, then perhaps the best > thing to do is to direct the conversation to shared journey together and > not on a debate on the extent to which it will end. -- =><= glen e. p. ropella >From the frozen depths of a forgotten fjord, ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
