JWs in the medical field (also a rant)

by Lady Zombie 10 Replies latest jw friends

  • Lady Zombie
    Lady Zombie

    Another thread got me thinking.

    Are there any people here that work in the medical field and did so as a JW?

    Up until July of last year, I worked in a hospital laboratory as a phlebotomist (person who draws blood) and lab tech. I drew countless tubes of blood from people for "type and crossmatch." This meant they were going to have a blood transfusion.

    I often coordinated with local blood banks in placing orders for PRBC (packed red blood cells), platelets, plasma, etc.

    Once out of curiousity I asked an elder if doing so was violating god's law. I was told that it didn't since that was my occupation and I was only doing my job. I don't have them in front of me, but there have been some WTs that have said the same thing. Of course it said it was a conscience matter but laid out some scenarios like mine.

    ~~Tangent--I'm not defending the JW blood stance, but coming from someone in the medical field, there are risks associated with blood transfusions. True there are risks with everything, but really it is much better if you know your donor!

    If someone receives plasma (the clear, light yellowish component of blood), chances are it was collected at a plasma center. Because it is a lengthy process to collect plasma, plasma centers will usually pay donors. Since people are paid for donating plasma, it attracts donors from the homeless, drug using, and generally skeezy populations of the city. Yes, the collection centers test for blood bourne diseases, but some blood bourne diseases have a lengthy incubation period in the body (e.g. hepatatis, hiv, etc.) and in theory could go undetected and then passed on. This doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen. I know the JWs use stuff like this to scare people away from blood.

    Anyway, if you decide to receive blood and have the opportunity, donate your own or if you're fortunate enough to have a friend or family member that's your type, get the blood from them!~~

    I knew a nurse who was a JW but she ended up disassociating herself.

    But most of the JWs who I knew that worked in my hospital were...can you guess....environmental (janitors) and dietary (cafeteria) workers. It used to piss me off when they would come by the lab on their breaks and lunches to hang out. First of all, I was damn busy! Second of all, I didn't much appreciate them coming into the lab, plopping down in the break room and reading the paper or pulling out their WT to read (it was embarrasing). Thirdly, I had a problem with one of the holier than thou janitors look down his nose at me because of the nature of my job and because I often had to swing shift and miss meetings. F*^k him!

    Oh, and if there was a brother or sister in the hospital, I was expected to look in on them and make myself available to them. Granted that wasn't part of my job, but I was frequently told, "Sister J is in the hospital. If you get a chance, I told her I would let you know so that you could look in on her from time to time." Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind doing that if I had the time, but sometimes I was so busy that I didn't even get my lunch break. I certainly didn't have the time to go and sit with them.

    I was also put in the position where they wanted me to break HIPPA laws ("Hospital Information Privacy and Protection Act) by asking about the condition of witnesses in the hospital. First, as a lab tech, I wasn't usually privy to that kind of information, and second, I could have lost my job for divulging confidential information. When I informed them of what HIPPA laws meant, they would back off but I used to be amazed at their presumption.

    Anyone else in the medical field? Have any stories?

  • wha happened?
    wha happened?

    After learning what I did about blood while working with Dr.'s in the case of my Mother, I'm surprised any witness in the medical field stuck around. They knew that whole eating of blood argument was rubbish

  • Lady Zombie
    Lady Zombie

    It is rubbish!

  • Witness 007
    Witness 007

    The Watchtower says that Witness Doctors and Nurses can freely administer blood Transfusions as part of their jobs....but isn't taking blood the same as Fornication? Acts 15 "Abstain from blood and fornication..." I can't let my cousin sleep with her boyfriend in my Witness house due to fornication...but I can give them a Transfusion of blood if Iam a Witness Doctor....hypocites! Makes me so sick!

  • ex-nj-jw
    ex-nj-jw

    I worked with a nurse who was a JW. She would always try to get another RN to cover for her or trade patients when she had one that needed blood. She was good for saying, "nj would you take patient 123 that needs blood and I'll take your patient 456", patient 456 usually didn't need anything done for or to him/her as a matter of fact that patient usually was at a point in their recovery that they didn't need any nursing assistance except for handing them their meds at the appropriate time!

    I think I traded with her once and put an end to that. Damn Jdubs! always trying to get out of doing something.

    nj

  • Witness 007
    Witness 007

    New a guy who bled out 11 bags of blood but survived....as a last resort it does save lives.

  • ex-nj-jw
    ex-nj-jw
    if you decide to receive blood and have the opportunity, donate your own or if you're fortunate enough to have a friend or family member that's your type, get the blood from them

    If you are in a car acccident you don't have much time to look for friends or reletives or to store your own blood. Life or death? Save my life!

    nj

  • BONEZZ
    BONEZZ

    Lady Z...

    and don't forget, you are required to rat out your fellow dubbies when someone comes in for a "no no" procedure.

    -BONEZZ

  • Lady Zombie
    Lady Zombie

    Absolutely!

    Mostly I was speaking for procedures that are planned.

    If it is an emergency, all bets are off and you use whatever is available to you!

    I remember we had this one patient who was bleeding out. I think they ended up getting something like 14 units!

  • Lady Zombie
    Lady Zombie

    Lady Z...

    and don't forget, you are required to rat out your fellow dubbies when someone comes in for a "no no" procedure.

    -BONEZZ

    So I guess I should have turned in a single sister who came in for her yearly Pap and a new script for birth control pills?

    Guess I wasn't a very good JDub!

    Thing is, birth control pills aren't only for preventing pregnancy. They have other uses. Hmmmmm, still.......sounds like elder fodder to me!

Share this

Google+
Pinterest
Reddit