Lee & Sam:
>>>"Another important aspect of this case had to do with the congregationand the elders. They would come in, especially during her lastadmission, to visit her. We felt like they were checking upon her. They would come in to watch and to ask questions andto see what we were doing and to see what we were hanging. Ifwe went in and hung the bovine hemoglobin while they were there,she would say to them, "This isnt blood." She would haveto clarify what was being hung. We felt like we were being watchedto make sure that we were doing the right thing according totheir beliefs. When she went to the MICU, there was always someonethere, watching to make sure that no one would hang blood. Therewas a lack of trust."<<<
It's really sad to see this deeply ingrained and entrenched lack of trust for the medical profession by JWs. To call it a "lack of trust" is probably the nicest way of putting it though. More often than not, it's a case of outright DISTRUST, or the assumption that medical staff are "out to get" JWs, and will ambush, pressure or even trick the JW into taking blood. This kind of paranoia makes it difficult for the health care professional to form a working relationship with the JW patient. Many of them would prefer to get their health information from the pages of the Watchtower rather than from doctors and nurses who are trained in the field, and think they know so much better than people who have spent years in training and gaining expertise in their professions. (After all, reading the Awake! is supposed to be the equivalent of a college degree, right??
I've had to explain this mentality to my colleagues on more than one occasion. They find working with JWs to be very frustrating. Other than trying to inform my colleagues about where this underlying attitude comes from, I can't think of much else to do to make the situation better.
Love, Scully