In attempting to address Mr. Jackmon’s case, ask yourself the following questions if you are the nurse caring for Mr. Jackmon:
- Where am I on the staircase concerning this patient? How can I move to the next level?
- How familiar am I and the nursing and medical staff with the religious beliefs, values, and attitudes of people who are Jehovah’s Witnesses?
- What significant differences exist in followers’ health beliefs and other Christian traditions? How different is this religion from my own?
- What feelings and attitudes do I have about Mr. Jackmon’s beliefs about receiving blood?
- How helpful are these attitudes toward the development of cooperative interaction between myself and the patient?
- Are there alternative ways of treating this patient’s hemoglobinemia?
- On what religious beliefs does Mr. Jackmon base his refusal of blood, despite his need for it?
- From whom could the nursing staff gain more insight into the patient’s healthcare beliefs?
- What strategies might be useful in meeting the physiological and psychological needs of this patient?
- What resources might the nursing staff utilize to assist them in meeting this patient’s needs?
