Sarah Kuteh was a nurse at Darent Valley Hospital in the UK. Dedicated to her position, she knew the impact that she could have on patients facing terminal illness and always wanted what was best for them.
A Woman With Strong Faith
Kuteh did not hide the fact that she was religious, and often comforted patients with prayer and the word of God, until recently. The hospital found her actions inappropriate, and according to the Nursing and Midwifery council, Kuteh was breaking the rules of her profession.
Breaking The Rules
In the trust, it states “We have a duty to our patients that when they are most vulnerable they are not exposed to unsolicited beliefs and views.”
The patient is the one that told the story, but the court released this statement of what officially occurred:
“(She) told him she would give him her bible if he did not have one; gripped his hand tightly and said a prayer that was intense and went ‘on and on’; and asked him to sing Psalm 23 [The Lord is My Shepard] after which he was so astounded that he had sung the first verse with her. He described the encounter as ‘very bizzare’ and ‘like a Monty Python skit”.
They Let Her Go
After Kuteh took the matter to court, they ruled in favor of the hospital to fire her for her actions. Though things didn’t fall in her favor, she doesn’t regret her actions. In fact, she believes that her rights to express religious beliefs were violated in this scenario.
She’s Not Alone
This is not the first instance this has happened. There have been other employees in similar professions and elsewhere that have been let go for introducing religious beliefs. A community nurse in the same area as Kuteh was suspended for offering to pray for a patient. She was later reinstated, so why is Kuteh’s situation any different?
A Delicate Subject
Often times it’s comforting to the believer to pray for someone they know needs it. Often times non-believers accept prayers though they don’t think it will affect them in any way. It’s all about the individuals and where they stand, so it’s a very delicate subject.
An Open Discussion
Religion in the workplace can raise a lot of questions, but it’s difficult to ignore when in a profession such as nursing. It raises a lot of questions. Is it ok to share ones faith in a professional setting? And if it’s not, what if doing so would offer hope to the individual its shared with? Let us know what you think.
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