By MAGYNAGY
Added: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:57:48 UTC

As an atheist I once again find myself faced with a dilemma because of a double standard. I am currently interning in the medical field. This semester I find myself working in a hospice ward of a hospital. One of my firm ethical beliefs is that it is 100% wrong to lie to a patient in your care under any circumstance. I worry that my patients coping with death, and very near it may I add, will look to me for comfort. They will want me to reassure them “God has a plan” or “Heaven in waiting for them”. I know this to be incorrect. I would just like the opinions of people outside this situation with regard to what I should do. A person who believes in God would never be asked to renounce that belief for that comfort of a patient but on the other hand it feels almost cruel NOT to lie to a person in that situation. Any input would be appreciated.

TAGGED: ATHEISM