We’re the Only Ones Who Can Save You Now…

A conversation between a medical worker whose rings marks her as a member of an unpopular religious sect and a wounded patient who needs treatment:

Resident: “Is there anyone else who could do this?”

Me: “[Coworker] is the only other person on the unit today qualified to do this. Is something wrong?”

Resident: “Your ring. I don’t want to be touched by one of you demons. You’re a sex-crazed cult.”

Me: “I am sorry you feel that way, ma’am. If you’re uncomfortable with me, I can certainly get [coworker].”

…

Resident: I’m so glad you’re here. Her lifestyle is just so sex-crazed and evil. It’s frankly un-Christian!”

Coworker: “You do know that she is a virgin who has never smoked or drank in her life and carries a picture of Christ in her wallet, right?”

Resident: *speechless*

Coworker: “Oh, and one more thing. I’m an atheist, I live with a man I’m not married to, and I have three kids.”

Reminds me of this image:

(via Not Always Right. Thanks to TychaBrahe for the link!)

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Mikel

That is a funny story. I wonder what sect of Christianity the ring was for…I can only think of the Masons having a ring, but I never heard any rumors about Masons being “sex-crazed” (LOL) or having female members (though I think there is some side branch of the Masons that does allow women). Just curious…
Jason Fegely

Paging Gregory House.
Anonymous

From the context where I first heard this, I suspect this is the type of ring they mean.
http://www.ctr-ring.com/
http://www.ldsbookstore.com/ctr-rings
ff42

You beat me. That’s exactly what I had in my minds eye when I read the OP. Of course growing up Mormon…
Trina

Quite funny. The ‘Resident,’ I gather, is the patient. Going to go look up the ring’s link now…
Anonymous

It could’ve been a pentagram or “triple goddess” ring, Wiccans are stereotyped as being sex-crazed, devil-worshipping cultists. I thought it was one of those.
Adam.B

while Hemant didn’t bring it up the OP mentioned in the link that they belonged to a Christian sect.
dauntless

That’s probably right, since many christians view the mormons as a sex-crazed (or polygamy-crazed) cult. Although from all the mormons I’ve known, their sex lives seem pretty repressed.
dauntless

Perhaps a resident of an assisted living facility?
westley

The “never smoked nor drank” would also lean it towards Mormon, who tend to emphasize such.

Any guesses as to the sex of “coworker”? Male would make it even better.
TerranRich

That part confused the hell out of me. “Resident” refers to a medical position after internship, so I was…just…confused…
Joshua

As with the other people posting above I am guessing that it was a CTR ring, and that the (coworker) was a Mormon. The only thing about Mormonism that makes anyone sex crazed is repression. (the same reason catholic girls have a rep)
Anonymous

I wonder if the resident is under medical care for some kind of mental illness. Their comments aren’t rational. Perhaps that’s unfair to the mentally ill. Maybe she’s just a loud mouthed bigot.
Gaian

Time to put the patient under!
mb

“Sex crazed cult”

Now that’s something I’d be willing to get up on Sunday for.
Anonymous

it really sort of amazes me that anyone in the midst of receiving medical care would ask for another provider on the basis of a religious symbol. i mean, i’ve asked for female ER docs in the past, when i needed female ER care, but other than that, how can it matter? if one is in pain, one would logically want whomever could provide immediate comfort, no? i guess not, in the case of this superstitious freak. then again, these are people who let their own children die of preventable diseases, because jeebus doesn’t want them to get shots, or something. i guess we should let them “go home to him” and save the money on health care costs. it’s what they want, after all.
Anonymous

She was called “sex-crazed” and she said:
I am wearing a ring that marks me as a member of a certain Christian sect. It is a sect that many other Christians do not consider to be Christian

As far as I know there is exactly one relatively “Christian sect” that fundamentalist Christians don’t actually consider to be Christian, and that’s the Mormons. I’m guessing the sex-crazed insanity is because the patient decided that all Mormons are FLDS polygamous nuts.

I’m vaguely impressed that in the middle of having a wound dressed someone would A- notice someone’s rings and B- be able to identify the markings of a particular Christian sect. It’s a testament to the degree of religious insanity that even when in pain the patient would have their eye open to any deviation from their theology. I guess it’s a good thing the people at the hospital were better person than the patient, because it must be damned tempting to say: well you can dress your own fucking wounds, bigot.
VZG

While I mostly agree, to a certain extent it’s actually very similar to asking for a female doctor for “female care”. I’ve never had an issue with male doctors providing my female care (and, at least where I live, they’re required to have someone else present anyway). They’ve all studied the same medicine, and probably seen so many lady parts they just don’t care about them anymore. And yet many, many women still refuse to see a male doctor for anything that involves removing their pants, because it makes them more comfortable.

Not that the religious thing isn’t, frankly, a completely crazy version of that, but it can give you an idea of what they’re thinking, then.

(Oh — and then there were the campaigns a while back — and possibly still? — to get it written into law that doctors could refuse patients based on their sexuality. So doctors can be that same kind of crazy themselves, too.)
Avicenna

It’s actually highly annoying. I actually am discriminated against in India because no woman wants to be seen by a male medical student. I have delivered more than 10 babies and am competent (and qualified) to do it. They would rather pick the vaguely green looking girl simply because I may not be able to control my vagina lust or something equally stupid.

There is a law that allows doctors to not treat a patient solely because doctors have to take responsibility for patients they treat and in some cases doctors simply don’t want the responsibility. ER doctors treat everyone who comes in because they are agreeing to waive that right. However in an emergency the right to waive care is stopped.

A doctor can refuse to do a procedure based on his morals and instead refer you to someone else or advise you to seek medical help from someone else.

For instance, my mum does breast implantations (there is an actual medical reason that’s common for a breast implant… Breast Cancer. A large proportion of implant users are Ca Breast survivors) but if you asked her to give a 16 year old girl with body issues a giant rack then she would tell you to hop it because it’s against her principles as someone who does breast cancer removal and reconstruction.

Many doctors don’t like treating Jehovah’s Witnesses due to the blood product constraint which cripples a lot of the treatments particularly surgical ones.
Avicenna

You mean “Now that’s something I’d be willing to get it up on Sunday for.”
Avicenna

I don’t know… things that mark you as a member of a group in ring format tend to be pretty awesome. Masons? Green Lanterns? Planeteer? The Phantom?

I wouldn’t think christianity was that cool yet.
Anonymous

I too have had both male and female doctors in the past for female specific health care needs. While I agree not ALL of the men were bad at it, the ones in my experience that did fall seriously short (ahem, delicacy when using a speculum please!) were men. My current doctor is a woman and when it comes to these things, not only has she studied it, but knows from first-hand experience what it all feels like and has a better capacity to empathize in female specific scenarios. It’s not so much what they’ve studied in my opinion (as that is all basically the same) as much as it is the added benefit that comes with the doctor’s ability to relate.
Bridget Marie Blodgett

I’ve never had an issue with a male doctor providing gynecological care. However, there are many complaints from women that men tend to be rougher during exams or biopsies since they are medically trained that there is “no sensation” in the cervix.

Women doctors who receive the same exams know that there is in fact sensation there and if care isn’t taken it is extremely uncomfortable or downright painful. Sometimes simple expereince in things like that can make the difference even with equal training.
Leia

Mormons wear CTR rings, or ETTE rings… that could be what they saw.

(I used to be one of those sex crazed religious folks who never smoke or drank…)
Avicenna

Glad to see you joined the smoking, drinking and whoring club… I mean atheism and skepticism movement.