Disturbing Conversation on Overweight Healthcare Workers

[FutureDNP2021]

I overheard a disturbing conversation of nurses who were saying that overweight people should not be working in healthcare. They were basically saying that patients do not respect health advice or treatment from a worker who is unhealthy themselves. I am posting this topic because I wonder if this is a shared sentiment among the medical field? Or from patients? Or has anyone experienced anything related to this? Like getting fired, or discriminated by either pateints or a facility and such? Are there ever clauses in facility contracts that employees must maintain optimal heath to represent the industry's interest? (I am in Vegas & yes casinos do enforce waitresses/dealers with a +/- 5 lbs. original hiring weight monitoring weekly). I hope this is not what nursing school meant by "take care of ourselves before we can take care of others." Honestly, I dont think like this but wonder if others in healthcare do? Is this really a "thing?"

BTW, they were referencing a theme of nurses who gained weight from emotional overeating. They were not referencing a physiological underlying condition. ~ Thank You ~

Why Are So Many Nurses and Healthcare Workers Overweight and Unhealthy?

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[Stratiotes]

I think that it depends on the context. If I were a patient, I wouldn't judge a nurse's worth by his or her bodyweight. That said, I would have trouble listening to any teaching they might have to offer on nutrition and/or weight control. This would be like a nurse teaching smoking cessation while he or she smells like cigarette smoke after each break. It has nothing to do with their ability to care for someone.

That said, educating people on good health habits is part of our responsibility, so I think everyone should make a good effort to practice what they preach.

[DWelly14]

Oh Lord, that's the last thing we need to put on nurses! Most of this has already been said but how many nurses work 12 hour night shifts, eat whatever they can during their shifts if they get to eat at all, no breaks, not enough rest, and have responsibilities outside of work? When I graduated and started my first nursing job, my unit was so short they were offering all sorts of bonuses for us to pick up and as I was planning to go to grad school, I picked up as many shifts as I could, meaning there were times that I work 8-10 12 hour shifts in a row. Needless to say, 6 months in I had gained about 25lbs and was dragging. Luckily 5 years down the road I'm much better at taking care of myself and am healthy again but I'm still on the fluffy side of life. I'd lose it totally if I was told I couldn't be a nurse since I was overweight.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

That said, educating people on good health habits is part of our responsibility, so I think everyone should make a good effort to practice what they preach.

This comes across as so ignorant and arrogant! How do you KNOW that the fat nurse on your shift doesn't have some health issues that prevent her from losing weight? How do you know she isn't exercising two hours a day and doing Weight Watchers but still only losing a pound a month because of the medication she must take? You don't know, and not knowing, you're not in a position to judge.

[Wrench Party]

I'm probably in better shape than most of the people on this board, and working night shift. Now that I think about it, most of my night shift coworkers are only up to a little overweight (and those older ladies are diabetics, and can absolutely run circles around us younger folks). We are fairly active with our patients at night compared to other units because of drains, pain meds, continence issues and the need for baths.

I honestly give zero f---s about the size of my coworkers. Are they kind to their patients, are they good to work with, and do they have my back are the important factors in our working relationship.

Additionally, I feel most patient education on chronic conditions should be taking place in the primary care setting, not in the acute care setting after a flare-up (i.e. heart failure), but that's a separate topic.

[Miffy]

I used to have a similar attitude until a recent health issue caused me to gain a substantial amount of weight. Despite eating healthy and working out 5 times a week, I am overweight. I used to look at people who were overweight and assume that they were unhealthy, that maybe they didn't eat right, or maybe they didn't work out. I have learned now to never judge a book by its cover. Although last year I was perfectly thin, people look at me now and judge me. They assume I must be doing something wrong, and I hate that. Being overweight doesn't necessarily mean the person is unhealthy, just as being thin doesn't mean a person is healthy. Weight is not the sole indicator of a person's lifestyle, so I don't think we have the right to judge nurses for how much they weigh.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Oh, goody, this topic again.

The day that nurses have a job that actually facilitates healthy habits is the day they can start worrying about overweight nurses. Cafeterias that serve crap empty calorie food, impossibility of adequate breaks, expectations to do more and more with less and less, long shifts that don't actually end when they're supposed to, the list goes on. Since it's quite likely that such a day will never come, then I have no issue with those who are physically capable of doing the job working as a nurse regardless of their size. I'm morbidly obese. My job is demanding. I have pretty much zero energy when I get home from work to do more than relax on the couch for a while, take my dog for a short walk, cook a meal (try to keep it on the healthy side, but on those days I'm on call and have to work late, forget anything time consuming), and go to bed so I can do it all over the next day. But I am fully capable of doing my job, and that is what matters.

[AutumnApple]

I'll support the theory that nurses must exude good health when:

Accountants accept being fired if they bounce a personal check..............

Home improvement contractors can't accept work unless their personal homes meat certain standards.......

Crossing Guards are fired for jaywalking...........

Chefs are never allowed to eat fast food..............

Teachers can not teach if their own children are not holding a specified GPA...........

Mechanics can not work on cars that are of a later model than their own........

Daycare workers should have at least two children, and all their children must be kept injury free for life........

I am confident all my suggestions above are being quickly dismissed by every reader as they scroll through them. Yet, some of those very same readers will agree to nursing being held to a standard of their weight having to reflect good health.

So why the slanted viewpoint just because the occupation is nursing?

I've said it before, I'll say it again: "Nursing has a dark cloud of ascetic expectations looming over it." Beating nurses who are overweight over the head and telling them they aren't respected is just another way to further the cloud's influence on us. Once they've milked that for all it's worth, they'll move onto something else to belittle the ones who are left. How about.......since many people believe blondes are of inferior intellect, we exclude them too. Or at the very least limit where they can work. Can't have them make major blunders and messing up the budget now..........

Funniest part is, the powers that be, the ones who want us to think this belittlement comes from within and not from them, will never actually pull the trigger and enforce such a thing. It'd be too costly. The nursing field would cease to be over saturated and they'd then have to (gasp) concerns themselves with retaining the ones who were left. Salaries, benefits and working conditions all would have to get better. That's not cost effective (rolls eyes). Better to just push the idea out into the nursing population, then let us beat each other with their agenda for them. Mission accomplished, we belittle ourselves and our peers and the ascetic cloud rolls on..........

Stop drinking the poison kool-aid. Focus your energy on the real problem.

(Recalls in Hunger Games all the quotes about who the real enemy is and really really wants to pretend she meant to go in that direction for that reason).

[Katy1958]

Hello from the UK, ive been told off a patient to lose a few inches, im big, work full time, mostly nights, no one ever mentions my size, just the odd elderly lady or two, but i give great cuddles, on paper im as healthy as a horse, not bad for 58 😊 Xx

[Phoenix16, RN, MSN]

I agree with most if not all of these post; we are people too. However, I think I would find it difficult to take "healthy eating habit tips" from a nurse who is obese. That's like going to listen to the pastor preach every Sunday about fidelity, and warning not to fornicate when he's cheating on his wife. I'm sure most of us would say that pastor is a hypocrite; correct! For the record I'm overweight; my BMI is 26.8 and I'm trying my best to look the part. I'm sharing this with you because I do not want people to think I'm a size or 4 and being judgemental; I assure you that is not the case. I just think if we are going to get up on our high horses and be insisting that our patients take better care of themselves; then maybe we should start doing that too. Would you want a dentist with rotted teeth? I get it, we have Sergio schedules where lunch time is almost a luxury, but we need to remember that we only have one life, and we should do our best to take care of it.

I hope I did not offend any one; I am just saying what I believe; I could be wrong and that is only my opinion.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I agree with most if not all of these post; we are people too. However, I think I would find it difficult to take "healthy eating habit tips" from a nurse who is obese. That's like going to listen to the pastor preach every Sunday about fidelity, and warning not to fornicate when he's cheating on his wife. I'm sure most of us would say that pastor is a hypocrite; correct! For the record I'm overweight; my BMI is 26.8 and I'm trying my best to look the part. I'm sharing this with you because I do not want people to think I'm a size or 4 and being judgemental; I assure you that is not the case. I just think if we are going to get up on our high horses and be insisting that our patients take better care of themselves; then maybe we should start doing that too. Would you want a dentist with rotted teeth? I get it, we have Sergio schedules where lunch time is almost a luxury, but we need to remember that we only have one life, and we should do our best to take care of it.

I hope I did not offend any one; I am just saying what I believe; I could be wrong and that is only my opinion.

I AM offended. My size has no effect on my knowledge base. Patient teaching is informational not evangelical. My size is a result of the treatment for my own health issues. It is not my patients' business.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

There is no way to tell how healthy your nurse is just by looking at her. An overweight nurse may be very health, able to swim in current for an hour at a time and walk all over Paris on vacation. A thin nurse may be very unhealthy -- a smoker, have eating disorders and unable to walk up a flight of stairs without wheezing. Yet this "no fat nurses" thing comes up again and again.

Very true. Plus, say a 5ft tall nurse weighs 250lbs...yet six months ago weighed 300lbs. In her case, her weight while not ideal, represents a huge accomplishment. A patient wouldn't know that, because we focus on the patient -- not on ourselves -- while delivering nursing care.

And anyway, we are not hired to be examples of good health...we are hired for our ability to utilize competent nursing knowledge and provide competent nursing care.

Says one who gained some weight through comfort eating and still has more to go, but has implemented an eating and exercise plan FOR MYSELF. And climbed an 8000ft granite dome this weekend (most exhilerating experience of my life!!). And whose patients are too in need of survival to think about weight loss, or care about their RN's looks.

[Vana21, ADN, BSN, RN]

I'm considered morbidly obese according to BMI

I can also run 3 miles without stopping. I'm rarely sick, my blood work is fine.

It's subjective