Hospital Won't Hire Obese Workers

feelthebuRxN · Jun 13, 2012

Hahaha :-) exactly. We live in a world of contradictions. Same with family on the smoking. Regardless hospitals should provide more outlets to take care of their staff rather than imposing laws that discrimate. That is really what I am trying to get at. In fact I would be interested in investigating the person who came up with it in the firsr place and see if she or he practices what they preach. With the hours nurses work and the patient loads they carry it becomes so challenging to be healthy.

Hay, RN · Jun 13, 2012

so... what happens when they hire an employee while they are healthy/fit etc... then they become obese?

do they fire them...? because i'm sure if any of us rounded on that hospital we would see obese employees.

feelthebuRxN · Jun 17, 2012

Exactly. That's the entire problem with the system. There is no concept of prevention here. From what I have gathered if they become obese that doesn't impact their position. But again, that's not addressing the situation; it just makes them look as if they are being proactive when they aren't. They are just hurting instead of helping.

Sacred eagle · Jun 17, 2012

Discriminating against obese nursesis OK, they discriminate againstmale patients every day. Noprivacy for male patients. You seeall female nurses in L&D, post-opgyn and only female techs inmammography. It is discrimination not to offersame gender care to male patients,

MrsStudentNurse · Jun 17, 2012

As a healthcare provider isn't it only logical that someone who is severely obese in NOT healthy? There are numerous studies showing a positive correlation between obesity and healthcare visits and costs.

tothepointeLVN, LVN · Jun 17, 2012

As a healthcare provider isn't it only logical that someone who is severely obese in NOT healthy? There are numerous studies showing a positive correlation between obesity and healthcare visits and costs.

Actually no it's not. While there may be a positive correlation between the two it does not implicitly imply that every obese nurse is unhealthy.

If you want to use facts and figures to support your discriminatory views then fine it does. Shall we find old research studies that make scientifically based racially bias conclusions as well? I'm pretty such there were a lot none during World War 2

feelthebuRxN · Jun 17, 2012

We can make the argument that nurses can be "skinny fat" whereby they consume a terrible diet and their lab work shows hypertension and hyperlipedmia. What do we do then? I think that a law such as this maybe had a "good" intention in addressing the topic but this is a very complex problem that needs to be tackled from multiple directions. What about developing a wellness plan for nurses who work 12hr shifts? What about having exercise classes in house that are 20-30 min and are high intensity cardio? The problem is that nurses are stressed and exhausted and that's where their lifestyle changes because they need to grab quick meals, get take out for the family because some nights they have to work OT. I bet that 90% of the time, healthcare professionals (and this includes doctors, dieticians, nurses, etc.) gain weight on the job.

angelbluern · Aug 27, 2012

I just came from a prehire situation, in which I could not do a sit-up, this was in conjunction with other flexibility exercises, in which I performed within normal limits. Because I could not perform a sit-up I was not hired for the Home Health Nursing position. I am already working for as HH Nurse. I am obese, but that doesn't mean that I do not have the capabilities to lift, I do and have numerous times. I feel that not being able to perform a sit-up was just another way to discriminate against overweight nurses. What about the older nurse who has a bad back or knees, just hang it up? I am thinking the hospitals HR's are looking for every reason in the book not to hire some one obese because we are looked at as a liability. It's ok because this hospital that shut the door in my face will be missing a valued team player, their loss.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Aug 27, 2012

Obesity is a flawed way to measure health. It's just weight divided by height. A man can be very muscular and so weigh "a lot" and thus be considered obese....

Nursecathy123ca · Aug 28, 2012

That is disturbing. I have never had a nursing job where I had to do an activity similar to sit-ups. I have, however, done lifting, stretching, kneeling, catching a falling patient and even lying on the floor to see something under the bed! You are right--they have missed a great team member. They must have plenty of applicants. Otherwise, they would be happy to overlook this 'flaw'.

wooh, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2012

I have never had a nursing job where I had to do an activity similar to sit-ups.

Really? That's how we do our narcotics counts! Is that not common everywhere?

:)