Setting a bad example?

mcl4 · Dec 31, 2001

Originally posted by VAC

I think someone who has been overweight and kept the weight off would be a better teacher.

The best person is a dietitian who has spent years studying this topic and also has all the up to date information to help a person attain their goal weight. The dietitian will also be there to follow up with any question/concerns from a patient well pass being discharge. But in reality, it will be up to the individual's responsibility to implement the changes necessary in order to be successful.

mcl4 · Dec 31, 2001

I work often in a cardiac unit and advocate for patients to picks 3 or 4 things that they are confident they can change immediately and to build on those when they go home. This is a much more logical approach than the all of nothing approach I hear touted so often.

My father's cardiac nurse was not small and she was a wonderful caring teacher/nurse. She had your above approach and dad did make the changes necessary after a triple bypass. He also had the assistance of cardiac rehab department for several weeks after being discharge. Diet and exercise were the two areas that he made the most drastic changes.

mcl4 · Dec 31, 2001

I for one hope the nurses that Matt works with dont know his feelings on this issue, that would probably make for a poor work dynamic and seem that he - along with the rest of the world- is passing judgement on them based on their weight. [/b]

I also wonder this, but so far it looks like no nurses from North Memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota reads the Allnurses.com boards??

ohbet · Dec 31, 2001

If you take the Nurses Code of Ethics seriously,which supposedly all nurses are bound to, a nurse who smokes or who is fat is an unethical nurse because nurses wouldnt encourage their patients to be that way ,so the respect nurses owe to others the are to give to themselves.

mcl4 · Dec 31, 2001

Originally posted by ohbet
If you take the Nurses Code of Ethics seriously,which supposedly all nurses are bound to, a nurse who smokes or who is fat is an unethical nurse because nurses wouldnt encourage their patients to be that way ,so the respect nurses owe to others the are to give to themselves.

Nurses who smoke or are not at their ideal weight do not encourage or teach their patients to smoke or eat poorly. You made a poor asssumption that patients would smoke because their nurse smoke or eat fatty foods if there nurse eats fatty foods. Nurses who do not have weight issues also can eat poorly and according to your opinion, they are not taking the nurses code of ethics seriously either. Do you have a link to these codes of ethics?

Q. · Dec 31, 2001

No, I haven't floated to any other unit - because I am a Labor and Delivery nurse. I would be useless to an ICU, just as an ICU nurse would be useless to Labor and Delivery.

You are the one who brought up the notion that teaching in the middle of the night was somehow odd and that instead we should be promoting sleep. Maybe on surgical units that may be true, however, even having NOT floated to another unit I am quite aware that things may be different. I am shocked that you even floated to post-partum, because it is more than bringing in babies and checking bands. I have gotten most of my teaching done during breastfeeding interactions - and it's more than how to latch on - but about adequate nutrition for the mom which translates into adequate nutrition for the infant. Moms have to increase their caloric intake by 500kcals/day while breastfeeding, also need to increase fluid intake. Also smoking is extremely discouraged while breastfeeding. Post-partum moms need to exercise if they want to retain their shape prior to delivery, but need to know when they've had enough in relation to increase bleeding. There are a whole host of things that need to be taught to moms in the short 24 hour period. I would be doing them a disservice if I didn't teach them. And videos don't always cut it.

No, I don't go in a 2am and click on the lights and begin lecturing. When I bring babies in for beastfeeding, or when it's time for their assessments, or for god's sake, some mom's deliver at 11pm and are still in recovery at 2am. Teaching is done THEN. So no, sleep is not primary right after birth and during breastfeeding (sorry, that's life) - if anything, sleep can be done during the day depending on what time the patient delivered.

Again, this conversation stems from your apparent surprise that teaching (on any unit) is done (ever) on night shift. Teaching is done 24/7 on Labor and Delivery. And I don't think we are bad nurses and you should have been MORE shocked if we would have sent them home rested, but CLUELESS about thier own body and thier baby.

fergus51 · Dec 31, 2001

Wow mcl, I didn't mean to get your gears going that much;)To answer your question I do float outside OB, but I NEVER take a patient assignment so I don't do a lot of teaching on those wards except to explain to a client what I am going to be doing procedurewise (I was trying to explain why OB is not like the other floors). On OB I teach no matter what the hour. I have to. A normal mother will be disharged home within 2 days. Some of them come to us with no prenatal teaching or experience with children. You're damn right I will teach them at three AM. And yes, I go into depth with education during that time. I am not depriving the mother of sleep as I do it when she is going to be awake anyways. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of waiting until she has caught up on her sleep. No, sleep deprivation isn't great, but I am jnot depriving her of sleep. I do teaching when people are awake anyways. Believe me, the teenage mother who holds her breast between two fingers like a cigarette does not want me to just bring her baby and leave her alone, she wants me to tell her what to do and how to do it. Those are perfectly teachable moments and they are essential to certain mothers. I would rather get teaching done on the night shift than discharge a woman home who has no idea what she is doing with that screaming little person she just made.

fergus51 · Dec 31, 2001

OOps, I didn't realize you'd already answered it for me, Thasnks Suzy.:)

mattcastens · Dec 31, 2001

I can't believe that you all believe that people aren't influenced by what they see (i.e. and overweight or smoking nurse). If that were true, then the whole advertising business would disappear.

People are influenced by images and impressions, and I would think that in terms of patient education (not skill), an unhealthy nurse would send conflicting messages.

And where did you all pick up that I wanted to ban smokers and overeaters from nursing? I never wrote anything of the kind. In fact, if you'll read more carefully, I was wondering how hospitals can encourage healthy lifestyles in their nurses and use the system to improve health -- both good causes, I would say.

Finally, my co-workers do know my position on this topic. We frequently have conversations about how to better influence our patients. Actually, our conversations are much more constructive than this one is turning out to be.

Q. · Dec 31, 2001

Matt, your question about setting an example really isn't out of line. My husband, before he left the nursing profession, often thought that himself. And someone made the comment about their husband who said to the doc "You ain't no Twiggy yourself" which to me tells me that people ARE impacted by example and/or images. We are a very image oriented society.

The question was not meant to offend, but rather to prompt a discussion and encourage thinking. Relax everyone.

And Fergus, you're welcome.

VAC · Dec 31, 2001

Originally posted by mcl4

And you still haven't address the pertinent orginal issue of other floors talking about lifestyle changes which is different then teaching a mother how to breastfeed. I'm guessing you don't float too much outside of ob?
I

Learning to breastfeed and take care of an infant are HUGE lifestyle changes.

hapeewendy · Dec 31, 2001

matt, If you read many of the responses closely you will see that not all of us took you the wrong way and jumped to a conclusion on you personally

most of us just voiced our opinions about what you posted, which is the point of posting and replying right?

I dont cast any judgements as to what kind of person you are , I Just stated my own experiences and feelings about your post.

stereotypes and judgements do happen daily in life - its unavoidable unfortunately-

however, to all these people who keep mentioning this so called "ethics of nursing" wherein a nurse with unhealthy habits or who is overweight is sending the wrong message to patients is insane, nothing more nothing less..... its crazy to think that everyone in nursing needs to be completely healthy and fit - no one is 100% healthy anyway...

if we see you eating a chocolate bar on your shift will you be banned from nursing alltogether?

personally if i was a patient about to code i would want someone who could do compressions and hopefully save my life, end of story

I dont care if he/she looked like a troll as long as they could do their job.

when it comes down to it in nursing, skill is what is most important, you either have it or you dont.

weight is a sensitive issue at best and to have the suggestion made even lightly that being overweight makes one a less effective nurse seems hurtful to me, being a nurse is one of my proudest accomplishments as I imagine it is for most of you too, imagine someone tryin to trivalize all that hard work and heart based on an unhealthy habit you may have or the fact that youre 30lbs overweight.

I work with quite a few overweight nurses and other staff in the hospital also, and I've joined in on many a conversation about the unhappiness of being overweight and how we can get healthier as a staff, it isnt easy, people try , but it truly is a battle, quitting smoking as any good nurse knows is a challenge, ive watched many ppl try to kick the habit, and losing weight is just as much of a struggle.

while we are on the topic of being predjudged etc, I work with four male nurses who are prejudged horribly, they are the best nurses I have worked with EVER yet patients refuse care from them based on ideas and preconceptions...... are we going to get to the point where patients can refuse nursing care from a smoker, or obese nurse or a male nurse?