Smoking

Nurses Professionalism

Published

What is everyone's opinion on healthcare workers smoking? I feel that we preach to patients to not smoke or to stop smoking but yet I see so many healthcare professionals smoke even though they know that harm that is causes. Any thoughts?

Specializes in Maternity.
sigh.......

Double sigh....

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Specializes in Maternity.

Oh but if it was that simple...

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Nursing is an occupation, not a lifestyle. As long as a nurse is competent & performs well when caring for patients, they should be respected in their profession. Also, there are much worse things a nurse could be doing than eating Little Debbies or smoking a cigarette; they could be diverting drugs, driving drunk, or providing incompetent/negligent care to their patients.

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Specializes in Maternity.
To me, nurses that smoke are like overweight nurses... If you work in a field where you deal with the health of others and see the repercussions with a certain lifestyle, WHY would you portray that to others? I will never forget what I had a patient ask me, "Why do you have so many fat nurses working here?" I had no answer... (By the way, the patient was old and senile and probably said whatever they wanted all the time.) I've had others comment on the same, just a little more eloquently.

I'm sure those"fat" nurses choose to be fat too....sarcastic. It just not that simple. Lots of thin people are more unhealthy and have unhealthy habits. So you need to get into everyone's business to determine that their a picture of health in order to be a nurse?

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Specializes in Critical Care/Vascular Access.
I'm sure those"fat" nurses choose to be fat too....sarcastic. It just not that simple. Lots of thin people are more unhealthy and have unhealthy habits. So you need to get into everyone's business to determine that their a picture of health in order to be a nurse?

No, you shouldn't have to get into their business. That's why the smoking issue needs to just be dropped unless you're going to take that way of thinking to its natural conclusion.......which means getting into everyone's personal business.

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Specializes in Maternity.
No, you shouldn't have to get into their business. That's why the smoking issue needs to just be dropped unless you're going to take that way of thinking to its natural conclusion.......which means getting into everyone's personal business.

I was being sarcastic.. It's nobody's business.

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Specializes in Critical Care/Vascular Access.
Double sigh....

if you guys are tired of the smoking topic then maybe avoid even opening the thread when the topic is clearly "smoking". Not everyone has been on this site forever and seen this topic brought up.

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To me, nurses that smoke are like overweight nurses... If you work in a field where you deal with the health of others and see the repercussions with a certain lifestyle, WHY would you portray that to others?

Because addiction is addiction, that is why.

Because no one makes 100% perfect choices 100% of the time...not even the ones who do not have to wear their personal struggles on their sleeves like other nurses.

Because the solution is just not as simple and cut and dried as your post seems to portray.

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Specializes in Maternity.
Because addiction is addiction, that is why.

Because no one makes 100% perfect choices 100% of the time...not even the ones who do not have to wear their personal struggles on their sleeves like other nurses.

Because the solution is just not as simple and cut and dried as your post seems to portray.

This! Yes!

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Specializes in Maternity.
if you guys are tired of the smoking topic then maybe avoid even opening the thread when the topic is clearly "smoking". Not everyone has been on this site forever and seen this topic brought up.

That's not why I'm sighing...

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

I don't "preach" to patients or families. Taking care of you health isn't a MORAL issue. If I thought there was some chance my patient didn't know the risks of smoking (like they were admitted from the bottom of a well where they were trapped for the last 30 years)- I'll encourage them to consider quitting, but I know more people that refuse to see a doctor or avoid hospitals at all costs, because they don't want to put up with the moalizing of a bunch of self appointed health police. If you can't guess- yes I smoke. I'm also a good nurse, I'm fairly healthy, and I don't think it is anyones business but mine if I choose to knock a few years off the tail end of my life. I am not a saint or a role model. I'm a health care professional who has been educated to provide and direct patient care for those persons assigned to my care. My health habits are of no concern as long as I am still physicaly and mentaly able to do my job.

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