Nurses Relations
Published Mar 14, 2014
questions1025
1 Post
I am thinking of applying to nursing school to get my BSN and become an RN. Could I be a good nurse if I am fat/slightly obese? I am also a guy so I feel like I would stick out. Any nurses out there can you give me some advice? Would the patients, doctors, and co workers look at me like I am ridiculous? Like I dont belong. Also would that be a problem for me in the nursing program, like would the instructors give me crap about it? Any feedback would be appreciated.
pixiestudent2
993 Posts
There are plenty of overweight nurses.
xoemmylouox, ASN, RN
3,150 Posts
If you are worried you could lose some weight. Nursing school is stressful enough, the last thing you will think about is your weight.
NICU Guy, BSN, RN
4,161 Posts
You obviously haven't spent much time in a hospital. There are plenty of "fluffy" nurses. You would not stand out.
Mom2boysRN
218 Posts
I'm a fat nurse. It's just like life there are those that judge and those that don't. I do home health now, but I did work in a nursing home and assisted living and I could keep up with the thinnest of the nurses. I can say with confidence that I am a good nurse and I feel that to most of my medical peers that shines through and even if first all they see is my double chin after they see what kind of nurse I am they don't see it anymore. If your fitness isn't up to par I would recommend starting to exercise to improve your ability to keep up.
SwansonRN
465 Posts
No I don't think anyone will look at you like you're ridiculous...unless you're acting ridiculous
As long as you are physically able to safely do the job (standing, walking, lifting, bending, etc.) then there is no need to have a certain BMI in order to be a nurse.
casi, ASN, RN
2,063 Posts
They wouldn't make 5xl scrubs if there weren't nurses to wear them.
As long as you are able to do the job, no one cares about pudge
mh0712, MSN, RN
87 Posts
I really have to "weigh" in on this. There are many nurses with BMIs that are above 25, yet none of them I know are bad nurses. Yet there are some skinny ones that aren't that great. Being a good nurse has nothing to do with weight. You cannot judge a book by its cover and therefore weight is not a determining factor of job performance.
Tait, MSN, RN
2,140 Posts
Seriously?
Sent from my iPhone using allnurses
AdamantiteEnigma
183 Posts
Last I checked, there isn't any weight requirement or condition attached to being a nurse.
Worst case scenario - the recruiter for the mediflight agency might raise an eyebrow. Otherwise, your golden.
For me, being a nurse is about having heart, and giving freely of it. Along with all that clinical stuffs. And I'm a guy who isn't overweight persay, but would likely alarm you walking around in my street clothes.
nurseprnRN, BSN, RN
1 Article; 5,115 Posts
What's an overweight persay? Was that a typo for person? Or did you mean, "per se," which is the Latin meaning roughly, "in and of itself"?
I've been over ideal body weight since before I could walk, and I think I'm pretty good at what I do. :)
I wouldn't worry so much about what other people think about your appearance. As the immortal Dr. Phil says, most people would be shocked if they knew how little other people think about them at all. :)
HopeThruFaith, ADN, CNA, LPN
136 Posts
I beg to differ...while being overweight should not matter the truth of the matter is it does. I agree with everyone in regards to being a good nurse should be based on your skill set, personality, and professional integrity. However, I had plenty of people judge me based on my size when I was interviewing for a job. I had two to flat out say that I wasn't a good fit because they didn't think I could keep up. (I was 115 pounds overweight) It wasn't until I lost weight that people saw my credentials and not my weight. Just prepare yourself for judgmental people. If you can start adopting a healthier lifestyle so this type of situation won't even be a factor for you. I would hate for you to work so hard in your program and be faced with the same type of rejection I experienced.
Future RN