Chewing Gum

Nurses Professionalism

Published

Do any of your hospitals ban staff from chewing gum?

I have been places where they look like they should be in the Grease movies or are auditioning to be a cow.

Looks very unprofessional, IMO.

geees louise! thrown out of a nursing program for chewing gum??? wth is this profession coming to??

i have one manager who said it is against policy...but it seems she just likes to make those policies up as she goes along-so no one listens to her.

anyhow...i would much rather see/hear gum than smell nasty butt-breath!

:eek:seriously people, gum chewing and the word "unproessional" do not belong together.:eek:

i am just curious how many [color=lime]years those who feel gum chewing on the job is unprofessional [color=lime]actually have on the job??

just curious!

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Not a nurse (I work in the lab) but this topic reminded me of a funny thing that happened to me at work. I chew gum because there is nothing to drink in the lab and I get so freaking thirsty and my mouth becomes incredibly dried out (gross breath naturally results, even if I have just brushed my teeth on break). Anyway, I chew it discreetly but one day I must have swallowed wrong and I ended up coughing. My gum went flying across the lab. Luckily no one saw, but man was I still embarrassed! So just a warning. Be very careful not to unexpectedly cough while chewing gum! :lol2:

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This is fantastic news. Not only is gum chewing unsanitary (saliva can fly from someone's mouth while chewing whether visible or not), but is it is very unprofessional, especially in the healthcare field. It is only worsened by those who insist on cracking or popping it incessantly. Sadly, many institutions would only consider this nuisance if a patient were to complain. Personally, I feel every muscle in my back tense and I get a headache when I work alongside a chronic gum snapper, of which there are many. Would a nurse administer meds or do a dressing change while eating food? Same thing with gum! I really believe it should be banned from hospitals and at least written into the dress code policy.

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I completely agree! Now, if we can only get administration to agree.

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You should have informed the unit manager of this. As a patient receiving chemo, you have the right to a stress free infusion session.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
You should have informed the unit manager of this. As a patient receiving chemo, you have the right to a stress free infusion session.

You do realize you just reanimated a nearly 4 year old thread, right?

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

And are posting replies with no quotes, thus no context whatsoever. If you're going to reply to a specific post, you need to quote it so people will know what exactly you're responding to. Especially in a 4-page thread.

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Specializes in Emergency Department/Radiology.

At my sister's hospital in Texas...the health depart..came onto units and wrote tickets with fines for staff chewing gum....

?????confused since when does the health department give fines on hospital units???

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
At my sister's hospital in Texas...the health depart..came onto units and wrote tickets with fines for staff chewing gum....

?????confused since when does the health department give fines on hospital units???

I have never heard of such a thing....if this really happened nursing is in more trouble than I thought it was....sigh
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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

[h=3]The Use of Chewing Gum to Prevent Post-Operative Ileus [/h]

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Specializes in Critical care.

I buy a jumbo container of gum and leave it for everyone at work.(ICU) Much rather have good breath during report and for patients. Lots of people come to get it through out the day. Even the Vice President of nursing

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Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.

Selective Sound Sensitivity Disorder

Those who suffer from this condition often have a very strong dislike or even hatred of particular sounds. These sounds are often normal everyday noises that do not bother other people, like chewing, lip licking or smacking, breathing, clearing of throats, certain pronunciations of particular sounds like p or k or s, or other noises.

Misophonia

The literal definition of misophonia is hatred of sound. This can be a hypersensitivity to selective soft sounds and other background noise or visual stimuli that are generally not noticed by other people. Symptoms and triggers are unique to an individual and when they are exposed to a sound in their trigger set, it results in an immediate negative emotional response.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06annoy.html?_r=3

PLOS ONE: Misophonia: Diagnostic Criteria for a New Psychiatric Disorder

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