I overheard a disturbing conversation of nurses who were saying that overweight people should not be working in healthcare. They were basically saying that patients do not respect health advice or treatment from a worker who is unhealthy themselves. I am posting this topic because I wonder if this is a shared sentiment among the medical field? Or from patients? Or has anyone experienced anything related to this? Like getting fired, or discriminated by either pateints or a facility and such? Are there ever clauses in facility contracts that employees must maintain optimal heath to represent the industry's interest? (I am in Vegas & yes casinos do enforce waitresses/dealers with a +/- 5 lbs. original hiring weight monitoring weekly). I hope this is not what nursing school meant by "take care of ourselves before we can take care of others." Honestly, I dont think like this but wonder if others in healthcare do? Is this really a "thing?"
BTW, they were referencing a theme of nurses who gained weight from emotional overeating. They were not referencing a physiological underlying condition. ~ Thank You ~
Why Are So Many Nurses and Healthcare Workers Overweight and Unhealthy?
Specializes in Patient Safety Advocate; HAI Prevention.
I was always overweight or FAT, whatever anyone chooses to call it. But, I worked my fat ass off every shift, I never sat around and let others do my work for me, I kept up on latest nursing education and needed certifications, and I still do. At 67, I have decided that I will never be thin. I'm not even sure I want to be thin anymore (thinner maybe). I have know other fat nurses and nobody hugs better or comforts better than a fat nurse. Admittedly, not all fat nurses are great. Lazy, mean, dismissive and useless comes in all sizes from ZERO to 6X.
I am about 30 lbs overweight with normal blood pressure, normal blood sugar, a bit anemic (but always have been.) I also a couple weeks ago received and stacked a shipment of 191 50# bales of hay on a 90+ degree day, work two jobs and live on a working farm. I also find (as a practitioner) that my overweight patients take advice from me because I understand the struggle. I am fat but fit. I eat right but do NOT sleep right, and that has been found to be a factor in keeping people overweight. So I believe if I am ever able to get and keep a healthy sleep schedule, the weight will come off. My patients resent people who are thin who have never struggled with their weight giving them advice (and they have told me this.)
It's funny that you bring this topic up because I actually did a speech on this I was stating that overweight people shouldn't be allowed to work in healthcare. But my reasoning was because they didn't allow smoking. I was like being overweight is just as bad or worse than smoking
Actually, according to the current research, being sedentary is considered just as bad as smoking. Sitting is the new smoking. We all have risk factors.
As a M/S nurse primarily working in the CV/DM/stroke/diabetic areas, I understand it can ring hollow when an obese (sometimes smelling of tobacco smoke) nurse OR DOCTOR educates a pt on safe practices and risk factors. People are people, though, and can't just not do the job due to personal imperfections. Perhaps someday there will be standards; there are for the military and other professions, "offensive" or not. Meanwhile, we should strive to set good examples. As we truly care about our children, and wish the best for them, our goal should be to demonstrate the same concern for our pts.
I work with and have worked with some very competent nurses who also happen to have excess truncal adiposity (which, if we are going to use evidence vs cultural bias, is a marker for metabolic syndrome). I've also worked with some, less than great, skinning nurses. And vice versa.
Unless there is a correlation between an individuals weight and their ability to do their job, it is not a factor. And even then, where do we draw the line because excess weight is not the only physical factor that can affect ones performance.
I'm with the others who identify stress, available food and timely breaks as target concerns. I've worked at hospitals that have fantastic, healthy food options, but more often that hasn't been the case. The hospital I work at now serves mostly comfort foods, and gee whiz, who needs comfort more than nurses? If we get a few minutes to leave the zoo and swallow some food, biscuits and gravy look so much better than oatmeal, and are so much more comforting.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I wouldn't take diet advice from a fat nurse lol
My former high school health teacher had a resonant saying: "If you want advice on a good weight loss diet, the best person to ask is a fat person."
Here was his reasoning...the vast majority of fat people have successfully lost large amounts of weight multiple times during their lives. However, they are unsuccessful at keeping the weight off.
The moment those of us with tendencies toward obesity fall below our setpoints after significant weight loss, intense hunger and cravings occur and it is an uphill battle to maintain the loss.
I currently weigh 120 pounds. I was 225 pounds at my heaviest. I have lost massive amounts of weight at least five times during my life through diet and exercise, only to regain. People focus on the weight loss when the maintenance is the crucial part of the equation.
I also might add that I (at age 61) have AWESOME bone density (per ortho.) About two years ago when one of my horses dislocated my thumb (not a fun experience) the orthopedist stated, "You must have great bone density. At your age (?1?) most people don't dislocate, they break." (He is about 3 years younger than me - AT MY AGE?!? LOL!!) So appearances can be deceiving, fat doesn't mean not fit.
They can either be satisfied with my fat ass helping them or they can wait until tomorrow when somebody skinny might be assigned to them. Everybody else is busy.
I'm a small person, I've always been thin. (Only in college did I start to fill out a bit more;)). I've always been borderline on the underweight side for BMI, whether I was working out 5-6 days a week and following a good meal plan, or when I stopped eating healthy and stopped working out. Most of this life I really haven't been on the healthy side. No with a change to a different department that I hope will make me happier, I can start to focus on my health a bit more too. Skinny does not mean healthy, I occasionally find it just as insulting when someone says "well you're so skinny, you have nothing to worry about". My best friend has been morbidly obese since the day I met her 20 years ago. She eats healthier, and less than I do. And she spends less time laying on the cough than I. But she also has some medical problems, and medications that don't help her situation. She's a beautiful person.
I have heard people make comments about larger nurses caring for people. As long as they are a good nurse, who the heck cares, those who don't listen to them honestly probably already have something in their mind that wouldn't make them want to listen to most of their care team regardless of size.
I know this was sarcasm, but I believe our society has become so fat-phobic that any of these things might be viewed as more acceptable than being overweight. Shame.
I have not read all the responses; but, for me it comes down to this:
We nurses (I'm still in school) were professionally trained and given the knowledge on how to live a healthy life. It would be very odd to tell a person they need to lose weight or quit drinking and smoking if we are doing it ourselves. How are we credible?
...and by the way, I know what you're thinking...I'm still in school, what do I know...I'm too young to know about menopause and all the other previous excuses. Well, I'm in my mid 50's and I have been working blue collar jobs all of my life. Now, I'm changing direction and careers.
Why would someone go to a fat doctor to learn about Diabetes? Why would someone go to an Oncologist who smokes cigarettes in- between patients?
As an older person, I see how the general public judges people, it's natural. Most people judge by appearance only because that may be all they have to go on. For that reason, I am going to try hard to eat healthy and lift weights as much as I can so that I can be mentally / physically / esthetically healthy. After all, it's going to be hard enough to get someone to hire me at an older age anyway, once I get out of school!!
KathyDay
3 Articles; 98 Posts
I was always overweight or FAT, whatever anyone chooses to call it. But, I worked my fat ass off every shift, I never sat around and let others do my work for me, I kept up on latest nursing education and needed certifications, and I still do. At 67, I have decided that I will never be thin. I'm not even sure I want to be thin anymore (thinner maybe). I have know other fat nurses and nobody hugs better or comforts better than a fat nurse. Admittedly, not all fat nurses are great. Lazy, mean, dismissive and useless comes in all sizes from ZERO to 6X.