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?
It's interesting to hear that comment since the majority of health care professionals are overweight and not very healthy. I personally think it is our duty to be an example by living the healthiest lifestyle we are capable of and making informed decisions. How can we instruct our patients on living a healthy lifestyle and expect them to follow our instructions if we can't do it or aren't willing to do it ourselves?
I'm lean, 3 lbs from rocking a bikini lean. Post menopausal, great genes plus periodic exercise. I'm in line at the grocery store behind a mom with 4 kids, cart full of crap. Orange soda type crap. Baby is teething on a Coke bottle. There isn't a thing in the world I could do to influence her, not in line nor in a professional capacity. People know what to do (though I look forward to the day that the medical community endorces low carb to help these folks manage their sugar addictions), it doesn't matter, they're going to reject what an obese or lean nurse says. It's not a matter of access to information or who is performing the delivery. The whole staff could be lean and 2/3rds of the patients are going to be overweight and not likely go home and make changes. The solution doesn't lie with the nursing industry.
Now, we have some morbid obese staff where I work and the clincial staff are limited in what they can do, it is a shame. They know what to do but for whatever reason, that is between them and whoever they choose to bring into their persoanl business, they don't make effective changes. I love all of them. I wish for them to be more comfortable and to age better, but it's their decision, their journey. They do plenty already to earn their wings, and our respect.
Ok. I hear that. I am a nurse and WAS a nun. But putting being a nun aside, nursing is a profession, not just a job. Or I would hope that's the case for those in the field. I have no judgements about overweight nurses not being proficient at their jobs and have a lot of friends that are overweight nurses. I'm just saying if we're going to instruct people in what they need to do differently to improve and maintain their health, we need to be willing to do the same. I think that is a rational and reasonable thing to think and say.
I'm speaking from my experience of being an RN for the last 36 years and a nurses aid for 7 years prior to that. I have worked with a lot of nurses and medical professionals. You are right that I do not know the "majority" of nurses in the world but I have been around for quite a long time in this field and I am observant. I"m not being unkind. Just stating an observation.
Miller, I'm working on my 37th year of nursing and obviously have known hundreds of nurses, very few of which are overweight and unhealthy. Overweight does not necessarily mean unhealthy. I too am very observant.
Ok. I hear that. I am a nurse and WAS a nun. But putting being a nun aside, nursing is a profession, not just a job. Or I would hope that's the case for those in the field. I have no judgements about overweight nurses not being proficient at their jobs and have a lot of friends that are overweight nurses. I'm just saying if we're going to instruct people in what they need to do differently to improve and maintain their health, we need to be willing to do the same. I think that is a rational and reasonable thing to think and say.
No, we don't. We need to be law-abiding members of our communities and reasonably competent at the job we are hired to do. That includes providing information that the patient is free to use or not. There is no nurse practice act anywhere in the world that prescribes that nurses must follow a specific lifestyle. Nor is there a requirement that we relinquish our own autonomy in order to validate the information we share.
This is obsession with controlling how other nurses live their lives is, in my opinion, a pathological throwback to the Victorian origins of the profession.
Libby1987
3,726 Posts
I'm lean, 3 lbs from rocking a bikini lean. Post menopausal, great genes plus periodic exercise. I'm in line at the grocery store behind a mom with 4 kids, cart full of crap. Orange soda type crap. Baby is teething on a Coke bottle. There isn't a thing in the world I could do to influence her, not in line nor in a professional capacity. People know what to do (though I look forward to the day that the medical community endorces low carb to help these folks manage their sugar addictions), it doesn't matter, they're going to reject what an obese or lean nurse says. It's not a matter of access to information or who is performing the delivery. The whole staff could be lean and 2/3rds of the patients are going to be overweight and not likely go home and make changes. The solution doesn't lie with the nursing industry.
Now, we have some morbid obese staff where I work and the clincial staff are limited in what they can do, it is a shame. They know what to do but for whatever reason, that is between them and whoever they choose to bring into their persoanl business, they don't make effective changes. I love all of them. I wish for them to be more comfortable and to age better, but it's their decision, their journey. They do plenty already to earn their wings, and our respect.