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?
This bears repeating? The individual still has a BMI of 60 so how is this any sort of example...now, as a illustration let us say I work with alcoholics and hey, make uncommonly good money *smirk* and try not to pass out whilst counseling them but sometimes I do need to slip in the loo and do a line to prop myself up. As luck would have it I can afford a gram @ a time while I laugh my way from the bank! Back to work to counsel my people who are so happy they have found a nurse who, like them, can drink a 12 pack and an MD 20/20 and still be on my feet!
How does that play out?
It plays out as you projecting your own issues on another poster who was discussing a very different situation from yours.
No more rude that someone carrying on ad infinitum and with intended sarcasm gloating over money while stating they are an obese bariatric educator. I would not educate anyone in my specialty if I did not have long-term sobriety.
Now, in absence sobriety no patient would take seriously anything I said and would consider rather hypocritical thus how is it that compulsive over-eaters so readily give themselves a 'pass' on 'educating' others about a problem they have yet to do anything about?
Boy this is tough. I work in a unit where most nurses are wicked thin. Including me. We run all day and rarely stop but also glorify work outs- Zumba, gym and other fitness arenas. I'm thinking my ambulatory care unit is exception to rule but I struggle. I apologize to the men, but as I've gotten older I find it tough to maintain my weight. For every woman and nurse who is growing older, I totally understand. It's not your hormones or genes- dammit we just gain weight.
Nope, been a member forever and changed e-mail/username. The one who posted was more obnoxious than I could dream of ever being...
Then it seems as if you would have figured out the quote feature by now. So, not buyin' it.
Now that I've figured out which post you're talking about, it seems to me that what you find offensive is that the poster is not sufficiently ashamed of herself and has the audacity to succeed at the very job you think she shouldn't be allowed to do. How dare she be happy in her own skin and hold a well-paid job, too!
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Well, I'm sorry to see that yet another thread about obesity in nursing has devolved into yet another name-calling and flame-throwing contest. Many similar threads have been closed for just this reason. May we please stick to the discussion at hand without so much hostility?
and thank you! For trying to keep us on topic. You are my hero. Let's face it, most of us struggle with something but we are here to care for our patients, provide best care as nurses and keep our own lives on course. We are not perfect and have this venue to reach out to each other. Thanks.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Several mean-spirited posts have been removed in recent minutes. In addition, replies that quoted the mean-spirited posts were removed. This is a reminder to adhere to the site's terms of service, which disallows insults and name-calling.
The problem that SobreRN does not seem to get is: How long would you remain sober if you had to drink alcohol every day to survive? This is the problem people who are overweight have: They have to eat food every day to survive (unless they would be on home TPN every day, which is impractical and expensive, and unnecessarily invasive.) So to be exposed every day to your addiction (supposing you are a food addict or an emotional eater) to survive is a VERY difficult proposition. And those of us who have dieted all our lives have destroyed our metabolisms (see the study on the "biggest loser" participants after the show - they had to stay at abnormally low calorie counts to keep weight off, and most gained the weight back despite staying very active.) I will say for myself, to lose weight I have to get my calorie count below 1000kcal/day, which for an active person is not compatible with good health. It is not as easy as stopping drinking or smoking, since cigarettes and alcohol are not necessary to survive (even though some who are addicted to those substances would have us believe they are.)
I pushed the Like? button and "Unlike" appeared I do like this topic.
I don't think a nurses ability "be a nurse" you know - like providing and promoting the care & healing for others while maintaining a certain set of standards & working within the boundrys and mandated parameters that are set forth on nurses it is remarkible that they are able to remain themselves or develope a style of their own at all.
"No. Im sure of it", A nurses personal eating habits, body type, hair style, the kind of car they drive, the genes they have inherited from family should have nothing to do with it,!!.
Whether you have a desirable weight or not, people have always something to say bad about you. If you're an RN, your job is to talk to your patient about him/her, not your weight.
I'm physically fit these days because of skinny or fat RNs and NPs who said that they were concerned of my condition. One of them used the scare tactics (I was in danger if I had a thyroid storm) so I would see doctors. I visited physicians. Fast forward, nowadays, I appear like someone who have never been in a ****** life. I'm not bragging. Now that I have meats on my bones, I regained my sexy body (similar to Halle Berry's body form). And you know what, there are people who celebrate my healthy appearance and they're those people who automatically disliked me just because I'm hotter than I used to be.
The moral of my story, I didn't notice weight of my nurses. I was grateful that they were there for me. They were my families for a short period of time because none of my friends or families were there when I needed them the most. To this date, they didn't know that I have been grateful for their services. Imagine, strangers, even though I paid them to care for me, were there for me. My families or friends? Shuck, all they care is to get money from me. When I'm sick, I'm kaput to them. . Life lesson: I learned which one to prioritize in my life. No more Miss Nice Generous.
If I was an overweight RN and my patient inquires why I weigh too much, I would gracefully smile and say, "I need extra fats so I can keep going without foods for 12 hours."
Could you imagine" I refuse care by that nurse because he/she is overweight"
Where I work you get who you get. It's not like we have a manu to choose from.
Tonight's choices: female , RN, 115 lbs
male BSN 150 lbs
female Msn 165 lbs.
LOL
I thinks its fairly shallow if people judge their caregiver on weight. I understand if its extreme obesity and they are 400 lbs and cant walk more than 10 feet withoutt being out of breath. But some 200 lbers do just fine and can run to get the bed alarms just fine,hmph
I would like to know the real name of PinayUSA because I'm thinking of maintaining my weight so that I will have every right to refuse providing a care for her, assuming it's a she (Pinay means a female Filipino).
heron, ASN, RN
4,647 Posts
It plays out as you projecting your own issues on another poster who was discussing a very different situation from yours.