Fat nurses

There are plenty of overweight nurses.

If you are worried you could lose some weight. Nursing school is stressful enough, the last thing you will think about is your weight.

You obviously haven't spent much time in a hospital. There are plenty of "fluffy" nurses. You would not stand out.

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.

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.

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

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.

Seriously?

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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.

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. :)

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

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. :)

I hope I'm correct in assuming that your question was directed at me. If not, I apologize.

In and of Itself... yes I did mean that. According to most Ideal Weight Charts, I'm supposed to be

[TABLE=class: tableizer-table]

[TR]

[TD]6' 2"[/TD]

[TD]171 - 209 lbs.[/TD]

[TD]6' 2"[/TD]

[TD]153 - 187 lbs.[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Yet I am 6'2, 240 lbs. Oh no, yikes, I am obese! Except, I'm predisposed to muscle mass genetically. Even though I'd probably benefit from dropping 20 lbs, and thereby going back to my 20's weight - I don't think I turned out too bad as the years pile up on me. Being a person who also has been considered overweight since being a toddler I submit that what those charts say don't seem be terribly accurate overall.

So yes, BMI and ideal weight charts are not complimentary to me, 'overweight' becomes pretty questionable. And the concept of an 'overweight' or technically 'obese' nurse becomes subjective, and loses value compared to their contribution to the health care team.