GUM! Can you chew it on shift?

Orange Tree · Apr 17, 2011

When do YOU have time to brush your teeth on shift????????

I think you're a paid spokesperson for trident! Will gum work when I go to the bathroom but have no time to wipe my ***?

But seriously, I want to slap people in the mouth when I see them chewing gum at work. The only thing that keeps me from doing so is the fear that they'll slap me back. :up:

steelydanfan · Apr 17, 2011

Gimme a break Chewing gum hardly makes you unprofessional. I find it much more unprofessional to have nasty breath when you are often required to be in close contact with your patients and their families...("That nurse's breath smells like crap. If she can't even maintain her own hygiene is she competent to take care of me?").
There's a way to chew gum discreetly and there's a way to be completely obnoxious and unprofessional. I chew gum at work because I don't want everyone to know what I had for lunch when I talk to them. Sure, I guess I could brush my teeth or use mints...but really there's no time for teeth brushing and I find most mints are weak (and many contain sugar which makes your breath worse in the long run).
As far as professionalism goes, keep the CHOMPING to a minimum and you should be fine.

I have NEVER seen anyone chewing gum that DOESN'T chomp it! Seriously, you all look VERY cheap! And bad breath fears are NOT an excuse (EVERYONE has 5 minutes to brush thier teeth after lunch)!

Vanillanut, DNP, RN, APRN · Apr 17, 2011

Ok, I'm not "old fashioned"- I'm under 30. But I think chewing gum at work, when you're a professional, is completely unprofessional. Nurses are complaining that the profession is going downhill, complaints about recognition, etc- and simultaneously, more and more things are becoming more "laxed". Would a lawyer chew gum when presenting a case in court? Would a judge? How about other professions, traditionally held in high esteem? Would a teacher chew gum while speaking with a parent? Would a surgeon chew gum in theater? How about a congressman on tv? Or company management in the boardroom?

Nurses seem to have slowly let the profession slip. I've seen nurses with strange, colorful hairstyles, strange, large & dangerous earrings/piercings in places (I don't care what you wear off-duty, but think of who the majority of the pt's are- geriatrics), often nurses appear to be wearing pajamas and/or workout hoodies/outfits over a professional appearance. I think it would do the profession good to tighten up the ropes a bit and represent ourselves as best we can.

We need to consider how our appearances influence other people's perception of us (everyone judges by appearances, after all) and ultimately, this can effect the pt-nurse r'ship in a positive- or negative- way. I'm sure we've all experienced this in one capacity or another.

There are mints that are strong enough, and whoever said that it wasn't healthy to choose mints over gum thats rediculous-if you don't think the chemicals in the gum aren't getting you just like the mints, you're fooling yourself. Personally I find cherry fishermans friends are strong enough and can be chewed/swallowed quickly if required to tend to a pt. The argument here isn't bad breath vs. gum. The issue is whether or not gum is the best way to go about acheiving oral hygiene while at work.

And a last point, chewing gum discreetly is somewhat of an oxymoron, IMO.

suanna · Apr 17, 2011

I have NEVER seen anyone chewing gum that DOESN'T chomp it! Seriously, you all look VERY cheap! And bad breath fears are NOT an excuse (EVERYONE has 5 minutes to brush thier teeth after lunch)!

"cheap"??!!! There was a time- not too long ago when respectable women(and of course never men) couldn't become nurses. Nuns could staff a hospital as part of thier service to care for the sick, but any woman that went into nursing was just a cheap ****- there to touch men and have sex with doctors. Maybe we can tell which ones of us are still the cheap hussies that went into the profession just for the thrills by who is chewing the gum? By the way- when I chew gum at work it is mostly nicotine gum- and that is anything but cheap!

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2011

Gum chewers are of poor upbringing? Lesser genetic stock? "Cheap"? "Whores"? I find it so interesting the level of visceral hate of gum emotional disgust that has been culturally ingrained in some people over gum. For those of us without the childhood programming, it seems so very silly and a foreign concept.

Understandable: "It's mildly annoying"

Ludicrous: "Gum chewing is a vile habit that is not only destroying nursing, but the moral fabric of society. It should never be done by proper human beings. If you do, it should be done shamefully in the bathroom and never spoken of, much like masturbation."

That hyperbole is just an amalgamation of some the attitudes put forth here. That attitude is even more silly than trying to say gum is incompatible with professionalism because it would affect the image of those paid to be seen or talk a lot, like a lawyer, news anchor, or Miss USA. Many nurses spend a lot of time not talking and being seen by patients. Actually, on that note, a lot of lawyers sit in offices and read/type 90% of the time.

My SO, who is an engineer, just laughed at this thread. Her boss gave her some gum at the office today. Guess I shoulda stuck with engineering... more the money AND the gum!

luvmyhubbybunches · Apr 17, 2011

I work in a privately owned Catholic hospital. A lot of people chew gum , BUT if you are caught chewing it by the nuns they will have you spit it out in their hand or so I hear. It is a big no no to them and gum is not even allowed to be sold in the gift shop, etc.

GRUNGE · Apr 17, 2011

gum rules. there is nothing whorish or unprofesional about at it has long as you do it like a human and not a cow. bad breath is far worse.

pedicurn, LPN, RN · Apr 17, 2011

Do you think Ruth Bader Ginsbger chews gum on the bench? Come on, if you want to be treated like a professional, act like one and leave the gum at home.

Well said :yeah:

Deb123j · Apr 17, 2011

Good Grief!!!!

Some people have entirely too much time on their hands if they are bashing nurses who chew gum! :smackingf

Would you all like some cheese c that whine???:vlin:

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Apr 17, 2011

No matter what topic comes up there's always a group on either side that just goes right off the deep end. "Nurse's that chew gum are absolutely unprofessional," or "hospital's are stomping on my rights when they say no gum."

We could argue about the best color of bedsheets and find someone that HAS to have blue, and someone else that thinks black satin is trashy. Whatever happened to live and let live?

BacktotheBeach, ADN, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2011

I am a student nurse, but all the area hospitals have a HUGE policy, no gum or mints/cough drops of any kind. We were actually told absolutely no food/drink/mints even in the nurse's station. They said it was a state/national board rule, I think JCAO?? And that if this accreditation group came in and even saw gum wrappers in the trash it was something like a 10 thousand dollar fine. Same if they saw a nurse with gum in the mouth.

Has anyone heard of anything like this? The hospitals I have been in are owned by the same parent company.

Chin up · Apr 17, 2011

Good Grief!!!!
Some people have entirely too much time on their hands if they are bashing nurses who chew gum! :smackingf
Would you all like some cheese c that whine???:vlin:

Did you take the time to read the question? Enough said.