How important is your 'look' as a nurse

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Especially when it comes to getting hired, pay raises and such things. I mean, I'm sure hospital administration can't possibly expect us all to look like super models, but isn't there some sort of 'look' hiring managers tend to gravitate toward?

As a Clinical Coordinator who regularly interviews and helps make hiring decisions on RNs and CNAs, I can tell you that good looks aren't that important, but "bad" looks are. By "bad" I mean low-cut cleavage-showing tops, tank tops, stained shirts, faded slacks, flip-flops, dirty sneakers, hoodies, and jeans, all of which I have seen in interviews.Some nurses don't have "dress-up " clothes because they always wear uniforms or jeans, but it really is worthwhile to either borrow or buy an interview outfit. An RN doesn't have to be pretty or handsome but they do have to look clean and neat. An outfit may be cute, trendy, conservative or whatever gives you confidence. We just want you to shine and show your best self!

As for the overweight issue, it becomes a problem if the person is so overweight that there's a question if he/she could perform on a busy unit effectively. I have had obese nurses that work in ICU that do fine because they really don't do a lot of walking and running around. I think nurses are a reflection of society today. If patients are looking for their nurses to be their role model for fitness, then about half of them could be, and the other half couldn't be. I'm most interested in a compassionate, smart, organized RN!

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Specializes in ANCC - Gerontological Nursing.
Here we go again. Brilliant.

MaryColleen, weight is not the same thing as health, mkay? Seriously.

I'm fully aware that weight and health aren't the same thing, there are plenty of unhealthy skinny people. However, there aren't really any overweight healthy people. At some level, the extra weight is taking a toll. I'm sorry if it sounds crass, but I have an issue with obese nurses giving health advice to any patient in between slamming down junk food at the nurses' station. It's the reason I've lost 40 pounds in the last year. I realized I looked like a hypocrite. Now when I'm talking to my patients about living a healthy lifestyle, eating right and exercising, I can look them in the eye about it.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
First I want to apologize for saying overweight or obese nurses shouldn't be giving advice to patients about losing weight. Since I posted that I've been made aware of issues that might be beyond someone's control when it comes to their weight and it's not for me to judge.

The reason why Americans are obsessed with weight is because it's being drummed into our heads by medical professionals and the government that we have an obesity epidemic in this country. The First Lady has made it her goal to make childhood obesity a thing of the past. Never mind the fact that kids today don't get any exercise and spend their time in front of computers or playing video games. When I was a kid in the 70's we spent a good portion of our days outside playing.

And some one did bring up a good point about steroids. People are told to lose weight because it might help their medical condition but hey, here's a drug that will suppress your immune system so it doesn't attack itself but will also cause you to gain weight in most cases.

I have been told I have a fatty liver. It was an automatic diagnosis because I am a little overweight and was told if I lost some pounds my problems would be solved. I had some blood work done and my ANA came back positive while my liver enzymes continue to raise. So the same doctor who tells me it was just a "fatty liver" tells me he is now concerned because of ANA and the rising enzymes and sends me off for a biopsy because he says I might have AIH, Told to lose weight and the treatment for that is steroids which will probably make me gain weight.

So now I don't judge the healthcare worker who is overweight or obese. They might have some medical condition that causes it. It's not always black and white, so to say.

Fatty liver is a common diagnosis and for many people it is benign, but sometimes it can lead to hepatitis and even possibly cirrhosis down the road. Weight loss can help, but should be a gradual process because sudden dramatic weight loss can actually push a person into liver failure. I've seen this complication on someone who had two gastric bypasses as the first didn't last. With the second bypass the weight loss lead to liver failure and the patient even died! She was mad at the dr for not recognizing that she obviously wasn't following the proper bypass diet.

I've read metformin being used to treat people with fatty liver. I believe there is some evidence it might help with liver problems. You could talk to your dr about if that would be an option.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
I'm fully aware that weight and health aren't the same thing, there are plenty of unhealthy skinny people. However, there aren't really any overweight healthy people. At some level, the extra weight is taking a toll. I'm sorry if it sounds crass, but I have an issue with obese nurses giving health advice to any patient in between slamming down junk food at the nurses' station. It's the reason I've lost 40 pounds in the last year. I realized I looked like a hypocrite. Now when I'm talking to my patients about living a healthy lifestyle, eating right and exercising, I can look them in the eye about it.

So the problem you really had was with yourself. Frankly when I'm working as a nurse the care is about stabilizing the patient with meds, surgeries and treatment, not advocating weight loss. While that is a great goal or ideal, as a nurse I'm dealing with the reality of the moment and the medical problems that brought the person to the hospital in the first place. Telling them to lose weight because their weight caused all their problems in the first place isn't exactly helpful to them in the moment. All that will due is lead to shame and blame and patients avoiding getting healthcare and they will end up in an even worse place. The reality is most people know obesity isn't healthy and if they were able they would lose the weight. I don't think people rebelliously say I don't care, but due to a combination of medical and psychological problems and possibly addictions to sugar, for instance, aren't able to lose weight other than thru such drastic steps as gastric bypass, which is not without risks as well. Around 30% of bypass patients will suffer from such complications as dehydration and scarring or perforations that will require further medical/surgical care!

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I'm fully aware that weight and health aren't the same thing, there are plenty of unhealthy skinny people. However, there aren't really any overweight healthy people. At some level, the extra weight is taking a toll. I'm sorry if it sounds crass, but I have an issue with obese nurses giving health advice to any patient in between slamming down junk food at the nurses' station. It's the reason I've lost 40 pounds in the last year. I realized I looked like a hypocrite. Now when I'm talking to my patients about living a healthy lifestyle, eating right and exercising, I can look them in the eye about it.

Ughhh

Yes, there are plenty of overweight healthy people. There are also plenty of overweight FIT people. Shocking!

The idea that the extra weight is taking a toll, somehow, someway, is also problematic. First, there is plenty of evidence to show that intentional weight loss (what you did) takes a toll. Second, as I've discussed in previous posts, there is no real successful way to get rid of extra weight for the vast majority of people. So telling people to do something that is known to have risks, because of some vague potential future "toll" due to their weight, is probably not the greatest idea.

That comment about slamming down junk food at the nurses station is ridiculous. Skinny people eat junk food. Fat people eat healthy food. And the opposite, and everything in between. Saying that obese people must sit around eating junk food is a tired, biased over-generalization. And I'm being nice choosing those words.

I don't care if you lost 40 pounds, gained 40 pounds, or went to the moon. You don't have to meet a list of physical characteristics in order to do evidenced based patient education. And a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to include weight loss. In fact, in many cases it excludes it.

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I'm sorry for the medical challenges you are going through.

I completely agree with the first portion of your post regarding the country's weight obsession. War is being waged on fat people by the government. The thinking that fat = bad = unhealthy is so widespread and so commonplace that if you suggest otherwise, you are dismissed or labeled foolish. This thread is a clear example.

I understand your frustration at being told to lose weight, and also being put on steroids. For your own sanity, you may want to consider focusing on healthy behaviors, and not your weight. That would be things like: Eat more fruits and vegetables. Move your body in ways you enjoy (a.k.a. exercise), get plenty of sleep, work on reducing stress. Take your medications. I'm not telling you what do to, just presenting another option.

The theme in your post that I would disagree on is that it is OK to be fat, as long as you have a valid excuse (steroids, health problem, whatever). The thing is, fat people don't deserve to be judged no matter what. There is this notion that if it is your fault, or caused by things you could potentially control, then it's OK to judge/ridicule/discriminate etc. No.

Nobody needs an excuse to live in their body.

I think he was apologizing and made some valid points. The fact remains that he, and everyone else (yeah, even people who aren't overweight) is entitled to his opinion. If he is of the opinion that people who are grossly overweight due to lack of exercise and a poor diet don't have much place giving diet advice, then so be it. It's his right to feel however he wants to. And Something else to think about is: How much $$$$ does our capitalist economy make directly from products that claim to remedy obesity? How many chemicals all around us in the post-industrial era, a consumerist economy perpetuate ills like my brother's Wegener's Disease, or cancer, obesity... that I think is something we could turn our attention to rather than seeming to attack or become defensive to what one individual says or thinks. It's something much bigger than you, I, he, or she.

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Specializes in ANCC - Gerontological Nursing.
So the problem you really had was with yourself. Frankly when I'm working as a nurse the care is about stabilizing the patient with meds, surgeries and treatment, not advocating weight loss. While that is a great goal or ideal, as a nurse I'm dealing with the reality of the moment and the medical problems that brought the person to the hospital in the first place. Telling them to lose weight because their weight caused all their problems in the first place isn't exactly helpful to them in the moment. All that will due is lead to shame and blame and patients avoiding getting healthcare and they will end up in an even worse place. The reality is most people know obesity isn't healthy and if they were able they would lose the weight. I don't think people rebelliously say I don't care, but due to a combination of medical and psychological problems and possibly addictions to sugar, for instance, aren't able to lose weight other than thru such drastic steps as gastric bypass, which is not without risks as well. Around 30% of bypass patients will suffer from such complications as dehydration and scarring or perforations that will require further medical/surgical care!

I whole-heartedly disagree with the idea that encouraging a healthy lifestyle is not part of holistic care that nurses should provide. I am a rehab nurse and most of my patient have issues because of their weight and some of my patients need to lose weight before they can have necessary surgery. Not all nursing is ICU/moment to moment nursing... even in an acute care setting, discussing a healthy lifestyle should be part of discharge planning and education.

I'm fascinated at our society's obsession with instant gratification and excuses about weight. Living healthy is hard work and it sucks sometimes when I want to chow down on a large McDonalds fries, but I feel so much better when I don't.

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You get to decide for you how to live your life, whether you eat fries or not, whatever. You say you feel better when you don't eat them. It's a mistake to assume that your experience is the same as anyone who is not you. You do not get to decide how anyone else lives their life.

Discussing a healthy lifestyle does not mean prescribing weight loss.

Your posts smack of immaturity. You lost 40 pounds, you stopped eating fries, so now all the sudden you saw the light and can sit atop your golden throne and condemn all the fat people in society who want instant gratification and make excuses about weight. Give me a break.

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The theme in your post that I would disagree on is that it is OK to be fat, as long as you have a valid excuse (steroids, health problem, whatever). The thing is, fat people don't deserve to be judged no matter what. There is this notion that if it is your fault, or caused by things you could potentially control, then it's OK to judge/ridicule/discriminate etc. No.

Nobody needs an excuse to live in their body.

No, fat people don't deserve to be judged just like very skinny people don't deserve to be judged.

When I was younger I couldn't gain weight no matter how much I ate; I was an unhealthy 79/80 pounds until my early 30's. People automatically assumed I had an eating disorder which wasn't the case. As a child and teenager I was put through batteries of tests because of my failure to gain weight.

Of course now that's not the case.

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Your posts smack of immaturity. You lost 40 pounds, you stopped eating fries, so now all the sudden you saw the light and can sit atop your golden throne and condemn all the fat people in society who want instant gratification and make excuses about weight. Give me a break.

I've stopped eating all junk foods and walk 2 miles a day yet I am having a hard time losing the weight. So the stop eating fries holds no water here.

I'm 5' 1" and weigh about 150. I was told my perfect weight is 110-115; I laughed when he said that and he suggested to try for 130 instead.

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I think he was apologizing and made some valid points. The fact remains that he, and everyone else (yeah, even people who aren't overweight) is entitled to his opinion. If he is of the opinion that people who are grossly overweight due to lack of exercise and a poor diet don't have much place giving diet advice, then so be it. It's his right to feel however he wants to. And Something else to think about is: How much $$$$ does our capitalist economy make directly from products that claim to remedy obesity? How many chemicals all around us in the post-industrial era, a consumerist economy perpetuate ills like my brother's Wegener's Disease, or cancer, obesity... that I think is something we could turn our attention to rather than seeming to attack or become defensive to what one individual says or thinks. It's something much bigger than you, I, he, or she.

I'm a she.

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Fatty liver is a common diagnosis and for many people it is benign, but sometimes it can lead to hepatitis and even possibly cirrhosis down the road. Weight loss can help, but should be a gradual process because sudden dramatic weight loss can actually push a person into liver failure. I've seen this complication on someone who had two gastric bypasses as the first didn't last. With the second bypass the weight loss lead to liver failure and the patient even died! She was mad at the dr for not recognizing that she obviously wasn't following the proper bypass diet.

I've read metformin being used to treat people with fatty liver. I believe there is some evidence it might help with liver problems. You could talk to your dr about if that would be an option.

I can live with the fatty liver and the suggestions he has given. The bigger picture that concerns me is that I might have AIH and the treatment for it.

I also take full responsibility for any extra weight I have on me. I made the choice to eat that hot fudge sundae or bag of chips. I also am making the choice to lose weight by portion control and cutting out of my diet a lot of things I love but aren't good for me(or my liver) and exercising more.

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