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?

All you know when you look at a fat person is that they are fat. YOU DO NOT KNOW how much/what they eat, how much they exercise, or how healthy they are. In addition, it is absolutely, positively none of your beeswax.

To say a person who is fat shouldn't be in a position to educate on healthy lifestyle, or that it is ironic when they do, is a bigoted statement. You are making assumptions based on a person's looks. Guess what that's called?

It's called having an opinion. And in my opinion there are a lot of people in the healthcare industry who can stand to lose some weight. And last time I heard being overweight or obese is not protected from "discrimination" or "bigoted" comments. I don't equate obesity with a person's skin color or sexual orientation.

A lot of the nurses here make crude and rude comments about their obese or overweight patients. If you want to call me a "bigot" for making such comments towards healthcare workers that fit that profile I suggest you expand it to include your fellow nurses here who do the same towards patients.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

Overweight, in and of itself, is a health risk, and is detrimental to health.

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Yes but the nurse giving the advice, while they may be overweight, they aren't the ones whose health is being compromised by their weight.

I say lead by example. Most overweight people's health are being compromised by their weight. That's why there is such a movement in this country to get people to a healthy weight.

It's the same thing as a healthcare worker that smokes that "gives advice" to their smoking patients on the benefits of quitting.

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Gooch, you are entitled to have an opinion. As are Cliven Bundy and Donald Sterling, I suppose.

Full Definition of BIGOT, according to Merriam Webster: a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance

That the government has not officially stated that individuals cannot be discriminated based on body size does not make your statements any less bigoted, sorry. Maybe you could examine why exactly you don't equate obesity with a person's skin color or sexual orientation. Is it because, in your view, body size can be changed? Maybe you could look into that assumption. You might be surprised.

You are totally correct about the people who make rude comments about their overweight patients. It is mean spirited and wrong, and I feel it kind of goes against what we stand for as nurses, as patient advocates. When it happens around me, I make my feelings known.

It's fine that you think healthcare workers should lose weight. Maybe I think all healthcare workers should dye their hair blue. Fact is, people have the right to exist, live, and work in their bodies, no matter the size. Yes, even as healthcare workers.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
It's called having an opinion. And in my opinion there are a lot of people in the healthcare industry who can stand to lose some weight. And last time I heard being overweight or obese is not protected from "discrimination" or "bigoted" comments. I don't equate obesity with a person's skin color or sexual orientation.

A lot of the nurses here make crude and rude comments about their obese or overweight patients. If you want to call me a "bigot" for making such comments towards healthcare workers that fit that profile I suggest you expand it to include your fellow nurses here who do the same towards patients.

Yet your opinion is judgemental, bigoted and nasty. EXACTLY like the opinions of my fellow nurse who subject their patients to the same nasty, bigoted and judgemental attitudes.

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From Ragen Chastain's blog, Dances with Fat:

Isn't being fat unhealthy?

No. Weight and health are two separate things - there are healthy and unhealthy people of all sizes. Health is multi-dimensional, not entirely within our control, and not a barometer of worthiness. The confusion of weight and health does a disservice to fat people because people (often including doctors) think that they can look at us and determine our health, it also does a dangerous disservice to thin people who are told that they are healthy simply because of their weight and that isn't what the evidence shows. In fact, the evidence shows that people's habits are a much better determinant of health than their size is. Body size is not a diagnosis. I call this a Galileo issue - "everybody knew" that the sun revolved around the Earth and so Galileo's statement that the evidence showed that the Earth revolved around the sun was considered heresy. Now "everybody knows" that fat is unhealthy and so statements to the contrary, even though they are fully supported by evidence, are considered heresy. That doesn't make them any less true. Even if fat was unhealthy, there are plenty of things that people do to prioritize their health that we don't police (not getting enough sleep, not looking both ways before crossing the street, extreme sports etc.) The idea that public health means making fat people's health the public's business is just thinly veiled fat bigotry.

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Sorry but, being "fat" IS unhealthy. Now, ppl can be overweight r/t stress and environmental toxins (like BPA)and yet the fact remains that it's not good for our bodies. And no, I'm not thin but I'm working on getting fit and healthy!!! ;)

Btw: I don't always equate thinness with attractiveness. I was wondering more about people who have perfectly coiffed hair, botox (or more), near-perfect symmetry, and a nice shape/ stature.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Sorry but, being "fat" IS unhealthy. Now, ppl can be overweight r/t stress and environmental toxins (like BPA)and yet the fact remains that it's not good for our bodies. And no, I'm not thin but I'm working on getting fit and healthy!!! ;)

What's a "ppl"? And while I'm happy for you that you're getting all fit and healthy, you cannot tell just by looking at someone whether or not THEY are fit and healthy. A fat person may be far more fit and healthy than the skinny person standing right next to her.

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What's a "ppl"? And while I'm happy for you that you're getting all fit and healthy, you cannot tell just by looking at someone whether or not THEY are fit and healthy. A fat person may be far more fit and healthy than the skinny person standing right next to her.

You're right. That's possible, but not probable.

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Nola, We can argue all day long about whether obesity causes the diseases it is correlated with. We can argue all day long about whether being fat is, in and of itself, unhealthy. But the fact remains, that even if we decide that it does, and it is, we STILL don't know, collectively, how to do anything about it!

Statistically speaking,"dieting" and exercising for intentional weight loss is not going to result in long term weight loss for 95% of people. For 2/3 of them, they will end up heavier than if they never dieted in the first place! Yo-yo dieting, or weight cycling, is associated with the same health risks as those associated with obesity (notice I did not say caused by). And even if someone ends up in the magic 5% of successful weight loss, the evidence does not show that it even correlates to improved health. Think about all that when you tell your overweight patients to lose weight "for their health."

By the way, I've taken care of many, many, many VERY SICK, naturally thin people with lifelong chronic illness. Not they got sick and then got thin; these are people who have never been fat in their lives. Thin people too get hypertension, diabetes I and II, coronary artery disease, heart attacks, strokes, arthritis, COPD, cancer, you name it. The difference is, for them, the disease is not blamed on their body size.

Healthy behaviors encompassing things like eating more fruits and vegetables, moving your body more, managing stress, having healthy relationships, getting plenty of sleep, not smoking or drinking excessively- these are the ways to improve health, if that's what you choose for yourself. And nobody is obligated to choose them, whether they are a doctor, a nurse, or an elephant salesman. If a person decides to try doing these things, sure they may lose weight in the short term, but the body's natural response is to make up for that defecit. But the great thing is, the health improvements remain.

I am aware that I contributed to this thread being taken in an unintended direction, and I'm sorry. Don't mean to be a highjacker! To answer your original question about looks, I think nursing is great in that there is a huge range of diversity in how nurses look. What's important is basic hygiene and adhering to the dress code in terms of uniform, jewelry, piercings and tattoos.

Of note, I have gotten several jobs via phone interviews with no in person screening whatsoever prior to my offer. If an employer IS hiring for looks, it probably not one I would have any desire to work for, anyway.

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This is the look that got me a job in ICU.

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^LOL, heey!! It must be hard at times, though. Most people don't understand the pain of being really, really, really, really;)good- ;)looking! :blink:

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