Question...what's your HONEST opinion?

Published

Ok...my question is this, with the economy being what it is, and jobs being hard to obtain...do you feel that a thin nurse would have a better chance at a job than an overweight nurse...even if the overweight nurse is great at what she does, and graduated top of her class.

Please give me your opinions. Thanks!

Specializes in Med/Surg/Ortho/Uro/Rehab CNA.

i think its ridiculous that it should even be a issue but i'm sure that some interviewers have that type of prejudice. i myself am a skinny short individual and have had more than an eyebrow or two raised when i say i can transfer someone, literally, twice my size. which i can! sooo, other end of the spectrum maybe. lesson learned: never judge a book by its cover. i met a great friend who weighs more than i do & i love her to pieces! she is such a good person & very smart!

i would also have to agree that a lot of the "heavier" nurses have a better sense of humor and are very intellegent. i personally know more heavy nurses that i would want to take care of me than the snooty, skinny little snots... lol what does that say about me? i dont know, i pray i will never be like that.

can be a touchy subject huh?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

What I don't understand is why when people are trying to argue agaisnt prejudices based on one thing (weight, race, gpa, ect.) they start making comments about those who fall into the other opposite end of the spectrum. Skinny nurses tend to be meaner; "A" students are cold and lack people or clincal skills, ect. If a certain behavior or ability level can't be tied to one group, then it can't be tied to the other. I haven't found any correlation between weight and competency/compassion/intelligence.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

This is a great question; I just got accepted to nursing school and I am doing a self battle with my weight; I would be considered obese; I am very active and have tried a lot of things to lose weight. I will be a great nurse but have the stigma of being so over weight how are the patients going to take me serious

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 5th Semester - Graduation Dec '09!.

I see nurses that are pretty big and have all sorts of knee problems. They waddle to a patient's room and are out of breath by the time they return to the nurses station. I think to myself (1) How do they make it through a 12-hour shift and (2) what happens if there is a patient emergency.

People come in all shapes and sizes and I think discrimination is wrong. But I also believe that it's unsafe to work bedside if you are unable to move quickly.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I see nurses that are pretty big and have all sorts of knee problems. They waddle to a patient's room and are out of breath by the time they return to the nurses station. I think to myself (1) How do they make it through a 12-hour shift and (2) what happens if there is a patient emergency.

People come in all shapes and sizes and I think discrimination is wrong. But I also believe that it's unsafe to work bedside if you are unable to move quickly.

Well yeah, but skinny and fit aren't the same thing either. So, yes I think we can agree that nurses should be able to physically work their shift. The problem is, that you can't tell that by someone's weight...(that anecdotal evidence is so attractive, yet unreliable).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
What I don't understand is why when people are trying to argue agaisnt prejudices based on one thing (weight, race, gpa, ect.) they start making comments about those who fall into the other opposite end of the spectrum. Skinny nurses tend to be meaner; "A" students are cold and lack people or clincal skills, ect. If a certain behavior or ability level can't be tied to one group, then it can't be tied to the other. I haven't found any correlation between weight and competency/compassion/intelligence.

While I understand and completely agree with your overall point, I also have to grin because when I see posts like yours, they always point out the one side as well, like in the grade thread, it also kept being said that C students were lazy, weren't go getters, lacked this or that, and so on. But you only bring up the Skinny Comments, and the A comments. This isn't even pointed directly at you so much, as I am just making a general observation. In the other thread there were a lot more negative assumptions made about C students then A students, but it's always "one" group that stands out to a particular person while the other judgments seem to just be ignored.

I am really curious as to why this is. I don't think it can really be answered though.

Again, this is not an attack on you, your post just sparked a trend I have noticed in these types of threads from all sides.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

But you only bring up the Skinny Comments, and the A comments.

That's b/c both posts start off with comparing themselves to these groups. The original poster has a concern that they will be seen as inferior to the skinny or "A" grad. As a way to make the OP feel better, some will chose to point out the negative encounters they have had with the aforementioned groups, and then only mention the positive experiences they have with their counterparts. I suspect that people are being (perhaps subconsciously?) quite selective in their tellings in order to get the point across: "I think you can be just as great of a ________ as anyone else!" Its just too bad they can't do that without making generalizations, which seems to be the problem in the first place ;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion