smoking? good or bad

caligirl · Jun 2, 2005

I think what you do to your lungs and is your own thing.. I will say that if a nurse that is caring for me or my daughter smells like smoke, I will not hesitate for ask for another nurse. Not only is is disgusting.. but the smoke could be a trigger for her asthma, the smell could get on US, and last but not least, I think that is setting a poor example from a "professional" that is supposed to be a role model. My daughter is 5 and I am trying to teach her that nurses are GOOD people that promote HEALTH.. What they do behind closed doors is all them but if I can smell it, so can she..

However, I don't think anyone should be told they CANNOT smoke.. as long as you don't smell like it, I think it should be fine. Smokers forget that non-smokers are very sensitive to smoke smell and if they are going to smoke, they should change their clothes AND brush their teeth afterwards. I know it sounds extreme but like I said, the smell is so strong.

YOu guys probably smelled like it even if you weren't smoking because of the car.

LydiaNN · Jun 2, 2005

barbi, if you weren't smoking, I would make sure to enter a statement as such into your record. What if the director "catches" you again? Can you be kicked out of the program for repeated offenses (or perceived offenses?) Having said that, though, I don't think nurses should be able to report for work smelling bad for any reason. I would recommend not smoking in the car, or at least being sure to spray it down with Febreeze after each trip.

hangnon · Jun 2, 2005

I once worked somewhere that made a girl spray her clothes down with Lysol before she came back inside after smoking. I'm not sure if the smell of Lysol is any better than smoke. Yuck! However, she complied and did it for the sake of keeping her job.

I also had clincial rounds at a hospital once where the respiratory therapist would be seen outside smoking with the patients! :uhoh3: :stone

Sounds like the hospital admin. was targeting. What did your clinical instructor have to say about all of it??

colleennurse, ASN, RN · Jun 2, 2005

That is ridiculous! I am a former smoker (only 2 months ) but I think it should be your choice to do whatever you please on your own time. However I do agree that the smell can be very offensive to others. Also one thing that I never thought of that one of my instructors pointed out was, you might be caring for someone who is a smoker and since they are in the hospital they may not be able to smoke. If they smell it on you, it might tease them!

allnurses Guide · Jun 2, 2005

I think Caligirl is right - if you sat in a car that people smoke in, even if you didn't smoke, you will reek of smoke.

If you didn't smoke however, I would fight that part.

steph

grinnurse, RN · Jun 2, 2005

I always kept a bottle of Febreze with me for smoke breaks etc. and that seemed to nip the problem in the bud for the clothes and breathmints for the other. You really didn't say if you were smoking in the car or not either on or off the grounds. If you were off the grounds then you followed policy and procedure and it should be noted in the paper that you have to write and also addressed with the admin of the facility. How does the calling off in clinical have anything to do with the other btw? And maybe I am being stupid, but how does YOUR smoking (if you were or any other nurse that smokes) affect how they care for the patient if they don't reek of smoke? I can understand if one smells like smoke and the effects that it could have but the other is beyond me. To me, it is just another way to pick on and single out the behaviours of another that others may dislike.

I have also set a quit date of June 13th b/c I agree that I can't teach health if I am going to continue to do things that jeapordize it. This is kind of like (in a very simplistic analogy) saying that a person that eats a meal full of onions and reeks of onions (which I despise) is going to give me worse care b/c of that fact!!!!!!!!!!! I may be way off base with that one, but isn't it the same?

GrnHonu99, RN · Jun 2, 2005

this is rediculous. i have been doing my clinicals at the same hospital for two quarters now. a couple a weeks ago me and a few other girls ran to the bank our break which is only a few blocks away. On our way back in the building the administrator of the hospital came running out screaming that we were parked in the wrong row. then he accused us of smoking in our vehicles and told us once again that smoking was not aloud on the grounds. the next thing we knew we had to write a 10 page paper on smoking and calling off in the clinical setting and their effects on pt. care.
what the heck!!!! we werent smoking. to me that is discrimination.
the human resorce lady at the hospital told us at orientation that if we had to smoke to leave even if it meant standing out in the middle of the street to do it. I believe if one of the three of us were non-smokers that nothing would have been said.

Barbi, what part of Ohio are you in?

grinnurse, RN · Jun 3, 2005

Barbi, what part of Ohio are you in?

Elk-exactly what is a buckeye and what state does it represent? We were given buckeyes by our Dean during pinning to take to NCLEX with us and I would really like to know what they are..........dying to know :chuckle The original Dean of the school that I attended was from this state and she passed them out to the first graduating class and now 25 yrs later it is a tradition.

Thanks so much and sorry for getting off topic everyone!!

schoolgirl05 · Jun 3, 2005

I always kept a bottle of Febreze with me for smoke breaks etc. and that seemed to nip the problem in the bud for the clothes and breathmints for the other. You really didn't say if you were smoking in the car or not either on or off the grounds. If you were off the grounds then you followed policy and procedure and it should be noted in the paper that you have to write and also addressed with the admin of the facility. How does the calling off in clinical have anything to do with the other btw? And maybe I am being stupid, but how does YOUR smoking (if you were or any other nurse that smokes) affect how they care for the patient if they don't reek of smoke? I can understand if one smells like smoke and the effects that it could have but the other is beyond me. To me, it is just another way to pick on and single out the behaviours of another that others may dislike.
I have also set a quit date of June 13th b/c I agree that I can't teach health if I am going to continue to do things that jeapordize it. This is kind of like (in a very simplistic analogy) saying that a person that eats a meal full of onions and reeks of onions (which I despise) is going to give me worse care b/c of that fact!!!!!!!!!!! I may be way off base with that one, but isn't it the same?

Regarding onion breath.. i think it is the same thing.. it is stinky just like smoke and people should use breath mints, change their clothes, not wear heavy perfume, wear deoderant, wear unoffensive makeup and all the other things that come with the territory of providing patient care. Nurses should be presentable. We are providing patient care and get all up in peoples faces sometimes.. It is about courtesy not about proving points just because they can and it is their right to smoke. I just think we should be professionals and smoke smell is not professional, it is trashy.

stressgal, RN · Jun 3, 2005

My first question is, were you permitted by you school to leave your clinical site? I also know that during clinical orientation we are informed of the rules for that facility, were the parking regulations well defined at orientation? Did you parked where you were not supposed to be? I only ask because for the "hospital administrator" to bring this to your attention, I would think that someone had brought it to his attention in the first place or he witnessed it in person. Most "hospital administrators" have other tasks besides patrolling the parking lot. To quote you "I believe if one of the three of us were non-smokers that nothing would have been said." How would he know that you were smokers if he did not see you smoking? Sorry, the story just doesn't seem to add up. We must remember that we are a representative of our school and must be professional while we are at clinicals.

GrnHonu99, RN · Jun 3, 2005

Elk-exactly what is a buckeye and what state does it represent? We were given buckeyes by our Dean during pinning to take to NCLEX with us and I would really like to know what they are..........dying to know :chuckle The original Dean of the school that I attended was from this state and she passed them out to the first graduating class and now 25 yrs later it is a tradition.
Thanks so much and sorry for getting off topic everyone!!

The Buckeye State is Ohio:) Our state tree is the buckeye tree and you pretty much see they symbol all over the state...I graduated from Ohio State and we were the The Ohio State Buckeyes...go bucks:) brutus buckeye was our mascot lol.....have you ever had the candy buckeyes? they are peanut butter balls covered with chocolate to make them look like buckeyes...my favorite:) I bet your original dean was an OSU grad too:)