Speaking of Health and Self Care ...

[reikinurse007]

Back in the day (I LOVE saying that!) when I was preparing to train as a Certified Nursing Assistant, I went for my mandatory health physical. The doctor who was performing the physicals for the pre-nursing students was fairly crass, and looking back, quite unprofessional. Granted, this was nearly 25 years ago, but his rude comment to me as he listened to my heart went something like this: "It's great that you want to be a nurse. Just remember: Nurses are notoriously fat, so it's important that you exercise and eat healthy. Keep that in mind!" (PS: I was a teenager ~ still in high school!)

Can you imagine a doctor saying something like that to a perspective nursing student nowadays? I remember how 'icky' his comment made me feel back then, but as a teenager, I didn't feel empowered, nor was I as assertive as I am today, so I simply shrank back and didn't say anything. Think about how you have grown, emotionally and physically, over the years. I know how I would respond to a flippant and general comment like that today. Would you have responded, and if so, how?

[llg, PhD, RN]

Granted, the way the doctor gave his advice to you was inappropriate. But actually, I somewhat agree with his message and he gets points from me for at least trying to give you good advice (with points deducted for his approach).

If I were giving advice to people just entering the profession, one of the things I would emphasize about a nursing career is that nurses are notorious for not taking care of themselves -- and that the stress (and rotating shifts) of many nursing jobs are hazardous to our health. I encourage nurses to incorporate a healthy lifestyle into their career plans from the beginning and not wait until the health problems start to appear to take action.

Yeah ... he went about it wrong ... but he had a the right idea.

[Emergent, RN]

I see a lot of bad eating habits amongst my coworkers. It sounds like he was giving honest advise. Maybe he didn't sugarcoat it the way you'd prefer, but back in the day people were probably more blunt, not having to garner positive votes on surveys.