Hello! So while I was in nursing school, I noticed a lot of nurses were unhealthy and overweight. Yes, we have little or no time to take breaks and eat, yes, we are constantly on our feet and get too tired to go to the gym, and, yes, we neglect our own health to take care of others. But, we need to be healthy and fit in order to take care of those in need. There are no excuses. That is why I think ALL nurses should practice what they preach!
I am a new RN. I have experienced the nurse life throughout nursing school, and will continue the nurse life for many more years to come. Before I decided to become a nurse, I worked in a gym since I was 15 (I am 23, almost 24 now). I started off as unhealthy, overweight, and unmotivated. When my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer and DM2 back in 2010, our whole lives changed. Our diets and exercise habits completely did a 180. I realized that this unhealthy lifestyle we were living, was doing damage to us. From that moment on, I decided to get motivated, become healthy, and put my father on the right track to becoming healthy as well (which, now, he is free of cancer and maintaining his DM2 via diet and no meds). I asked for help from a trainer at my gym (who has now been my boyfriend for over 2 years), who got me into shape, have a clean diet, and not only lose weight, but also maintain the weight loss. Diet and exercise is a lifestyle.
I am currently the healthiest I have ever been in my life. I workout everyday for at least 1 hour, including cardio and weights. On my 12 hour clinical days, I skipped the gym because that is already a workout in itself….and let's face it, by the time we get home, we get ready for bed and sleep. I made sure to have a healthy, consistent diet on my shifts. I currently still work part-time at my gym, while applying for hospital positions. The manger and owner of the gym offered me positions as a personal trainer. I am working on getting my personal training certificate. I don't want to just be that typical†nurse. I want to be that FIT nurse, who works hard, trains hard, and is a positive example to patients.
I think that ALL nurses and those in the healthcare field should practice what they preach. How can we tell patients to take their BP meds and Cholesterol meds, if we don't? How can we tell them to exercise every day, if we don't? What type of example are we to them?
What does any of this have to do with taking care of one's health as a nurse?
Isn't that exactly what this is about? That we should be fit and healthy and being fit and healthy is awesome and there is no excuse not to be? Or are we supposed to only LOOK healthy, and can eat as much garbage as we please so long as we don't set off someone's fat phobia? Or we shouldn't care about our health for our own sake but so that our patients believe us when we say exercise is good?
I have definitely upset many on here. I should have been more careful, as I know this is a touchy subject. Therefore, I will have this post deleted by admin. I am a kind person, and by no means do I judge anyone. Yes, I realize this post appears very judgmental. And it is my bad. Like I said, I am new to this and I am also a new RN. I do not have experience like other who have been on the job longer. I apologize. Thanks for listening.
Personally, PCOS has been my enemy for about 15 years now. Losing weight (and keeping it off) is just as easy as finding a needle in a haystack. I know you're still very young but before you open your mouth (or prepare to type) think about the bigger picture and never judge anyone. Supporting people and helping them better themselves works much better. Yes we should ALL exercise and practice healthy eating habits but it's not always as easy at that.
Well OP, hopefully you have not just p@ssed off your future overweight hiring manager or preceptor. New nurse jobs are hard to come by. I would change your name here.
Nothing worse than a self-righteous "skinny mini"pointing fingers at others.
I am not "skinny mini" and I am not pointing fingers. Like I said, I apologize for hurting people. I am not pointing fingers at anyone. Thanks for understanding.
Personally, PCOS has been my enemy for about 15 years now. Losing weight (and keeping it off) is just as easy as finding a needle in a haystack. I know you're still very young but before you open your mouth (or prepare to type) think about the bigger picture and never judge anyone. Supporting people and helping them better themselves works much better. Yes we should ALL exercise and practice healthy eating habits but it's not always as easy at that.
PCOS'er here too...and fertility drugs, steroids, insulin et al.
I may be fat but I can diet and change...ugly attitudes never go away.
I have definitely upset many on here. I should have been more careful, as I know this is a touchy subject. Therefore, I will have this post deleted by admin. I am a kind person, and by no means do I judge anyone. Yes, I realize this post appears very judgmental. And it is my bad. Like I said, I am new to this and I am also a new RN. I do not have experience like other who have been on the job longer. I apologize. Thanks for listening.
Nice to apologize, but saying this is a "touchy subject" implies that overweight nurses are just being oversensitive or something.
Really, there are at lest two fundamental flaws in your thought process here:
1) Being overweight really is beyond many people's control. Thyroid disorders, having to take steroids such as prednisone, and countless other factors may be in play. Physical disabilities may limit other's ability to exercise regularly as well.
2) Just because we are nurses does not mean we have to be paragons of good health and clean living. Even if a nurse's chubby ness IS due to them eating less than perfectly and not being very active, that does NOT make them hypocrites. I think you are underestimating your patient's intelligence if you think they need a super-fit nurse to be their personal role model.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I'll sum up the issue for me anyway. First, I'm not overweight so we can dispense with that one right away. Usually someone will say "they are all just making excuses for themselves")
1. To my knowledge "being a role model" is not a traditional tenet of nursing education. It is an opinion that some have, which is their right. There is no obligation on the part of all nurses to accept that view.
2. You cannot define either "fit" or "fat" simply by looking at a person. A nurse's medical history is not any of the patient's business, so she can't explain what is the actual reason for appearance. That is unfair and really cruel in my view.
3. It selects only one aspect of many potential ways in which a nurse may be a "role model". The one you can see. Also fundamentally unfair.
4. By raising the significance of the first thing you can know about a nurse (what he or she looks like) you diminish the far more important components of being a nurse. Qualities you can't see and may be less likely to see if they flunk the unfair "fit or fat" appearance test.
5. Any patient who would choose not to embark on a healthy diet and exercise program because the nurse is overweight will see their willpower cave very quickly by the skilled marketers of yummy things to eat, perhaps on the drive home. (except young nurses, unless the patient is also an old nurse)
Methinks you haven't spent a lot of time posting on internet forums.
Most newbies cause a flame war at some point early in their posts. Lord knows I've had a couple, and I still managed to fit into the community eventually. It takes time to learn to write in such a way so as to not insult other people. It also takes some time to learn that certain irritating topics are brought up on a regular basis. There's certain rules of etiquette that are unique to internet-land, and every site has its own culture.
So, I appreciate your apology. Now move on and be mindful of how your posts come across in the future. People will forget all about this sooner than later.
There's a lot more to pained emotions than not controlling it.
You going to tell a rape victim, sexual abuse survivor or traumatized solider from combat that?
24 and she thinks she knows it all already. Loved the way she just HAD to add that the fitness trainer who helped her is now her boyfriend of 2 years.
OP you are still wet behind the ears as far as I am concerned. You need to grow up and realize that not everyone lives by YOUR ideals and standards. If you have that kind of attitude at work I can guarantee that you won't be making many friends. No one likes a know it all.
ShelbyaStar
468 Posts
Isn't that exactly what this is about? That we should be fit and healthy and being fit and healthy is awesome and there is no excuse not to be? Or are we supposed to only LOOK healthy, and can eat as much garbage as we please so long as we don't set off someone's fat phobia? Or we shouldn't care about our health for our own sake but so that our patients believe us when we say exercise is good?