Unhealthy Habits of Nurses

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What are your thoughts on nurses participating in unhealthy habits. Does it bother you if a fellow nurse smokes or if they are overweight? Do you feel any different as a patient if your nurse walks in and is overweight or smells like smoke? If you were/are a nurse who smoked/smokes or who had/has a weight problem, did everything you learned in school about health prompt you to make any changes? If so did the changes stick?

I think it's a pretty bad habit to judge other people. Shouldn't we have the same compassion for our fellow nurses that we do for our patients, considering we're all fallible humans too?

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Specializes in Maternity.

Patients want a nurse that is compassionate, competent and someone that can relate to them in their time of need. Those nurses come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

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Ahem.

I did actually respond. I ACTUALLY told you how to find about a bazillion answers that have already been posted to the identical questions you posed. Many members here have taken the time to write out some pretty well-thought out responses and don't feel like typing it all in again so you can see something shiny and new on 'your' thread.

Beyond that, if you would like future assistance on assignments, it would behoove you to lose the 'tude. Or, you can keep it up and get answers only from students who feel like killing some time, rather than seasoned nurses who (for now) won't bother.

Beyond THAT.....your teacher gave you an assignment in which you were supposed to get feedback from whomever might answer on an anonymous message board? Who may or may not be nurses, or aides, or housekeeping....or accountants? Odd.

She's following the instructions of her assignment. I think you're well over analyzing what she meant by "actually respond". You berate her for not searching what has already been posted on the subject as if she's wasting your time yet you have no issue with trolling this thread and using threatening language against the OP and making cheeky comments about her instructor's choice of assignment? Go vent your frustrations elsewhere, you're wasting the OP's time.

My thoughts on the OP's question: Smelling of smoke while counseling a patient is unprofessional just as it would be to have body odor or wearing jeans and a paint-stained t-shirt to work. As far as being overweight, I am not quick to judge as to why someone is overweight. Some people can be mildly overweight and still be very healthy active individuals. However if a nurse is counseling someone on diabetes or hypertension, it's best that they do not smell like cigs and a bag of McDonald's. If anything some patient's may find a slightly overweight provider can relate to them better on their struggles with weight vs a very thin provider who may not have to work very hard to maintain a thin physique.

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The assignment is actually to post it and see people's responses to my question not to look up other people answers. Thanks for the suggestion though. Hopefully there will be others who would like to actually respond.

Is this for a class in online trolling?

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This is something I had a heated debate about in my ethics class. How we got on the subject I don't know...anyways...I believe that as nurses we must be professional figures and role models for the community that we serve. I mean no disrespect by saying this but I think it's foolish when an overweight nurse is teaching about diet and things of that natures. Same with smoking, if a nurse smells like smoke and she's advocating for a patient to quit then you might as well stop there because they are not going to take you serious.

Once again, no disrespect here, but we are the role models. If you are overweight, smell of smoke, and illustrate poor habits in general nobody will take you serious. This is because they consider us experts! And if they see that we as nurses are not practicing healthy choices and are not heeding the advice then why should they?

Take it to the logical conclusion. Nursing is bad on the back and highly stressful. Thus, to be true role models of health, we must quit nursing to be good nurses.

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Specializes in Pedi.

I work in pediatric oncology. I've NEVER counseled a patient on weight loss. Most of the time, I'm trying to get my patients to GAIN weight. And I'm not my patients' role model, I'm their nurse.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I just want to know where the jobs are that allow nurses the TIME to teach patients.......

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Slightly off topic, but I remember being shocked when I started visiting this site, seeing nurses post about having to cover others' smoke breaks. No place I have ever worked allows people to take sanctioned smoke breaks (although I knew a coworker here and there would smoke on their regular lunch break, but it was rare). I would never, EVER, agree to watch someone's patients for them to go smoke! I should have to work extra hard because you have a filthy habit!? I can't believe there are nurses who agree to it.

We all have the right to take our breaks and frankly what we do with them is no one elses business and I say this as a non smoker.

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i do think it's rather unfair to judge because literally everyone has some kind of bad habit(s). i can't tell you how many times i've had patients and co-workers make comments about how i must be so "healthy" and whatnot because i'm thin and refuse to eat the crappy baked goods that are always in the break room. um yeah no, i starve myself and puke up food on a regular basis; i'm definitely not a ******* role model!

re: smoke breaks, i think everyone should get them. not a smoker? then call it a fresh air break, or a mental health break or whatever. it really does help just to sit down outside for five minutes once or twice a shift. it might not seem like much, or you might think it's extravagant and unnecessary, but imho it works wonders - i always come back after a fresh air break feeling more clear-headed, better able to concentrate, not feeling like i'm going to freak out on the next patient who gives me a hard time, etc.

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Since when have nurses been placed on this rather high moral pedestal and subjected to scrutiny and judgement? Last time I checked, I didn't have to pass a physical course to become a nurse. We leave those things to police officers and firemen who actually need good physical abilities to do their jobs properly. It is ridiculous to think that a person should not have any bad habits. We all cope with stress in different ways and nurses are unique in that we care for people professionally but probably do the same thing at home in one capacity or another.

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I honestly don't think an obese patient wants to hear that from some thin "Barbie" nurse

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As "some thin Barbie nurse" myself, I resent the implication that I'm somehow less than adequate to professionally and compassionately explain the importance of weight loss, diet and exercise to an obese patient. Is it fair to assume that because I'm in shape and I eat well that I've never struggled with my self-image or weight gain?

I mean, that's really taking the OP's original question here in reverse, right? Arguing that some nurses are somehow inadequate as a caregivers because we haven't experience the health issues of the patient?

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Specializes in critical care/emergency departement.

It's true that nurses (as well as doctors, midwives, and so on) are humans as their patients and then they can have habits, so to speak, unhealthy, but is also true that from point of view of the patients this could be "disliked".

For instance, how can I say that smoking is unhealthy if I smell like an ashtray?

Having said that I don't take the liberty of judging nobody, I can only say that would be better set a good example even if not always this is possible.

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