'Unhealthy' nurses...bad examples?

[fifi2323]

I hope this post doesn't offend anyone,but I have noticed a lot of the nurses I know are overweight,smokers or both. Obviously people become nurses because they completed school,and are qualified to do their jobs,which has nothing to do with physical appearance or vices.

Its common knowledge that smoking and/or obesity can kill you,but I would think those in the healthcare field would have a more acute idea of how health is jeopardized by these things. I am asking one out of curiousity,and secondly because I myself am overweight. I was just wondering if anybody has ever gotten any flak from patients or higher-ups? Or do you feel you aren't taken as seriously because of how you look,or because you need a cigarette break? I hope this hasn't happened,since its discriminatory and wrong,but we all know that doesn't mean much!

[Elisheva]

In life, there are:

1. Accountants who don't balance their own checkbooks

2. Preachers who commit adultery

3. Beauticians who have bad hairdos

4. Millionaires who drive 1968 orange pick-up trucks

5. Chefs who eat fast food

6. Mary Kay ladies who wear Clinque

Humans are full of contradictions.

[middleageNP]

Nurses are people with the same problems as everyone else. As long as we are knowledged, caring and dedicated to our patients and our profession, aesthetic appearance is unimportant IMO....

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Much more important to me than a person's size is their level of internal peace and happiness. I'm overweight, but I'm also in an excellent marriage with cool kids and live a life that's pretty fulfilling. I have family and friends who enrich my days, a job I actually enjoy most of the time, a call to write that gives me purpose, and feeling of gratitude and satisfaction for the many blessings I have been given.

Dh and I don't smoke, rarely drink, don't gamble or go to clubs. We spend quiet evenings at home over a nice dinner or we go out to eat. That's our vice. That and we don't exercise like we should.

I would hope that when I am taking care of a patient, she can look past the extra pounds and see a happy heart and a contented spirit. That's one area where I can set a darn fine example.

I could have written this exact post........except I don't drink either:wink2:

What Miranda said is where it's at as far as I'm concerned, and if living a life that's useful, fulfilling, and contented isn't the definition of healthy, I don't know what is!

[ambraberger]

Health is on the inside as well as the outside. I struggle with my weight. I am working on it. I also take medication that makes it hard for me to lose the extra weight. I am self conscious about it. But I also know that I have the biggest heart, and am very caring in my profession. That is something that cannot be taught or learned.

[TazziRN, RN]

A personal pet peeve is nurses, respiratory therapists, doctors who reek of smoke ! Disgusting!

Amen! Last December my little one was brought to the ER with really bad croup, stridorous and wheezing on top of it. She had two RT's, the first one reeked like crazy to the point where I found myself backing away from her while holding my child. She had obviously just had a smoke before she was paged. I almost asked her how she could present herself like that to people who were already having trouble breathing..

[Princess74]

Yes, nurses and other health care professionals know that being overweight and smoking are not healthy but think about it, with all the news media coverage, TV specials etc, etc, etc... EVERYONE knows that its not healthy, its not like we are the only ones who know the risks. Even with that being said I can see where we would get more flak about it because of the position's that we are in, but hey we are human before we are nurses.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

I personally take offense to the comment that a skinny nurse would be incompetent. One can have beauty and brains.

What does beauty have to do with skinny?

[LydiaNN]

What does beauty have to do with skinny?

And how would she feel about an ugly, skinny nurse, I wonder???

[ERNP]

Bad examples? I don't think so.

I remember having to talk about cardiac diets to patients as an overweight nurse. The patients were actually grateful to be speaking to someone who knew how hard lifestyle changes could be to make.

My co-workers never had much to say (or much room to talk), we were a well fed group.

One of my co-workers now has suffered some nasty remarks when being fitted for her nursing school uniform. It really made me angry when she told me about it because she is really a great person and will be a great nurse. The fact that she has several endocrine problems that have contributed to her size is certainly not anything she chose and it makes losing weight an extremely difficult proposition for her even with appropriate medical management.

I agree with Cathie. A healthy body isn't necessarily bone skinny. A healthy body is one that performs when required to perform.

Cudos, to those in Madrid than banned the runway models for excessive skinniness (as determined by an endocrinologist and BMI determinations) from their fashion week. That example is as bad as any other.

[rn/writer, RN]

In life, there are:

1. Accountants who don't balance their own checkbooks

2. Preachers who commit adultery

3. Beauticians who have bad hairdos

4. Millionaires who drive 1968 orange pick-up trucks

5. Chefs who eat fast food

6. Mary Kay ladies who wear Clinque

Humans are full of contradictions.

Can you say Donald Trump. That just jumped out at me.

I think we're all in agreement that appearances can be misleading--to the good or to the bad.

I don't know anyone, myself included, whose behavior is completely consistent with their knowledge, their wisdom, or their beliefs. We all fall short of what we want to do and be. We do things we know we shouldn't and don't do things we know we should. But at some point, the healthiest thing you can do is to stop beating yourself up over whatever imperfections you're struggling with and simply be who and where you are.

Therein lies a peaceful acceptance of what is real. And with that can come the ability to make changes out of freedom rather than compulsion. You no longer have to strive and flail to be acceptable because you already are, warts and all. You can see your faults and know they are not YOU.

When this happens, other people begin to relax around you because you don't need their approval to feel good. The irony is that in this new conditon, you're far more likely to have their approval. You just won't neeeed it to be happy.

I'm attracted to people with wisdom and sense and humor and skill and a repertoire of good jokes and a collection of fabulous recipes (along with the willingness to make them) and a silly streak and competence and an appreciation of simple things (like me on some days) and, well, you get the picture.

Turn-offs are people who are chronically angry, arrogant, boastful, scheming, jealous, vengeful, unforgiving, incompetent, careless, rude and twisted. I can still care about people who have these traits, but sometimes I have to love them from a distance.

No mention of appearance in either category.

[CaseManager1947]

Yes too, I am Overweight, like several other posters have mentioned. But, my dear, I was thin and much healthier until I developed RA and three level disc disease, whereupon exercise became impossible, due to pain. I am looking at having WLS next year, to save my life. Just because I am heavy, doesn't mean I'm happy with that either. But likely for an entirely different set of reasons. So if you're young and 21 or 23 years old, exercise now whilst you still can.

[sweetpea839]

We as nurses, have to think logically about this. We are the health care professionals, but we are also human. When I think of the "ideal" or "perfect" nurse, I don't think about what hair-do, what fashion of scrubs, or what his/her body looks like. Any nurse is also a human. We all have our vices and that doesn't make us bad or good roles models, it just makes us human. We can always strive to be the best we can, but we are not arian.