Veganism and the pursue of nursing

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Hi I'm a senior in high school and recently I've considered being vegan because of my profound love for animals . I'm very concerned whether my veganism in the near future can it affect my management with critically ill patients. Or can it affect with my relationship with my future colleagues? I'm vegan , I love animal , I know I shouldn't be this doubtful but I'm just concerned :/

..... I'm very concerned whether my veganism in the near future can it affect my management with critically ill patients. Or can it affect with my relationship with my future colleagues?..../

Were you expecting to have to eat any of them? Never saw this as a requirement in nursing jobs, so I think you'll be just fine ;)

Seriously, though, it's a non-issue as long as you remember that your lifestyle choices are YOURS, and not necessarily appreciated by others. Much like there are people who want to foist their religious choices, or frankly anything done to an extreme on other people, "preaching" such decisions has no place in nursing. Don't have to hide it by any stretch, of course, just remember that your decisions are yours. Sometimes shared by others......and sometimes not.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Great decision. Fellow vegan here. Unfortunately, you will have to get used to uneducated, snide remarks (like a couple that have been posted on this thread) but you learn to ignore it. Stay strong, and try to find other people who are also into ethical eating.

I assure you, it's a non-issue in the healthcare world and in the job setting.

You're a vegan?

Sounds great-and moving on to the next task at hand.

Seriously.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I work with vegetarian and vegan nurses. As long as they're not forcing their beliefs and practices on their patients, I have no issue with them. And while they have been happy to answer any questions I have about vegetarism/veganism, they have never pressured or lectured me because I'm not one. Same as I don't lecture them on their choices.

Though mind you, I do dabble in going meat-free from time to time (the occasional vegetarian month here and there). I'll probably do it for Lent this year.

IMO, there's nothing wrong with educating patients (and others) on the benefits of eating less meat, but keep in mind that others may not want to change their eating habits. If they're not interested, accept that and drop the topic.

Now if you're planning to go all rabid-PETA-fanatic on your coworkers and patients who aren't vegetarian...then yes, you will run into big problems and fast.

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I assure you, it's a non-issue in the healthcare world and in the job setting.

You're a vegan?

Sounds great-and moving on to the next task at hand.

Seriously.

That hasn't been my experience. You can assure me all you want that it hasn't happened, but I have experienced people being nosy about my meal breaks and making idiotic remarks when I tell them I'm vegan. I've even experienced people trying to trick me into eating meat because they thought it would be funny. I've also experienced that plenty of nurses are ignorant about nutrition- I'm dismayed at how many don't know that broccoli has protein, for example.

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Well.....while it does, you'd have to eat A LOT of broccoli to match what you could get in a beef source. Weirdly on topic, just came up at work today: 24 cups of broccoli gives about 80 grams of protein (recommended amount for teenagers and active people, those who make up a large percentage of the vegetarian population). By contrast, about 9 ounces of beef would do the same. Calorie-for-calorie, it's the same, but clearly not even close when you consider eating reasonable quantities.

So....yes, it has protein, but when measuring how much one has to actually consume....who eats 24 cups of broccoli a day?? And I happen to really LIKE broccoli :)

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Well.....while it does, you'd have to eat A LOT of broccoli to match what you could get in a beef source. Weirdly on topic, just came up at work today: 24 cups of broccoli gives about 80 grams of protein (recommended amount for teenagers and active people, those who make up a large percentage of the vegetarian population). By contrast, about 9 ounces of beef would do the same. Calorie-for-calorie, it's the same, but clearly not even close when you consider eating reasonable quantities.

So....yes, it has protein, but when measuring how much one has to actually consume....who eats 24 cups of broccoli a day?? And I happen to really LIKE broccoli :)

Also, not all protein is created equal. Broccoli (which I really love, too :)) is an incomplete protein. So the 20-24 cups of broccoli is still not nutritionally equivalent to the 9 oz. of beef.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Beans plus rice = complete protein. You need to know what non-meat sources to combine to get a complete protein to get all the essential amino acids and other nutrients.

I do PDN and the one family jokes all the time that they are going to cook me a rare steak or a giant turkey leg. I just smile and remind them I always bring my own meals. It gets old really quick.

When my sister started as a vegetarian (after reading Sinclair's The Jungle) she consumed a lot of buttered eggs and french fries with mayonnaise. Then she educated herself about nutrition and essential dietary needs.

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Beans plus rice = complete protein. You need to know what non-meat sources to combine to get a complete protein to get all the essential amino acids and other nutrients.

I do PDN and the one family jokes all the time that they are going to cook me a rare steak or a giant turkey leg. I just smile and remind them I always bring my own meals. It gets old really quick.

When my sister started as a vegetarian (after reading Sinclair's The Jungle) she consumed a lot of buttered eggs and french fries with mayonnaise. Then she educated herself about nutrition and essential dietary needs.

I actually became nauseated at this....yuck! Glad she figured out what nutrition is :)

Yes it is certainly possible to have all nutritional needs met through vegetarianism/veganism. Thing is, I find that most who tell me they follow these kinds of diets really don't do what they should to achieve that goal. Simply eating veggies and fruit and refraining from meats doesn't a balanced diet make. :( The worst, I think, are the teens who latch onto this for a variety of reasons but have a common theme: eat no meats, so consider themselves "vegetarians", but don't eat a healthy balance.

Me, I like a good steak, but I wouldn't try to convince someone who doesn't to follow my diet plan. And I prefer that the courtesy go both ways! :)

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Well.....while it does, you'd have to eat A LOT of broccoli to match what you could get in a beef source

And I don't know any vegans who get all their protein from broccoli. So there's that.

Yes it is certainly possible to have all nutritional needs met through vegetarianism/veganism. Thing is, I find that most who tell me they follow these kinds of diets really don't do what they should to achieve that goal.

And that's not really your business. Are all your nutritional needs being met by YOUR current dietary habits? Are YOU eating too many carbs? Can I suggest some changes to YOUR diet? You can see how offensive this attitude is when you imagine it directed toward you instead of someone else.

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And that's not really your business. Are all your nutritional needs being met by YOUR current dietary habits? Are YOU eating too many carbs? Can I suggest some changes to YOUR diet? You can see how offensive this attitude is when you imagine it directed toward you instead of someone else.

Wow, rude much??

I thought this was just a topic of discussion, NOT directed at anyone in particular, just a discussion, speaking in generalities. If you can't handle that, I suggest that you not make this any of YOUR business. There was nothing personal in any of this, but you are choosing to make it personal.

Unreal.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
That hasn't been my experience. You can assure me all you want that it hasn't happened, but I have experienced people being nosy about my meal breaks and making idiotic remarks when I tell them I'm vegan. I've even experienced people trying to trick me into eating meat because they thought it would be funny. I've also experienced that plenty of nurses are ignorant about nutrition- I'm dismayed at how many don't know that broccoli has protein, for example.

Just because you have experience it does NOT make it the norm-not diminishing your experience, but taking stick in a ignorant few has no bearing on ones nursing practice;

The focus is on the patient, not peer ignorance. :no:

FYI, legumes have more source protein than broccoli. ;)

Most nurses do know and collaborate with plenty of vegans to ensure that they are meeting their traditional needs and are well versed in it, especially in cases to heal wounds, manage diabetes, and recovery from trauma, surgery, or a major hospitalization.

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Wow, rude much??

I thought this was just a topic of discussion, NOT directed at anyone in particular, just a discussion, speaking in generalities. If you can't handle that, I suggest that you not make this any of YOUR business. There was nothing personal in any of this, but you are choosing to make it personal.

Unreal.

And if you want to give out dietary advice that nobody asked for, I suggest you start a thread about that and see how many people are interested. Because nobody on THIS thread so far is interested in your condescending opinions about vegans' nutritional shortcomings and what they should and shouldn't be doing.

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