I am still a student and today our instructor was telling us about nurses being one of the most unhealthy groups overall with weight issues, etc. She said "The docs get it and try to be healthy but the nurses dont seem to grasp the health concept themselves."
WHY?
I am curious for personal reasons (my own health sucks! but want to be healthier in future) and also thinking of doing this subject as my senior project/presentation in sort.
What causes them to be so unhealthy and what can be done to change this? Who is taking care of us? Are we destined to take care ourselves last?
Your teacher should not generalize. There are plenty of doctors who smoke, drink, and are fat. There are plenty of nurses who do go to the gym, eat healthily, and refrain from smoking, alcohol, drugs, and other risky behavior.
Of course, there are plenty in both groups who do overeat, drink to excess, and so on. Again, my point - don't generalize.
That said, there are a lot of obese nurses, for the reasons that others have already stated - full time work, extra work, going to school, children to care for and homes to make, elderly parents to care for, and endlessly on and on, not to mention our tax system that robs us of so much of what we earn. No lunch breaks or even bathroom breaks, irregular schedulesand shift work, and just plain poverty or middle class semi-poverty don't help. Plus, yes, we do, as a group, tend to be in lots of unhealthy relationships, which is draining and dangerous.
The doctors I have seen smoking include those who really should know better - ENT and cardiovascular surgeons, of all people.
Don't forget - when the doctors are on call, they can manage to slip away and shower, sleep (however briefly), eat, and otherwise relax for at least a few minutes or even get to the walking track, gym or swimming pool that are often conveniently located right at the hospital or attached medical school for them - but nurses are either excluded from these facilities or must use them on their time off. That, of course, means that we have to take time away from our chores, families, or school. When nurses are on duty, we are on - no call rooms, no real break times.
Depression gets me. When I feel bad, I eat. I really need to find something else to turn to. Also, the bigger I get, the lower I feel, and the cycle continues.
I work 12-hour shifts. I get days where all I do is chew on gum- no water, no food...then I pig-out as soon as I get home- mostly because I'm hungry AND I feel so sorry for myself for being NPO for 12 hours. No wonder I gained 40 lbs. since I started working in 2003!
In-and-Out Burger restaurants...I sure miss their tasty cheeseburgers and Double-Doubles. That's one of the things I truly miss about living in California.
Don't feel guilty...endulge in that In-and-Out burger!
Thank you!! Sometimes I treat myself with one of those burgers;)
Specializes in Infection Preventionist/ Occ Health.
When the medical residents are on call, they are able to slip away to eat a proper dinner almost every night. Barring an emergency or a slew of admissions, they can pretty much take a break whenever they want as long as they respond to their pages (by phone from the cafeteria or whatever) within 30 minutes. During the day, they have teaching sessions, patient care conferences and other activities where they can relax, hydrate themselves, etc.
By contrast, most nurses who work 12 hour shifts are lucky to find someone to hold their pager for 10 or 15 minutes. Some days it's almost impossible to slip away to use the restroom much less eat a proper meal. Many people resort to grabbing high-calorie junk because it's easiest to grab on the run. Have you ever seen someone trying to peel an orange while sitting at the computer to chart?
Despite my best efforts, I have yet to make it to the workout facility after a 12-hour shift. I rarely go beforehand because I know that I have to conserve energy for the craziness (and constant standing/walking) that I will deal with at work later in the day. Just thinking about a 12 hour shift makes me tired!
Most MDs that I know do not have primary child care responsibilities, but many nurses are mothers whose children still need to be cared for in the off-hours. Yet another barrier to proper exercise...
I think that nurses struggle with many of the same issues as the rest of American when it comes to proper diet and exercise. Long shifts with no breaks exacerbate the problem.
This probably doesn't answer your question, but I feel if she was referring to mostly male docs, do they give birth, have hormonal probs (birth control pills add weight don't they?), have thyroid issues (as much as women?), cushings etc? Not trying to be antagonistic but geez, your instructor is very cut and dried-sounds very opinionated about certain groups. If she is this outspoken about nurses as a rule, what other groups does she collectively target? For her to stereotype nurses, and specifically suggest that docs AREN"T unhealthy bothers me. It is one thing to say Nurses are unhealthy. But to add, Drs arent rubs me wrong. To label us hypocrites, and not label docs hypocrites ('oh sure hand out health advice but we don't follow it ourselves') goes against everything I feel a nurse is-esp an instructor. ASSESS-assume nothing, everyone is different, no one will present with the same S/S ever--that is how we 'roll'--grouping pp together just gives me bad vibes Also, as I said in another discussion, If you look up the word hypocrite in a dictionary, you don't blame the book for being old worn or raggedy, it is the information in the book you are after, not the book. Dont judge us by our covers. We are RESOURCES, not mirrors. I know you just asked a simple question and I haven't answered it-and am not upset or being difficult--I just feel her example doesnt promote nursing process or an open mind. Maybe it is too late and I am not thinking clearly. =Not surprisingly- I will shut up now. Maybe tomorrow I will have a real answer for you, good luck
I do know it is hard to find, say gyms open at odd hours, before and after shifts. Two co-workers I know walk in a park after work, or around the outside of the hospital, and have lost a LOT of weight. I also have a theory, I would have walked with them too, but the hay fever was so bad for me this year, I turned them down for 6 weeks. My theory is this-many nurses become nurses because they have had health problems growing up and are inspired. Maybe many have asthma or allergies, things like that that are with them for life and at times act up to knock them down from whatever exercise program they are in. If this happens it is easy to lose whatever momentum they may have gained and have to start from square one, when their issue resolves?
I do know it is hard to find, say gyms open at odd hours, before and after shifts. Two co-workers I know walk in a park after work, or around the outside of the hospital, and have lost a LOT of weight. I also have a theory, I would have walked with them too, but the hay fever was so bad for me this year, I turned them down for 6 weeks. My theory is this-many nurses become nurses because they have had health problems growing up and are inspired. Maybe many have asthma or allergies, things like that that are with them for life and at times act up to knock them down from whatever exercise program they are in. If this happens it is easy to lose whatever momentum they may have gained and have to start from square one, when their issue resolves?
I still don't think this is a "nurse" thing.
Most nurses I know do not smoke. Most get some kind of exercise. More than a few are avid skiers/snowboarders since we live so close to ski areas.
I never had health problems while growing up.
I refute the assertion that there are "so many unhealthy nurses".
Most nurses I know do not smoke. Most get some kind of exercise. More than a few are avid skiers/snowboarders since we live so close to ski areas.
I never had health problems while growing up.
I refute the assertion that there are "so many unhealthy nurses".
steph
Me either, I just wanted to soften the post I wrote above the last one...I do think we have a lot of unhealthy food at our nurses station --in case we CANT get dinner that we rely on to snack...but yes it is wrong of the instructor to tell future nurses that. I had one instructor once comment to another instructor, "yea I am working on my nurses behind." Ugh...so that generalization has been out there for years, and she is propagating and sending that message on to new nurses, to pick up....again I am too tired, must have been that cupcake I just ate:madface:
I think one just has to look at the nurses where they work. I work in a very large facility,and I would say that more then 25% of the nurses have a major weight issue,and thats only what u can see.
This is a case by case, individual issue. I'd need to see some hard evidence that overall nurses are less health than the general population, or that doctors are healthier than nurses.
I worked with one doc who worked for 10-12 hours straight, 5 days a week, without eating except for maybe an occasional candybar or something -- and he is diabetic!
I currently work with a doc who has had gastric bypass and every time I turn around she's eating a ho-ho or twinky or something.
In contrast, I'm pretty healthy and make a concerted effort to be. My two nurse colleagues are also in great shape. One is in her 50s and although she never eats at work she's well within her normal BMI. The other nurse works out every day before work and is in great shape, drinks a huge amount of water every day.
It's silly to say overall nurses are unhealthy. Americans overall are unhealthy.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I think one just has to look at the nurses where they work. I work in a very large facility,and I would say that more then 25% of the nurses have a major weight issue,and thats only what u can see.
If 25 percent of the nurses at your workplace seem to have a major weight problem, then this is still far better than the national average. After all, 2/3 of all Americans are either overweight or obese.
If only 1/4 (25 percent) of the nurses at your facility are overweight, then that would seem rather good when compared to the rest of the nation.
Weeping Willow
136 Posts
Your teacher should not generalize. There are plenty of doctors who smoke, drink, and are fat. There are plenty of nurses who do go to the gym, eat healthily, and refrain from smoking, alcohol, drugs, and other risky behavior.
Of course, there are plenty in both groups who do overeat, drink to excess, and so on. Again, my point - don't generalize.
That said, there are a lot of obese nurses, for the reasons that others have already stated - full time work, extra work, going to school, children to care for and homes to make, elderly parents to care for, and endlessly on and on, not to mention our tax system that robs us of so much of what we earn. No lunch breaks or even bathroom breaks, irregular schedulesand shift work, and just plain poverty or middle class semi-poverty don't help. Plus, yes, we do, as a group, tend to be in lots of unhealthy relationships, which is draining and dangerous.
The doctors I have seen smoking include those who really should know better - ENT and cardiovascular surgeons, of all people.
Don't forget - when the doctors are on call, they can manage to slip away and shower, sleep (however briefly), eat, and otherwise relax for at least a few minutes or even get to the walking track, gym or swimming pool that are often conveniently located right at the hospital or attached medical school for them - but nurses are either excluded from these facilities or must use them on their time off. That, of course, means that we have to take time away from our chores, families, or school. When nurses are on duty, we are on - no call rooms, no real break times.