Unhealthy people working in the healthcare field

TamraMarie

I recently had a minor operation. My surgeon was a short, overweight man who smelled of cigarrette smoke. He was also an amazing surgeon. He took his time and made my incisions as tiny as possible. Recovery couldn't have gone better. A person's weight doesn't determine their abilities.

jenj1313

Yeah, even in the healthcare field, you can think "it's no going to happen to me". Or, maybe they just don't make the same connection to their patients as you do... maybe they don't see these things as something that could have been avoided.

I work in healthcare and I'm pretty fit, but sometimes stress at work does encourage me to make poor diet choices (cake, cookies, chocolate, oh my!). Taking care of other people is mentally and physically tiring. After a long day at work, sometimes it's just easier to reach for a pint of ice cream than it is to go out and exercise.

That said, I don't condone those behaviors.
As a physical therapist, I'll admit that part of my motivation to work out and keep my weight in check is maintaining a positive role model for my patients. It's not my only motivation, by any means, but it does play a role.

I don't think I'd trust a really overweight therapist all that well.

Josette89

maybe when doctors and nurses could take regular lunch breaks they could eat a well balanced meal while on the job. I for one, work in the ER and pack my breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. I also, am lucky if I actually get to sit down and eat such said meals. They are usually spent on the run while hoofing it to pee for the first time in 10 hours. Some of my best co-workers are a little plump but damn could they save your life if ya needed it. Just sayin...

When I was in the medical field I would frequently hold in my urine because I had no time to go to the rest room and I never ate because of the same reason, therefore, I would actually find time to eat and pee at the same time, eating my vending machine snack while sitting on the toilet.... yes, that is disgusting, but that is just what the medical field does to you. Desperate for time.

NoChub4Me

"I don't mean to be judgmental"


Yet you are.

Maystar80

i question fat nurses all the time. I just don't trust em.

Do you question your hair stylist with that JACKED Do? What about doctors with drinking problems? What about supposedly smart people who DO or Say DUMB things? What does being fat has to do with getting me meds or giving me a shot or wiping my *kitten*??? NOW, if I saw an overweight or obese Nutritionist or Trainer I'd have a problem, but maybe I would NOT because I would NOT select them for those services. Use some common sense!

first of all, doctors w/drinking problems is a reaaally bad example. that is a serious issue that can be extremely dangerous to patients.

but on to my point, thank you for posting this! I too wonder about it. what annoys me most is when overweight doctors/nurses pass judgment on MY weight when I'm working my *kitten* off trying to be the best athlete I can be and they tell me something superficial like go on walks or eat more fruits. check and check already. it always seems like they dont really know what they're talking about when it comes to weight/nutrition. I avoided going to the doctor for a long time because of things like that.

sullykat

If you have taken dietetics in school and are becoming an RD, isn't this something that you would have studied in psychology class? Dietitians do not simply help with actual food intake, they help to understand lifestyle and how food is affected by it. Maybe that is what you are trying to do without making anyone specific feel uncomfortable.

To me, it is just easier to grab what you have.

quietlywinning

Honestly, our healthcare system is all about meds, surgery and money. Doctors and nurses have studied what they can do to interfere with nature. It's easy for that to translate into a belief that whatever goes wrong can be fixed by meds and surgery - and that ONLY meds and surgery can provide health.

The healthiest elderly people I have ever known are those who avoid doctors. We do sometimes NEED to go to the doctor - and they all have when it was absolutely necessary. They avoided the "preventive care" that adds to the risk of cancer, avoided meds, and avoided surgery unless it was truly lifesaving surgery such as an appendectomy. They believed that they can best be healthy by growing most of their own food to eat, which provided them with not only superior nutrition, but also exercise and sunshine They bought their meat locally. They didn't smoke or put any other foreign substances (meds) in their bodies - they consumed food. That is not something you are going to hear many medical doctors recommending. Even if they recommend a balanced diet (few have studied nutrition, by the way) they also recommend tons of tests that expose us to radiation, and the minute anything is not within their prescribed ranges, they prescribe drugs with side-effects that cause the "need" for other drugs.

Eating correctly and getting enough exercise is good health care, but it's not the American version of health care. We think to have "health care" we must first have expensive insurance and then expensive interventions.

peachyxoxoxo

If you have taken dietetics in school and are becoming an RD, isn't this something that you would have studied in psychology class? Dietitians do not simply help with actual food intake, they help to understand lifestyle and how food is affected by it. Maybe that is what you are trying to do without making anyone specific feel uncomfortable.

To me, it is just easier to grab what you have.

Yeah I've taken psychology as well as several counseling classes. I am aware that people have personal issues that may affect their weight, but it just frustrates and saddens me to see that overweight LPN making bad food choices on a consistent basis, or seeing the doctor outside smoking. There's just a conflict in ideologies.

Poorgirls_Diet

i question fat nurses all the time. I just don't trust em.

I used to be one of these 'fat' nurses that you are talking about. Not sure why you couldn't trust us as at the end of the day nurses look after your care but its the doctors that treat you. However having battled a weight problem for must of my life and now on my own weightloss journey I find it quite hypocritical that just because we are fat people think that we can't do the best job that we can? I always did my job to 100% satisfaction for both myself and the patients I cared for. Never got any complaints!! The only reason I left my job was because I hurt my back in a car accident and could no longer stand for long shifts.

jenj1313

maybe when doctors and nurses could take regular lunch breaks they could eat a well balanced meal while on the job. I for one, work in the ER and pack my breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. I also, am lucky if I actually get to sit down and eat such said meals. They are usually spent on the run while hoofing it to pee for the first time in 10 hours. Some of my best co-workers are a little plump but damn could they save your life if ya needed it. Just sayin...

Very good point. My patients think nothing of interrupting my lunch, keeping me late, and when I come in early for them, they just keep expecting more and more. I am constantly battling with myself to maintain a personal boundary and to force myself to put my foot down and take some time for myself in the day (like taking 10 min for myself to eat, or not holding it for an hour when I have to pee... you know, real selfish stuff). And I'm "just" a physical therapist... I say that in jest because physical therapy is never an emergency and we almost never have to work nights. Doctors and nurses do. That can't help their overall health. Then again, I have to say that I would trust an overweight doc or nurse more than I would a therapist.

Nixenne

I'm a mother and an EMT. I'm not working currently, so I finally have some time to focus on ME and my own health...but for the four years that I was working 12 or even 24 hour shifts, I can tell you that eating healthy just wasn't a priority. MY JOB and MY PATIENTS took priority. Meals were usually cheap and unhealthy and eaten on the go. When we had down time, coffee and cigarettes were comforting...a way of bonding, even. Could I have made meals at home and taken them along? Of course, but again, not a priority. When I was home, my focus turned to my daughter, things that needed done around the house, and getting much-needed rest.

It wasn't a healthy cycle by any means, but that's just how it was. Some of the best paramedics I've known were overweight, smoked like trains and drank on their time off--but I'd trust them with my life any time, any place. They all had their own struggles and stresses...and it wasn't my place (or anyone else's) to judge the choices they made for themselves.

Masterdo

I also think it's strange. For nurses it's fine, but doctors and dietitians, no.

I mean, it's fine, we live in a society where being fat is strangely taboo, for something that is publicly visible to all... And that's cool for mostly every random stranger, I don't care about their lifestyles "too" much (Here in Quebec 50% of ALL taxes are spent towards healthcare, and 60% of that goes to treatment of stuff 100% avoidable, from fat and cigarettes, so ultimately, I do care, but let's ignore that).

The point is that we hold certain people above the usual standard. Politicians, athletes, cops... and yes, doctors and other healthcare practitioners. Credibility is important, and a fat dietitian has no credibility whatsoever... people WILL sugar coat it and pretend it's not the case because that's how society works, but the fact remains that you are not a model for your patients and that you are giving them serious grounds to doubt whatever you are saying (and remember that we live in an age of information overload. For every nutrition advise from a credible source, there is the opposite advise from another credible source...).

So yeah, maybe you can do your job to the extend of delivering information you learned, like a website could, but you cannot offer the inspiration and credibility that people would actually be looking for when they choose to consult a professional rather than consult one of the 100000 books or websites available freely at the moment.

The good news is that those people know everything they need to get themselves out of that position, so all is not lost!

LightningFan

Sorry but all I hear are excuses for being overweight. I'd bet a pretty penny that most overweight medical staff had weight issues before they started working in the medical field and continue down the same path. There are ZERO excuses for eating junk. Plan your meals ahead, time is not an excuse FIND TIME! Period, end of story! Point has already been made, would you pay a personal trainer who is fat? NO! So why take healthy advise from an overweight nurse or doctor? Problem with the current society is people don't want to hear the truth. If you're obese then you're obese, it's not like people don't notice. No one is saying you being fat prevents you from relaying information read from a book about how to be healthy. The problem is you giving advise that you don't adhere to, plain and simple.

To the ones complaining about people being judgmental. You yourself are/have been judgmental to others in some way shape or form before so get off your high horse! You only have a problem with profiling now because it involves YOU!

I tell people this all the time, if you think you are incapable of doing your job and taking good care of yourself then find another profession. If your work place violates your employment rights then report them. Until then you are doing nothing but making an excuse.

delilah47

Beware of any post that starts with... I don't mean to be judgmental or I don't mean to offend anyone, because that's exactly what they do.

My ex husband, who recently passed away, was in the hospital many times before he passed. I got to know a lot of the staff at the local hospital and included were 2 rather chunky nurses. They were both very smart and had a wonderful bedside manner with my terminal ex husband (who I cared for 24/7 for over 7 years, so I was always there). So, how does being fat make what they do any less effective? Some people's judgmental attitudes just burn my *kitten*.

Can you quote me somewhere earlier where I said being fat makes you less effective at your job? Because I don't think I recall saying that.

Well, darn. I wrote a long response and when I tried to post, my connection was reset. Anyway, in this post, I was responding to many here who said they wouldn't trust a healthcare pro who doesn't take care of themselves. I also said you should be a little more tolerant of people being "human" and that as you get older, it comes naturally, with experience. You do sound judgmental when you say you wonder why people eat what they eat, etc. I'm not scolding you. There are just certain subjects here that get people all het up about any subject. The intention of the written word is often misconstrued. I didn't cover everything here in my re-write, but got some of it down. And, think about my first line up there when you are composing. If there's any way something can be taken as offensive.. it will be. Such is life.

sullykat

If you have taken dietetics in school and are becoming an RD, isn't this something that you would have studied in psychology class? Dietitians do not simply help with actual food intake, they help to understand lifestyle and how food is affected by it. Maybe that is what you are trying to do without making anyone specific feel uncomfortable.

To me, it is just easier to grab what you have.

Yeah I've taken psychology as well as several counseling classes. I am aware that people have personal issues that may affect their weight, but it just frustrates and saddens me to see that overweight LPN making bad food choices on a consistent basis, or seeing the doctor outside smoking. There's just a conflict in ideologies.

Oh, I agree, it can be a bit of a puzzle, but at the same time like others have said... and I know you said it too... they are probably aware that they have food issues, and are either doing something about it, or want to start but don't know how... or maybe just don't care. It's hard to just let that stuff go, especially when you dedicate your life to advising people on it.

delilah47

Sorry but all I hear are excuses for being overweight. I'd bet a pretty penny that most overweight medical staff had weight issues before they started working in the medical field and continue down the same path. There are ZERO excuses for eating junk. Plan your meals ahead, time is not an excuse FIND TIME! Period, end of story! Point has already been made, would you pay a personal trainer who is fat? NO! So why take healthy advise from an overweight nurse or doctor? Problem with the current society is people don't want to hear the truth. If you're obese then you're obese, it's not like people don't notice. No one is saying you being fat prevents you from relaying information read from a book about how to be healthy. The problem is you giving advise that you don't adhere to, plain and simple.

To the ones complaining about people being judgmental. You yourself are/have been judgmental to others in some way shape or form before so get off your high horse! You only have a problem with profiling now because it involves YOU!

I tell people this all the time, if you think you are incapable of doing your job and taking good care of yourself then find another profession. If your work place violates your employment rights then report them. Until then you are doing nothing but making an excuse.

My apologies for not being perfect. I've been trying for almost 65 years and I just can't get it right. :sad: :sad:

AJ_MotherRunner

I have an idea...Why don't you encourage these people rather than questions them on a forum where they can't defend themselves. I am actually a very healthy and fit nurse and specialize in Pediatrics (Pediatric Weight management is where it is at for me) so I get where you are coming from. However, maybe if you say at your next meeting - "Hey everyone I brought fresh fruit and veggies for the meeting today", people will a) respect you that you take your future profession seriously and b) respect you as a person who was thoughtful enough to share. You could then add "Ya I am using a website called my fitness pal and I try to increase my fruits daily, so I wanted to share with you." How better to set the example and plug your cause.

It is ALWAYS better to support than judge. Please remember that as you enter the healthcare field. Trust me it is a hard job at times, but there is always a way to support someone. Good luck with the remainder of your internship...

crisanderson27

What's wrong with bacon, cheese, and creamy dressing?

Seriously.

peachyxoxoxo

I have an idea...Why don't you encourage these people rather than questions them on a forum where they can't defend themselves. I am actually a very healthy and fit nurse and specialize in Pediatrics (Pediatric Weight management is where it is at for me) so I get where you are coming from. However, maybe if you say at your next meeting - "Hey everyone I brought fresh fruit and veggies for the meeting today", people will a) respect you that you take your future profession seriously and b) respect you as a person who was thoughtful enough to share. You could then add "Ya I am using a website called my fitness pal and I try to increase my fruits daily, so I wanted to share with you." How better to set the example and plug your cause.

It is ALWAYS better to support than judge. Please remember that as you enter the healthcare field. Trust me it is a hard job at times, but there is always a way to support someone. Good luck with the remainder of your internship...

Those are some great thoughts and a great idea, thank you.

Jules2Be

What's wrong with bacon, cheese, and creamy dressing?

Seriously.

yum