Overweight and Working in Healthcare

I don't judge a nurse on her weight, I judge them on their performance. You're just as lightly to meet a hopeless skinny nurse as you are a heavy one.

I agree. As a patient, I see it this way. I've been fortunate to have excellent medical care for a rare genetic cardiomyopathy. I imagine that has "distracted" me from judging the size of the health care providers.

Weight wouldn't be an issue for me if the health-care provider were, say, a gynecologist or a thoracic surgeon or the phlebotomist at the blood bank. If it's someone I'm consulting to stay fit, healthy and off prescriptions, I want someone I know will support those objectives. DH once changed primary care physicians because the original one felt that meds were the only solution to high cholesterol and displayed no interest whatsoever in DH's diet and exercise. I have no idea if the doc was overweight but clearly he and DH weren't working in the same direction. If I encountered an overweight primary care physician, cardiologist, nutritionist, etc. I'd wonder if we'd be on the same page when it came to preventing/moderating health problems through lifestyle changes instead of prescriptions. I realize some conditions require prescriptions- DH is on some that are vital- but in many cases they can be avoided.

unfortunately our society in America equates skinny ( of any size) with health. Try to convince some one otherwise. I have even had the conversation with my doc about metabolically healthy but weight wise overweight he thought i was nuts, but all my numbers were fantastic, I had good cardio, quit smoking,etc. The only thing he could ***** about was weight. But in his mind I was unhealthy... I asked him if some one came in with my numbers and under 150 pounds, my height if they were healthy, he said yes. IF some one had high A1C, triglycerides and BP, but was ok in weight if they were healthy, his response was "yes, they just need to work on some things. I think I need a new doc who is more current. and yes, I need to lose more weight...

As for people who do not work in healthcare, do you frown upon overweight healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, therapist, etc.)?

Yes, especially when the healthcare provider is significantly bigger than me and lecturing me about losing weight. (yes this happened).

A health care professional can do what I need without being fit. I'm not going to stop exercising and start overeating if my doctor is overweight. I've had a few doctors and nurses give me less than adequate care because they assumed that I didn't have certain conditions based on my fitness level. I would like that to stop.

I am a medical student studying for the boards and if anything the unrealistic expectation that is held of us if the reason why I had to put my health aside during finals and such, its not that we don't know any better but its hard to hit the gym after 16 hours of studying and running on 3 hours of sleep.

Here I am some 6 years later, T2 Diabetic. Diagnosis was an incidental finding when I went to see a doctor for abdominal pain. Mine is a cautionary tale. I did numerous BG curves on cats, regulated hundreds of dogs, and treated a multitude of pets with T1 Diabetes. If this health care professional had only explained to me that she wanted to rule out/in Insulin Resistance, I wouldn't be where I am today.

So because you either haven't had a physical exam & bloodwork since 2007 and/or you didn't pay attention or even read what was in the book she DID recommend to you, it's somehow that doctor's "fault" you are a Type II Diabetic? Point fingers much?

I was a vet tech too....prior to moving into human healthcare. If you knew what your vets were testing for in the animals, I'm quite confident you could make the short jump to your human condition as well. How about taking a little responsibility? Sure, you may have had some genetic predisposition, but you knew the deal AND it sounds like you didn't go back for follow-up....so you must not have been all that concerned.

Clearly, from a number of these posts, it's very evident that most people go to their doctor to "get whatever prescription I want". You're not there to listen to what we have to say, and frankly, we have very little time to say anything anyway thanks to your insurance companies that demand we see "X" number of patients a day just to keep the lights on. (soapbox material there...so I'll move on).

As for overweight / obese employees...guess what? We can't discriminate based on weight any more than any other employer can!!! I can't believe any of you would even think differently of your provider due to something like that! We would love EVERYONE - especially people we work closely with, or love - to not have ANY bad habits such as smoking, over/underweight, drugs, anger issues, psyche issues, etc....but we have the same faults as everyone else and hire people with faults as well. Do we make helpful / hopeful suggestions to people we think need it? ABSOLUTELY!!! Do they listen or appreciate it? Not always...people have to want to change. No one can "make" them....especially not their employer.

While I totally agree that I would expect my "weight loss" physician to be a healthy weight, you also need to understand that most of us (nurses / PAs / CNM / NPs etc) are working hours that MOST people have no concept of (I personally work 80-100 hrs/ wk...and have for the past 12 years. I average 5.5 hrs of sleep....not by choice, but because that's what my job demands). Yet here I am TRYING to make what changes I can to get my weight back down AND not put myself in an early grave from stress, chronic fatigue, and diabetes. Cut your healthcare providers some slack. We bust our butts to try to take care of YOU....even if all you really want is prescriptions.

**deep cleansing breath**

I don't get how busy, overworked or any of the other excuses equates to overeating. You don't need to have time to go to a gym to not be overweight. You don't need hours to prepare special meals to not be overweight. If you're putting in the level of activity most are describing then you should actually be able to eat a fair amount without gaining weight so there has to a disconnect of how much you are actually eating or doing and reality if weight is an issue.

I agree with spinderella95. Its not over eating but what they are eating. Drs and nurses don't get much time if any to eat let alone eat properly. Is that a good excuse ? Nope. But things fall by the wayside when you don't have time. How do I know this? Well epilepsy, fused kidneys, and an adrenal disorder means I interacted with drs and nurses a lot in my 22 years of life. I know they have next to no time for themselves.

Spinderella95, is it reasonable to say theyed make better choices if said choices were on hand for them 24/7?

To the original poster-- you don't look overweight at all!

Spinderella95, is it reasonable to say theyed make better choices if said choices were on hand for them 24/7?

For those of us who care, probably. For the rest....depression, eating disorders, and lack of motivation due to chronic fatigue, etc who knows? We aren't superhuman, even though our jobs / demand / public / lawyers try to make it so. There is a reason healthcare workers (and doctors in particular) have such a high divorce / suicide / substance-abuse rate...