Why are nurses obese?

Exactly. There's a certain poster in here who 'doesn't want a fat nurse'. That's cool because when he drops on the floor and has a cardiac arrest at the gym I will decide I don't like skinny patients and I will walk away ...

only an evil person would walk away from someone in need. i hope you consider a career change. the world doesnt need health care givers who withhold care based on their patients beliefs.

Pretty sure she is pointing out that she can't do that, hence the use of ellipsis.

Because they eat only vending machine food. Pure processed!

Haven't vended in years...

Exactly. There's a certain poster in here who 'doesn't want a fat nurse'. That's cool because when he drops on the floor and has a cardiac arrest at the gym I will decide I don't like skinny patients and I will walk away ...

only an evil person would walk away from someone in need. i hope you consider a career change. the world doesnt need health care givers who withhold care based on their patients beliefs.

It was, I thought, quite obviously a sarcastic post. Only a narrow minded poster would refuse to have someone help them based purely on their looks, which is what I was directing to that poster.

More excuses. I never said they couldn't give their honest opinion, but they should live by what they teach. If you're going to spend money on school, and energy on your job, you should live by them. I get that people don't have the time to cook a healthy dinner, but that doesn't mean you should pig out on big macs and giant fries, everyday. You can get a grilled chicken salad from the same place, without dressing.

I also don't get how they work long tired hours, yet claim they don't have much time to eat, yet are still able to pack down more than 2000 calories a day. Why don't they pack away fruit if they need a quick snack? Why do they need a snickers bar? It doesn't add up.

What excuses? That knowledge doesn't translate to living it?

We're all supposed to maintain a healthy weight. That's something we "should" all do. Nurses aren't at an increased moral obligation. I'm not willing to pay my nurses a salary to cover 24/7, so their lifestyles really shouldn't be our concern. I don't need my nurse to look perfect. I need her to be good at inserting an IV, have a nice bedside manner, and to be alert to what is going on with my body while she's taking care of me. As long as his/her weight doesn't get in the way of that, it's not my business, any more than any other professional's.

Maybe YOU don't need your nurse to, but I will never get advise from an overweight/obese doctor/nurse, if they can't even practice self control.

Also someone doesn't have to be ''active'' in order to be skinny/healthy weight. It's called calories.

Your argument fails on many levels; firstly, you are taking an entire field of many disciplines (cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, pulmonary, etc) and you are appraising the workers through a very narrow scope.

It seems like a frivolous argument to make given the intellectual rigors of working in the aforementioned field and sub-fields.

Have no clue what half those words mean :frown:

basically there are so many different kinds of nurses you cant lump them all into one big fat pile and to make the argument is kind of silly

Most nurses sit on their *kitten* most of the day anyways.

:huh:

Yeah, it's the hours. I wake up and scarf breakfast to get to work in time, then stand at a medication cart most of the day. I rush my lunch and I'm right back at it. Once I'm home, I'm too tired to do anything and I eat horribly in the evenings, because I haven't eaten much all day. Nurses spend a lot of time standing in one place and sitting down charting. It's the aids that do most of the physical work with patients or residents. I'm not working now, because I just had my son, but I'm not looking forward to returning to work and attempting to lose the rest of this baby weight. Although fyi I was never obese as a nurse. I was near my weightloss goal and stopped making progress, but didn't actually gain any significant amount of weight until I got pregnant.

I think that's a pretty general statement to make with no real basis... :huh:

So just because the nurses you see are fat all nurses everywhere must be fat as well? :laugh: Actually I think it's pretty funny to make such a blanket statement.

This^

Most nurses sit on their *kitten* most of the day anyways.

:huh:

Ditto. If you think most nurses sit on our *kitten* all day, you obviously don't know what you're talking about. :noway:

Because fat has nothing to do with ability or intelligence. That's why.

You can guess about the other reasons.

at some point fat can definitely affect ability. ever do CPR? if you are fat/out of shape it may prevent you from doing your job properly. and there are plenty of other instances where it can matter.

More excuses. I never said they couldn't give their honest opinion, but they should live by what they teach. If you're going to spend money on school, and energy on your job, you should live by them. I get that people don't have the time to cook a healthy dinner, but that doesn't mean you should pig out on big macs and giant fries, everyday. You can get a grilled chicken salad from the same place, without dressing.

I also don't get how they work long tired hours, yet claim they don't have much time to eat, yet are still able to pack down more than 2000 calories a day. Why don't they pack away fruit if they need a quick snack? Why do they need a snickers bar? It doesn't add up.

What excuses? That knowledge doesn't translate to living it?

We're all supposed to maintain a healthy weight. That's something we "should" all do. Nurses aren't at an increased moral obligation. I'm not willing to pay my nurses a salary to cover 24/7, so their lifestyles really shouldn't be our concern. I don't need my nurse to look perfect. I need her to be good at inserting an IV, have a nice bedside manner, and to be alert to what is going on with my body while she's taking care of me. As long as his/her weight doesn't get in the way of that, it's not my business, any more than any other professional's.

Maybe YOU don't need your nurse to, but I will never get advise from an overweight/obese doctor/nurse, if they can't even practice self control.

Also someone doesn't have to be ''active'' in order to be skinny/healthy weight. It's called calories.

Your argument fails on many levels; firstly, you are taking an entire field of many disciplines (cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, pulmonary, etc) and you are appraising the workers through a very narrow scope.

It seems like a frivolous argument to make given the intellectual rigors of working in the aforementioned field and sub-fields.

Have no clue what half those words mean :frown:

Riiiiight, are you not particularly well educated then? Luckily the nurses who may look after you in the future, fat or thin, are. They understand your anatomy and physiology, disease process and pharmacology (sorry big words are you keeping up?). They are also, after years of caring for all types of people and personalities, non-judgemental. You should try that yourself sometime.

More excuses. I never said they couldn't give their honest opinion, but they should live by what they teach. If you're going to spend money on school, and energy on your job, you should live by them. I get that people don't have the time to cook a healthy dinner, but that doesn't mean you should pig out on big macs and giant fries, everyday. You can get a grilled chicken salad from the same place, without dressing.

I also don't get how they work long tired hours, yet claim they don't have much time to eat, yet are still able to pack down more than 2000 calories a day. Why don't they pack away fruit if they need a quick snack? Why do they need a snickers bar? It doesn't add up.

What excuses? That knowledge doesn't translate to living it?

We're all supposed to maintain a healthy weight. That's something we "should" all do. Nurses aren't at an increased moral obligation. I'm not willing to pay my nurses a salary to cover 24/7, so their lifestyles really shouldn't be our concern. I don't need my nurse to look perfect. I need her to be good at inserting an IV, have a nice bedside manner, and to be alert to what is going on with my body while she's taking care of me. As long as his/her weight doesn't get in the way of that, it's not my business, any more than any other professional's.

Maybe YOU don't need your nurse to, but I will never get advise from an overweight/obese doctor/nurse, if they can't even practice self control.

Also someone doesn't have to be ''active'' in order to be skinny/healthy weight. It's called calories.

Your argument fails on many levels; firstly, you are taking an entire field of many disciplines (cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, pulmonary, etc) and you are appraising the workers through a very narrow scope.

It seems like a frivolous argument to make given the intellectual rigors of working in the aforementioned field and sub-fields.

Have no clue what half those words mean :frown:

Riiiiight, are you not particularly well educated then? Luckily the nurses who may look after you in the future, fat or thin, are. They understand your anatomy and physiology, disease process and pharmacology (sorry big words are you keeping up?). They are also, after years of caring for all types of people and personalities, non-judgemental. You should try that yourself sometime.

Ew. Sorry but still not interested. On ignore you go. bye bye

Exactly. There's a certain poster in here who 'doesn't want a fat nurse'. That's cool because when he drops on the floor and has a cardiac arrest at the gym I will decide I don't like skinny patients and I will walk away ...

only an evil person would walk away from someone in need. i hope you consider a career change. the world doesnt need health care givers who withhold care based on their patients beliefs.

It was, I thought, quite obviously a sarcastic post. Only a narrow minded poster would refuse to have someone help them based purely on their looks, which is what I was directing to that poster.

LOL! I thought the same thing. I didn't believe it to be literal for a second :laugh:
this thread is as crazy as it gets and I'm starting to feel the same about it as I did the above comment :blushing:

Because fat has nothing to do with ability or intelligence. That's why.

You can guess about the other reasons.

at some point fat can definitely affect ability. ever do CPR? if you are fat/out of shape it may prevent you from doing your job properly. and there are plenty of other instances where it can matter.

Actually no. I teach CPR and have never yet failed someone who was too fat to perform. Done properly CPR relies on body weight not strength or stamina. It's actually slight people who struggle more.

^ You'd think this would be common sense for people here, but I guess not.

I have 4 RNs in my family; sister 30 years, sister in law 15 years, 2 nephews 6 & 3 years. The potential for job demand, and pay had nothing to do with their career choices. LOL! Yes, they work long hours on the days they work, but it averages out to about 80 hours, just like the rest of us. I don't condone discriminating against anyone for any reason, but using your career choice as you excuse is just an excuse like any other. If you were really happy about your weight and build, you would not be here.

Weight discrimination happens to people in every profession. The overweight person behind the deli counter in your supermarket. The over weight person that works in a convience store. If I go to the grocery store, and I don't want an over weight person to ring me up, is it any less sever?

I am sure if the pay had nothing to do with career choice, I am sure Doctors Without Boarders is always looking for nurses.

I don't condone discriminating against anyone for any reason, but using your career choice as you excuse is just an excuse like any other. If you were really happy about your weight and build, you would not be here.

Weight discrimination happens to people in every profession. The overweight person behind the deli counter in your supermarket. The over weight person that works in a convience store. If I go to the grocery store, and I don't want an over weight person to ring me up, is it any less sever?

I am sure if the pay had nothing to do with career choice, I am sure Doctors Without Boarders is always looking for nurses.

I completely agree with you, but from personal experience my job has had an effect on me eating habits and since qualifying I have put on 4 stone in 4 years. At worst I was doing 18 hour days because my job was 80 miles away and I didn't drive. On my days off I needed to sleep. I didn't make the best food choices because I didn't have to time to mentally and physically put the effort in. My choice.

What the real issue is here, is certain posters being absolutely vile and narrow minded and insinuating that overweight nurses shouldn't work in the profession and that we are useless at our job, assuming we sit down all day and are good for nothing. After being sexually harassed, physically assaulted and suffering from verbal abuse from a patient (yes, all of that is true) all the while trying to save their life and sometimes upto 13 other patients, or after helping a new mother dress her dying baby for the final time, do I actually need to come onto what I thought was a supportive forum and be thrown stones at for my weight.