I Usually Don't Notice Things Like This But....

[babiesX2]

After spending the last 11 months caring for my grandmother in a skilled car facility, my mother says the staff all smoke because they know they don't want to live to be like all their patients!

Sadly, I've heard that one before.

 

[Meezers]

Oh dear....and I have just found a REALLY good part time BSN nursing program that I want to start in January 2008. And I am 44 years old! I would have done this 16 years ago but was stupid enough to get married (another long story!).

Please tell me I am going to be okay....

PS....I already work shift work....9-1-1 operator....just got subpoened for a murder case...a call I took 2 years ago that I don't even remember....and the worst part....I never knew the woman died....

 

[babiesX2]

Oh dear....and I have just found a REALLY good part time BSN nursing program that I want to start in January 2008. And I am 44 years old! I would have done this 16 years ago but was stupid enough to get married (another long story!).

Please tell me I am going to be okay....

PS....I already work shift work....9-1-1 operator....just got subpoened for a murder case...a call I took 2 years ago that I don't even remember....and the worst part....I never knew the woman died....

yes, go to nursing school. You'll be fine.

 

[Annie68]

Please tell me I am going to be okay....

You'll be fine! I love being a RN, can't think of a more rewarding field.

 

[Annie68]

Ewes not fat. Ewes just fluffy!

Cute picture!

 

[debm]

Interesting. I think we are all human though, no matter what our jobs are. As I read this thread it brought to mind being in the hospital when I had my first almost 13 years ago. The nurse was trying to give me breastfeeding information and advice. It just didn't sound right to me. I finally asked her about her experiences breastfeeding---yup! She never had breastfed. So I felt her advice was biased as a working mom who never attempted to breastfeed. I don't knock her choices---just the fact that she was trying to sway mine and was giving advice, not pure information. I have to always remind myself that those in health care professions are human just like me and we all make mistakes and different choices. Like the pediatrician offering me child rearing advice on my 4th child and he is barely old enough to be married, with obviously no children himself. I just find it amusing.

 

[Disney Doll]

Virgo10, How long has it been since you worked in nursing? Did you work in a hospital? To answer the queries as to why are those in the healthcare field are overweight and smoke? How about you are on your feet all day. Exhausted in not a state, it's your personality. You do not get regular lunch or break times. You grab and go, the quicker the better. You take crap all day from doctors, administration, family members who are demanding and/or complaining and patients, external services such as lab, radiology, nuclear medicine...all depts that function with people, who may or may not be swamped just like you and have attitudes. You smoke betcause it is a quick moment to yourself, an indulgent moment to relax you. You crave a salad for lunch, but you don't have the time for that craving, so you grab a piece of energy on the go (otherwise known as a candy bar). When you get home from work, you have a family who needs you and the idea of time to "work on your body image" just doesn't exist. When you finally get to drop, you do just that. You will wish you could be a normal person, eat right and exercise to take off that weight, but life is not normal because you decided on a career that isn't normal. Nursing is one of the hardest professions because quite honestly, no one that you work for or with, gives a flying fig how you feel, or if you are even good at what you do. You are a body, all they care about is that someone is filling your spot on the assignment sheet. You will not be promoted. You are working this job to support your family, and for those few moments of pure enjoyment with a patient when you realize you made a difference in someone's life. You will be talked down to by your peers and supervisors, and when a doctor needs a scapegoat, you will be it. The stress level of this job is enough that over time, you will not only have a weight problem, but you will have other health issues. Marriages fail, and affairs are common in this atmosphere. If you are fortunate, you will find alternative employment in a more relaxed atmosphere, but in the mean time, you will be scrutinized by others because you are not a perfect reflection of what a health care professional should look like Just my .02

This is one of the best descriptions of nursing I have ever read. I could only add that you'll have to defend yourself on an Internet bulletin board against posters who have no idea what your job entails but still feels that they have the right to make disparaging comments.

 

[MushyMushy]

This is one of the best descriptions of nursing I have ever read. I could only add that you'll have to defend yourself on an Internet bulletin board against posters who have no idea what your job entails but still feels that they have the right to make disparaging comments.

I don't think anyone means to be disparaging. I know I just feel bad for the men and women who work so hard to take care of other people, but don't take good care of themselves.

 

[Disney Doll]

I wonder what the response would be if someone posted "Has anyone ever noticed how fat SAHM's seem to be? You'd think that since they don't have a lot of stress and have time to exercise, that they'd be slimmer".

It seems like in the last 5 years or so, the public feels like it is OK to say and do whatever they want as fara s the nursing profession is concerned. I have encountered people who speak to me in the most dosrespectful of ways, and I am takling care of them or thier loved ones. They'd speak more respectfully to a store cashier or their garbageman, but i am supposed to smile and take it because I am a nurse.

 

[JustHolly]

Maybe it's all that delicious hospital food.

That's just what I was thinking, LOL! Blame it on the cafeteria food!

 

[jekajekalynn]

I wonder what the response would be if someone posted "Has anyone ever noticed how fat SAHM's seem to be? You'd think that since they don't have a lot of stress and have time to exercise, that they'd be slimmer".

It seems like in the last 5 years or so, the public feels like it is OK to say and do whatever they want as fara s the nursing profession is concerned. I have encountered people who speak to me in the most dosrespectful of ways, and I am takling care of them or thier loved ones. They'd speak more respectfully to a store cashier or their garbageman, but i am supposed to smile and take it because I am a nurse.

Amen! I've encountered ppl I know asking me complicated questions about health related issues even though I don't start RN school till next fall! Apparently also you are supposed to be a vast encyclopedia of health knowledge even though you haven't started the college program for it..
Ppl really need to stop ragging on other ppls profession, and keep their noses out of other ppls lives and business...

 

[SeeDisney]

Virgio10, I agreed, it's very very sad to see so so many people overweight.


My 9 1/2 year old son got in a skiing accident back in February and was hospitalized in Poconos, Pennsyl. for two days and I too noticed that EVERY NURSE OR EMPLOYEE was overweight too. I said to myself, it's funny seeing this in a hospital, wherein the employees are knowledgeable and educated on good health.

 

[Annie68]

I wonder what the response would be if someone posted "Has anyone ever noticed how fat SAHM's seem to be? You'd think that since they don't have a lot of stress and have time to exercise, that they'd be slimmer".

It seems like in the last 5 years or so, the public feels like it is OK to say and do whatever they want as fara s the nursing profession is concerned. I have encountered people who speak to me in the most dosrespectful of ways, and I am takling care of them or thier loved ones. They'd speak more respectfully to a store cashier or their garbageman, but i am supposed to smile and take it because I am a nurse.

You said exactly what I was trying to .

 

[shy little mouse]

This is one of the best descriptions of nursing I have ever read. I could only add that you'll have to defend yourself on an Internet bulletin board against posters who have no idea what your job entails but still feels that they have the right to make disparaging comments.

Amen sister RN! The lack of respect gets really tiring. It is one of the reasons I am starting a Masters in the fall. Very few people would want our jobs if they really knew. Most of the RNs I work with would never encourage their own daughters to become RNs.

I have a few really awful stories I could tell of completely inappropriate and degrading things patients, families, and doctors have said to me. Unfortunately, most of them are not fit for a family oriented message board!

 

[FSUGrad97]

Amen sister RN! The lack of respect gets really tiring. It is one of the reasons I am starting a Masters in the fall. Very few people would want our jobs if they really knew. Most of the RNs I work with would never encourage their own daughters to become RNs.

I have a few really awful stories I could tell of completely inappropriate and degrading things patients, families, and doctors have said to me. Unfortunately, most of them are not fit for a family oriented message board!

Well, I for one appreciate everything nurses do!

I was on bedrest in the hospital due to preeclampsia for a few days before I had my DD, and I loved all of my nurses. They were so nice and helpful, during what was a stressful time, since it was my first time in the hospital.

Personally, the only thing I remembered was how nice they were. I think it's a little shallow to assume that those in healthcare have to be a certain size. That would be like someone assuming that someone in insurance is going to be a better driver because they know the risks.

 

[Nancy]

Where I work, you can choose to wear uniforms/scrubs or street clothes. Most of the staff are now wearing their own clothes, and many are pooh sized. Let's face it, we are a generation that sleeps less, eats sporadically and fast and under a great deal of stress from work related issues, finances and family situations. Not a good combo

That's it right there. I don't thinkmit matters where you work or what you do, it is hard to work full time, raise a family and run a house and not be stressed out. Kudos to those who can do it! I have a hard time fitting in meals some days (maybe I should do that instead of Dis'ing, but at least I don't eat while doing this) the years I worked overnights I gained so much weight, I ae horrible, I hardly slept and I was a mess. I am starting to try to change that now though (my DH promised me a cruise if I lose weight!)

 

[Nancy]

I wonder what the response would be if someone posted "Has anyone ever noticed how fat SAHM's seem to be? You'd think that since they don't have a lot of stress and have time to exercise, that they'd be slimmer".

It seems like in the last 5 years or so, the public feels like it is OK to say and do whatever they want as fara s the nursing profession is concerned. I have encountered people who speak to me in the most dosrespectful of ways, and I am takling care of them or thier loved ones. They'd speak more respectfully to a store cashier or their garbageman, but i am supposed to smile and take it because I am a nurse.

The nurse that took care of my Aunt in her last three days was wonderful, she did what she could to make her and us comfortable. I know it wasn't much but she did get a hug from us after my Aunt passed away, and we told her how much we appreciated how she was with my Aunt. (even though Aunt was unresponsive)

 

[FionaLovesShrek]

This is one of the best descriptions of nursing I have ever read. I could only add that you'll have to defend yourself on an Internet bulletin board against posters who have no idea what your job entails but still feels that they have the right to make disparaging comments.

That's kinda the way I felt about it too. I still work in a hospital, just not on a floor.

Meezers, go to school and enjoy it. Nursing is about the desire to make a difference. The burn out rate is very high in nursing, but it's not because you come to hate your job really, it's because of the "business" of your job. This is a field where there is not a "part of a group" mentality, but a field where many individuals make up a team. Unfortunately, many of those individuals will make your working conditions unbearable at times. I don't get it. The happiest people are the ones who do it because they love it. I have found the worst co-workers are the ones who went into nursing right out of high school. They wanted a career that paid well that didn't require too many years in school. They graduate with a queen mentality and look down upon those who are older, frumpy or "fluffy". I had to train a new nurse once, who walked in, looked at me in all my "fluffiness" and decided right there I wasn't worth squashing with her shoe. She began giving me orders and told me she would not be emptying any urinals or cleaning up any vomit "I looked her up and down and said, "Hmm, I'm assuming your Mazda is paid for and you don't have any school loans waiting to be paid?" and then I walked away

 

[Crankyshank]

Call me crazy but I don't care what a nurse looks like so long as she does her job well.
I'd rather a nurse that weighs 500lbs with an excellent bedside manner that takes time to calm my fears and explain things to me despite the fact she's got 20 patients to deal with and Dr's breathing down her neck than a 120lb dynamo with a stick up her posterior that can't be bothered to speak kindly to me.

 

[FionaLovesShrek]

That's it right there. I don't thinkmit matters where you work or what you do, it is hard to work full time, raise a family and run a house and not be stressed out. Kudos to those who can do it! I have a hard time fitting in meals some days (maybe I should do that instead of Dis'ing, but at least I don't eat while doing this) the years I worked overnights I gained so much weight, I ae horrible, I hardly slept and I was a mess. I am starting to try to change that now though (my DH promised me a cruise if I lose weight!)

You go girl! I worked nights for 5 years and it really knocked my system for a loop. I did it until my DD was almost 1 and then I had to quit working for a while, she wouldn't let me nap