Have you  looked closely at  pictures of nurses in relevant publications?   Have you noticed the  body types of nurses at  conventions,  seminars, in your institution?  You know what I am getting at:  overweight to  obese nurses.There are plenty of overweight to obese nurses.  THe United States is the  most obese  nation in the entire world.  Obesity is directly linked to poor health, now and in the future of the patient.  You know it, I know it,  doctors know it, the public knows it.  My  father was  recently  discharged from a hosptial to a rehab facility  for six weeks.  When he  returned home,  he stated that he could not get over how many healthcare workers in both facilities were overweight.  That included the Head Nurse,  staff rns,  dietary,  the physical  therapist. 

What are we saying to our clients when we teach them to modify their diets,  start  exercising, keep their numbers under control to prevent cardiac disease, HTN, diabetes,strokes.   Why should the obese, stagnant children of today listen to  the school nurse lecture on diet, getting out and running around, putting down the remote, when she  is short of  breath and  diaphoretic just  walking quickly down the hallways?   

Do we not  expect our policemen and  women to  stop at the red light,  and obey the  speeding laws, not talk on cell phones while  driving? 

We hope that our leaders will  rule in a just manner according to the laws of the land in both  their professional and personal  life.

We are nurses.  We  should also teach by   example.  I am not saying everyone should be skinny as a rail.  We are all very busy,  we all  care for other people, we all have a lot of other things to do.  But we also need to  take  care of ourselves. And to  use an old  quote,"One picture is worth a thousand words." 

"Very true ; years ago,I had the advantage of participating in," on the job training / Telemetry Course", at a local,teaching hospital.

  The instructor at the time had acquired the proficient, teaching degrees to educate the healthcare personnel,yet not only had

  displayed  a stern discipline for avoiding questions / answers,but visibly weighed,**" an easy, 350lbs".The fellow classmates

   often wondered if she would eventually be," the next,true case scenario".We all passed the course,however,the instructor's,

    " Vial of Life ",contract was not renewed by the Source,Greater Than Thou".

i think it is easy in theory to do the things to be healthy, but in practice i have seen that it is more difficult. the job that we have is usually high-stress and long hours. for me i know that after 3-12s, school, and parenting working out is the last thing i want to do. and as far as eating healthy, it takes work. in our day it seems easier to eat unhealthy, if you eat faw foods you also have to spend time preparing the food in addition to cooking it. plus organic is more expensive. so it is good to "be what you teach" but nurses are people too with the same issues that society is dealing with and maybe more. and to put it out there i am at a healthy wt. and do what it takes to be healthy but i am also young and i know that can make it easier to be at a healthy wt. but i notice the older i get the harder it is to maintain a healthy wt.

obesity is an outward sign of a very complex health issue but i respect the fact that at least its obvious! i am far more insulted by the Nurse Jackie's of the world. they are sneaky and underhanded and in short thieves!! who cares how much you weigh? the health profession has always been under a microscope and in a way i am glad ! if the politicians of the world had as much scrutiny as the rest of us maybe we would all be a lot better off!

ps jgs sorry to hear about your job i hope you find another !