A Maximum BMI for nurses

[soapydopeybubbles]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/10/21/how-public-thinks-nhs-should-change/

According to the Telegraph one of the most popular ideas for improving the NHS is to have a maximum BMI for nurses. This is from the website set up for suggestions but also continues in the comments for the article.

I'm a neonatal nurse and I am classed as obese. I wear L/XL scrubs and I'm a dress size 14-16.

Does the public honestly think that I'd be a better nurse if I was thinner? Or, as written in the comments, if I wore a cap and apron, had no tattoos and didn't dye my hair?

I'm a large woman but I'm pretty sure I wasn't magically better and making up complex medications, changing ridiculously tiny nappies and resuscitating sick newborns when I was rather thinner than I am now.

I can see why people might have the opinion that if we're giving out health advice we should lead by example but it's mainly the doctors giving the advice and the nurses doing the hands on caring.

I just don't understand why there seems to be such a focus on how a particular staff group looks, rather than the actual issues in the NHS.

AIBU?

I think though that last sentence is important about it being not right but easy to think.

Do we now build a society with rules that pander to our baser instincts and less insightful attitudes?

ABU

Because there is a huge difference between 16-18 and size 28. And being healthier means you can cope with the stresses of the job better and be off sick less- which directly impacts your ability to serves the patients/ tax payers paying your wages. If the NHS brought in max 2 weeks paid sick leave per year (as standard in the private sector), I am sure there would be shift in attitude.

As someone who has shifted some weight and now s14 vs18, my energy levels and sleep is hugely improved.

How can a medical professional give out lifestyle/ health advice they don’t adhere to themselves?

I would imagine that most of the time nurses are not giving out advice about weight and diet, they are just caring for patients.

When my sister was in last year, one nurse was so large she couldn't get around the bed or help her move. When someone is too large to rearrange bedding it must impact on ability to work.

Honestly, I don’t care the size, colour, religion or nationality of the person caring for me or my family. These are personal to that individual and does not impact the care they are providing. I care that they have the qualifications to do the job. Ignore the Telegraph - per the norm not representing the public.

Perhaps if you weren’t all being worked to the point of exhaustion you’d have the energy to be healthier people 🤷🏽‍♀️

I don’t suppose you understand the psychological battle behind weight gain and weight loss if you think your nurse carries on oblivious.

I’ve had overweight people comment to the receptionist after an appointment “What does she know - she’s never had a fat day in her life.” Then another patient say about another nurse “She can’t very well give me advice, her being the size she is.” 🤷‍♀️

The advice is the advice. It’s up to you whether you choose to follow it.

Hmmmmm , because there isn’t a shortage of nurses as it is 🙄
The physical state of SOME uniformed police concerns me FAR more !!!

I think it’s complete BS and that’s putting it politely.

I don’t care what size, what colour of skin, sex or religious preferences a nurse or anyone else who enters the medical profession has. I just want them to be skilled and to treat me with care and kindness.

Well said.

Exactly this.

Thank you for your service to the NHS

Being overweight isn’t just about looks though. There are many health issues associated with obesity which I’m sure means time off sick for those people. And sickness absence in the NHS is a big issue.

Being overweight isn’t just about looks though. There are many health issues associated with obesity which I’m sure means time off sick for those people. And sickness absence in the NHS is a big issue.

I have had three days off with non obesity related sickness over the last two years, which is a lot less than some of my slimmer counterparts, I haven't had Covid either. Having a great immune system is more about luck than weight

I‘m not a healthcare professional and was just pointing out the reality of what I see in respect of the food choices available to those who work in hospitals when relatives and friends and have been in hospital.

Whilst nurses and others who work in hospitals can of course take food to work maybe making available healthy food options easily available to overworked staff is perhaps something the NHS could do to improve the overall health and well-being of their staff

The issue you raise about the quality of food for patients is a wholly separate one to the issue being raised in the thread.

The NHS would be better off to move away from this backwards BMI calculator, which fails to account for the difference between muscle mass and body fat.

I get the logic about healthcare providers being and appearing healthy though, but insisting on a certain BMI is completely arbitrary.

I've worked 12-hour, physically demanding night shifts before. Taking in food is pretty easy for the first shift, but after shift 3 of 6 are you fuck getting out of bed earlier to prepare your lunch.

And if by some miracle you do manage it, are you fuck sitting and eating a salad when you are physically and mentally broken you are so exhausted and everything in your brain and body is screaming for fast energy from fat, carbs, and sugar.

Sleep plays a massive part in weight management. It is proven that lack of sleep increases Grehlin and makes you hungrier and crave calorie-dense foods. It is also proven that shift work makes weight loss much harder.

It's easy to judge until you try it.

We also need to remember that nurses and carers often don't get their full breaks if they get any breaks and don't always know if/when their breaks will be, especially in busy departments.

If you have 5-10 minutes to sit and write some notes are you gonna snack on an apple and some water while you write them up, not knowing when your next 5-10 minutes to sit down will be or are you grabbing a coffee and a mars bar to get you through the next 8 hours of constant running about and stress?

If we want to help nurses make healthier meal choices we need to improve the quality of quickly available foods in hospitals and increase staffing levels so they can actually take their legally required breaks.