Some of you may have seen a recent twitter in which I observed that "most of my nursing professors are overweight". I was surprised to find that several people were offended by my statement. If this is true, please forgive me. I, in no way, was trying to demean people who have extra weight on them or implying that my teachers were lazy....etc. Following is my thought process (yes I'm writing in class :) Also, just let me say that the teachers to which I'm referring do not have just a few extra pounds on them. They are obese - the size of people they warn us about with severe, deadly health conditions.
1) I found it interesting and it piqued my curiousity. I initially wondered why they chose their profession. How could they teach us about health and nutrition? Why would they harp on not smoking but not as much on healthy eating habits - just as much of a killer. Did the information they shared with us on obesity not scare them to death?
2) Then I felt convicted. I struggled with an eating disorder for a long time. I was way too skinny. My problems were similar. I replaced God in my life with the obsession of food. I understand where they are right now. When I was warned about the bodily damages that would occur through lack of eating, I didn't care... all I cared about was that I was a supernatural person who could live on no food and get crazy skinny (sick I know!) Healthy doesn't mean super-skinny either.
3) So, my point in my initial observation is this: Think about your profession, what you do. Do you really believe what you're saying or is it just a regurgitation? If you can't have integrity in your work (where you spend the majority of your day) then where will you? Christ demands this...even when its hard. Do you trust pastor's who preach the Bible but then have affairs or lie or cheat or cuss? How about a financial adviser who is in debt/bankrupt? Of course not!
My new goal as a nursing student/future nurse: To radiate health and maintain wellness so that I can be an example of encouragement for people facing health problems.
6 comments:
well said!!!
It's not so surprising when you realize the whole medical model is based on allopathic disease management and drug sales, not optimal health.
The average nurse you're seeing begins to fit in quite nicely when this realization is made.
Medicine is America is really good at keeping people from dying... not so good with the living part... optimally living, that is.
To a degree I believe that most people look at themselves in some way through a justification-type mirror. We justify our actions through some means. We hide behind things and desperately hope people don't see who we really are. If we live that way for too long we actually begin to get more comfortable thinking that we are actually hiding. As a fat person, I did this. I, for some reason, could not see myself as getting bigger and bigger. I believed that people did not see my fatness or my unhealthy, overeating habits. I had to break through that. Thankfully, I was finally able to quit lying to myself.
People go through that same thought process on a daily basis. Ever passed gas in public and you begin to tell yourself "nobody heard that...they thought it was my shoe squeaking on the floor." If someone reacts to that we may even say those types of things outloud or look at someone else like "good grief, man get a grip on yo junk!" just to pass the blame. Yeah, kind of weird analogy, but true!
Off to eat some cake!
I found your blog from a Tweet a few days ago, and honestly, I have gone back and forth about commenting. I know that we don't know each other well and I certainly don't want to come across as being critical, but I thought it might be interesting to hear a different view :) So here goes! I have been a Nurse practitioner for about 3 years now and in that time I have seen and worked with countless nurses from all walks of life. I understand what you are saying and the ideas behind this but I think I am going to have to gracefully disagree with you. We are nurses, not because of some super human degree of health or "healthiness", but simply because we all have a certain skill set that lends itself to meet the physical needs of people. Some of the BEST nurses and NPs I know are necessarily that way because of personal experience, but because of hard work and good training. You talked about not trusting a financial adviser who is bankrupt, but I think that someone can a great financial adviser by the knowledge base to give great advice, even if he lacks the discipline to do it for himself. It is possible to have great insight and wisdom, even if you can not apply it to your own life. I work in peds and one of the GREATEST lactation nurses I know, has never herself breastfed a baby. And I have many colleges that are wonderful pediatric providers, and they have no children of their own. And, as Christ followers and nurses, our job is to meet the the practical physical needs of people so that they may allow Christ to meet their spiritual needs. For some that might mean setting a good example, but not for everyone. And it is not always realistic to think that just because you KNOW about something, means you also get the benefit for yourself. Beethoven was completely deaf when he composed his greatest works, so he was not a recipient of his own gifts. Does that make him or his art any less masterful? I think the same is true in the art of medicine and healthcare. We are not always the recipients of our own good medicine, but that should not and does not make us any less effective in our goal. Personal vices, addictions, and afflictions aside, a good nurse should be a gift to those in need and radiate Jesus, no matter what package he/she comes in!
Ok...2 things came to mind when I saw this new post up:
1. Oh my gosh! Bethany blogged! yay!
2. I'm so curious to hear her thoughts on breastfeeding...since she has never experienced it. This could be really entertaining! (Oops. Wrong kind of nursing!)
I completely agree with you! Being an obese nurse does affect the kind of care they can provide in some ways. I have two great examples where I have worked: 1) code blue is called, it takes alot longer than it should to get there and by the time they arrive they are to out of breath to even provided cpr 2) code red was called all of therapy dept which was the farthest away arrived before a single nurse. So in the work place it is important to be healthy!
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