Why Are Nurses Overweight?

 

Why Are  Most Nurses Overweight?

Anyone who has been to a hospital or clinic in recent years will have noticed that most nurses are overweight. It’s something of a oddity. How can nurses who are supposed to know so much be so heavy?

It’s strange to see that medical workers who are paid to help people maintain their health, are so large. Almost obese?

The problem has become so common that there are annual conferences designed by the medical industry to try and teach nurses proper nutrition.

Hospitals and even nurses unions are concerned that the average nurse is so overweight, that they are at risk while working. This in turn has lead to an increase in nurses getting injured on the job and going onto disability and no longer being able to work.

But why? Why are most nurses overweight?

As someone who grew up with friends who went into nursing, and having been interested in health and diet for many years, here are some ideas.

 

Education For Nurses: Understanding The Information On Obesity

There is a common misconception among the general public that nurses are dietitians. That’s not the case. Many nurses never study anything related to diet, food, and general health.

Growing up, I had a friend who was unable to get into college but was able to get into a nursing program where she graduated with a associates and got her license. She was amazed at the classes having almost no education relating to medicine, health, or procedure. Instead, she dealt with classes that were delivered by infotainment programs where she was given lectures on patient care (which consisted with how to take notes and enter the in a computer) and basic anatomy (which was the equivalent to a high school class).

Her instructor explained that many people who attend nursing school come from impoverished areas (rural and urban) and schools where there was no formal education. Many nurses enter the program not knowing basic mathematics, biology, or other subjects that a typical student would know. Therefore, the instructors wanted to make sure that they were taught.

Classes such as “Fundamentals of nursing” were covered where students were explained how to document the attending (Doctors) instructions on what meds to give and how to take vitals (which many nurses are told to task to PCT’s or CNAs).

It’s common for a nurse to have little formal education. Many graduate from schools with grades that would not allow them to enter a liberal arts of business/STEM college. So, nursing schools need to go back and teach the basics. Therefore, the classical nursing education has been redesigned to teach basic education and topics such as nutrition, and biology, chemistry are eliminated.

A classic example is a class on nursing life (a popular course in any nursing schools). It teaches nurses how to work with other nurses, open a checking account, and negotiate higher pay rates.

 

More Nurses In Hospitals and Higher Pay: Nurses Goldmine

The next thing that most people do not know is that nurses make a lot of money! When my friends and I were growing up, some of the parents were nurses and they made middle class incomes.

My friend, for instance, and several others I know who work as Registered Nurses, make over 100k a year.

In addition to making six figures as a nurse, many nurses also look to work side jobs to make an extra 30 or 40k a year. This is called per diem. In places such as New Jersey, New York, Las Vegas, and Cali, nurses make 70 dollars an hour working per diem.

A former co-worker was married to a nurse. Her spouse worked three days a week at a state run hospital and had a salary of 115k a year. They also worked per diem when they wanted to and picked up an extra 40k each year.

This extra work (some nurses will try and sleep during their shift) can create improper sleep rhythms. Some nurses sleep on the job in order to maximize their take home pay, but they risk getting fired. Other nurses take uppers, but if they are found to be using drugs they can face disciplinary action.

Most nurses burn out after a decade of such work and it shows. While the average nurse only works three days a week, when they want to make extra money, they can work overtime and per diem which boosts their take home income to 200k in most cases, but it also puts stress on their diet.

The Tax Loophole: Nursing’s Dirty Secret- Hiding Income By Traveling-Bad for The Diet

Travel is bad for the diet. Anyone who has to travel for a living understands that. There is limited food options around you when you are away from home.

Well, that is unavoidable for people like long distance truck drivers( my friend Tommy drove long haul trucks for years and bemoaned the lack of food items). And many people who work in factories also have that issue (if they can’t bring their own lunch—a problem that I’ve heard from friends of mine that are working in warehouse and factories…the new regulations insist on buying from the cafeteria  which are just snack machines).

Now, nurses might not seem like they fall under this problem. But that’s only for people who are not aware of the travel nurse tax loophole.

For nurses that travel a set distance from their home, the government allows them to receive large tax stipends for food, shelter, and entertainment.

Many local traveling nurses set up mailing addresses in other states and continue to work where they live. They are playing games and can still eat at home.

But many other nurses travel the country so that they can make 100k a year but only pay taxes on a salary of 50k. The rest is in food and shelter costs (which many nurses avoid paying since they tell their agencies to cover the cost of their housing or they will not be able to work the assignments).

So, these nurses are out in the far reaches of the country, away from home, and not cooking their meals. Many nurses spend a decade maxing out their incomes and eating in fast food restaurants.

They work nights or days, depending on who the highest bidder is. For the Fall, they might travel to a hospital and work nights, but then if another hospital in another city offers more money, they will fly away and work days. They follow the money and disregard their own health and, sadly, as many will tell you, put patients at risk because they are so discombobulated due to poor sleep schedules.

It’s not uncommon to find a nurses asleep at her desk due to a self imposed time schedule.

Are Nurses Overworked? The Common Myth

With all of that said, you’d think that nurses are overworked and therefore that is the cause of poor diet.

But that’s not the case. In no other profession can you tell your boss you are not coming to work and not be fired. Nurses have the power of per diem and schedules. Many take weeks off without notice so they can travel. Or they take unplanned days off to do lucrative per diem elsewhere.

And the work must be done. So, hospitals hire PCT and PCA and CNA and LPN. Even doctors will complain that they are expected to do the work that nurses are hired and paid to do. A common complaint among new doctors is that nurses simply refuse to do work.

Nurses do not have to work more than three days a week. They choose to work more in order to make extra money. This creates a very unbalanced schedule. The average starting salary for a nurse in east coast cities is 97k a year with full benefits. And this only requires 3 days per week work. Any additional work is to put them into the 6 figure bracket.

A recent viral post online showed that one nurse was able to make 20k dollars in two weeks! Government mandated rules require hospitals to staff extra nurses and the hospitals pay extreme salaries (funded by insurance companies and government taxes) which can hit $100 to $160 dollars an hour.

Do Nurses Vacation and Relax More Than They Used To?

Growing up, most nurses would work 3 days a week. That’s the same that the current nurse has to work, except now adays nurses are paid more.

The starting salary for an accountant, lawyer, engineer, editor, and most other professions are all less than a nurse. Plus, nurses are all in strong unions which protect their pensions and benefits.

It comes down to nurses now deciding to eat poorly, vacation more, exercise less. But are they deciding to do this on their own, or does the system encourage this?

Are Most Nurses Overweight and Obese Because Of Lifestyle?

A study was done on nursing students vs college students and the results were astounding. The average nursing student was obese. The average college student (and the study included community colleges, and Ivy league schools) were less obese than the nursing students.

So, it’s interesting to note that the people currently entering the nursing profession are at a higher likelihood to be obese.

While the average nurse is obese and overweight compared to the average professional, so are the typical nursing students. So, this means that it is more in line with the lifestyle and attitude of the people before they become nurses.

Can Support Systems Help Obese and Fat Nurses Change

Hopefully there is a change on the horizon. Nurses need not be obese. It is a recent development. Nurses circa 1980 and before did not have the same levels of obesity as they do now.

Some of this has to do with stricter requirements to become nurses. More educated people make better choices when it comes to food. If nurses are educated more, and learn how and why to eat, it’s likely that they will  be less obese.

For instance, in most offices the common beverage for workers is coffee or tea or water. In hospitals, the most common beverage for nurses is soda. This is the sort of lifestyle that dietitians are looking to change and improve.

The focus on doctors and educators in the medical community is towards making modern nurses more focused on health.