Smokers

[thyme4change]

healthcareemploymentcounsel.com/employee-benefits/wellness-initiatives/employer-bans-on-smokers-the-next-smokeout/

The articles is about how many hospitals are no longer hiring smokers. The rumor is that several local hospitals have announced they will not hire smokers.

Although I am concerned about the growing lack of freedom that is happening here in "The Land of the Free" - I think that being cared for by nurses who smell of cigarette smoke is kinda gross, and definitely hypocritical.

I know that nurses often have trouble with weight control, and I wonder if that will become a priority for healthcare providers. I know a very, very overweight PA tried to give me weight loss advice after my first baby was born, and I was terribly angry. I know that some overweight doctors will shy away from confronting patients about their weight issues while they are unable to deal with their own weight issues.

What do you feel is an appropriate standard for "healthy" for health care providers? Have you had any run-ins with any doctor or nurses that are unhealthy and it has interfered with their ability to treat patients?

[tractor]

I actually has kind of the reverse happen. My doctor is a fitness nut, rides his bike to work everyday, and is as thin as a rail. One time a few years ago he spent about 10 minutes telling me I should buy a bike and get in shape as I was almost 10lbs overweight, he went as far as telling me which store had the best deal, etc. I left feeling like I was a health disaster.

But I do agree on the other hand, it would have bothered me even more if he told me the same thing and was too large to even fit on a bike.

[Deleted]

For me it depends on how they tell me. I've had people give me quit smoking advice very factually without being an ass (2 years quit next month btw) and it was fine. It's the ones that get all superior about it that bug me. You can know what should be done in any given situation even if you don't manage it yourself. I'd rather they be fat and tell me how to lose than be fat and encourage me to be fat with them.

[reasonfreedom]

I totally agree with laterbloomer and Congrats on dropping habit drop. I would like to say the same, but I still have a chemical free cigarette every once in a while when having a few drinks

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

A major hospital tried to do that here. They were quickly told by the Labor Board that the practice was illegal and left them wide open to lawsuits which they would lose. They abandoned the plan quickly.