Nursing While Fat – NWF
I would like to make a confession right her and now. For thiry-five years I was a lady of the night. Gotcha!! No, I did not walk the streets of San Diego, California. I did walk the long, cold, semi dark halls of the hospitals where I worked. I always came to work dressed professionally but fashionably for a largesized lady. Much to the chagrine of some of my peers. But that is another story. I also had more experience than any other nurse there. So when I became the victim of NWF, I was more than a little shocked. For those who don’t know, it means Nursing While Fat. After being approached too many time for coffee money by our head doctor, who was known to be very cheap and tight with money. Somehow I was not good enough to be talked to like the other nurses, I asked a nurse who’s opinion I valued what was going on. “What is the matter I asked”? “Sorry to tell you this she said, but he does not like fat people.” Bingo! The lights went on, the whistles blared, and the sirens went off. Things sure changed when this fat nurse saved his bacon from what could have been a sticky situation.
We were admitting a borderline patient who was known all over town for suing doctors and hospitals. She came in and claimed to have been raped. He gave routine orders but failed to ask for a rape examination. When I reminded him he was grateful. Later he requested for me to go to days. This I declined. Not because I loved nights, but working nights helped me with keeping babysitters since my husband was on his second tour of duty in Vietnam. And being on nights allowed me to be super mom in the daytime. And thus was able to attend all the many actives my kids were in at the time. Nursing While Fat plagued me for so many years that I worked harder and tried to prove my self every day. It did not matter that I was well prepared for my craft and worked hard. And yes I do consider nursing a craft. I committed the cardinal sin. I was fat. Thus persumed to be stupid. lazy, and dumb. The nurses around me helped validate my worth. When there was a problem on the medical floors of a psychiatric nature they would call me for advice and help. No this fat nurse was not dumb, I had knowledge to share with others regardless of my largesize. I became the person to go to in a crsis..