The three-time Emmy award-winning “The Dr. Oz Show” recently announced its first ever search for a nurse to join the core team of guest experts on a program where the full hour was devoted to nurses. The show episode, entitled “Nurses Nation,” was part of the season seven tapings. However, with the national conversation surrounding Miss Colorado’s tribute to the nursing profession during the 2015 Miss America pageant, “The Dr. Oz Show” stepped up to provide a forum for extended discussion of nurses’ integral role in providing health care and healing.
I had the pleasure of being one of the nurse expert guests on the show. As a cardiac clinical nurse specialist I had the opportunity to discuss the importance of healthy lifestyles and the nurses’ important role in educating patients and families.
On the show I shared with Dr. Oz and his viewers how they, too, can get slim and strong like a nurse. Dr. Oz and I were then joined by two nurses who shared their own personal journeys and lifestyle transformations of losing weight, not only for themselves but to inspire people and let them know that nurses do walk the walk and not just talk the talk when it comes to healthy lifestyles.
Here are some of the tips I shared on the show:
Eat like a nurse:
Track and trend what you eat using a journal or app on your phone. Nurses chart all day on patients, including what they eat, so we can educate patients on their diet. You can do the same. This helps you to be more accountable and makes you less likely to reach for that donut when you’re keeping track of what you’re eating. You’re more likely to stick to the script.