Texas hospital won't hire fat-a$$e$

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-health-resources/health-reform-and-texas/victoria-hospital-wont-hire-very-obese-workers/

[Fezmid]

At Citizens, a physician screens prospective employees to assess their fitness for work, including their body mass index.

Isn't this considered private medical information and therefore is protected by HIPAA? Why does the employer have a right to run a physical on you...? (yes, I know sports teams do with their players, but they've always been treated different than "real" jobs). It's one thing to look at someone and say, "You're overweight, we're not hiring you," but to run a physical on you and calculate your BMI? That seems overly invasive to me.

[GoodBye]

Quote from artcle..."...an employee’s physique “should fit with a representational image or specific mental projection of the job of a healthcare professional,” including an appearance “free from distraction” for hospital patients."

 

Clearly they've been watching too many hospital dramas on TV where all of the employee are hot.

[Captain Hindsight]

I think whats more shocking is this http://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/index.html

[KD in CA]

Quote from artcle..."...an employee's physique "should fit with a representational image or specific mental projection of the job of a healthcare professional," including an appearance "free from distraction" for hospital patients."

 

Clearly they've been watching too many hospital dramas on TV where all of the employee are hot.

 

They're not exactly insisting on super models if the limit is 210 lbs @ 5' 5".

 

From what I've seen nursing can be physically demanding; they may need to move quickly, be agile, lift people, etc. Of course you can't determine all that just from weight, but it's a pretty good indicator for most people of whether or not they are in shape.

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

Quote from article..."...an employee’s physique “should fit with a representational image or specific mental projection of the job of a healthcare professional,” including an appearance “free from distraction” for hospital patients."

 

Clearly they've been watching too many hospital dramas on TV where all of the employee are hot.

I'm a citizen, but if they don't want me to be distracted by the nurses I encounter at the Citizens Medical Center, then they are eliminating the wrong people from their applicant pool.