Meet Mr. Hot Guy. He’s my workout buddy. Actually, he doesn’t know that I exsist, but I make sure that I’m in the gym whenever he’s there. No, I’m not a stalker, just an admirer of the finer things of life. He occasionally gives me brief, superficial eye contact. I wonder what he’s thinking about. Maybe he likes plump older ladies.

I love watching Hot Guy work out on the treadmill, and so do all the other menopausal women in the gym. In a way, the treadmill reminds me of the nursing profession. There are days when nurses expend so much energy at work. We know our feet and arms are moving as we run up and down the halls all day long, yet we feel like we’re stuck in one place. We have three tasks to do for every one that we complete, and we break into little beads of sweat as we keel over from exhaustion at the end of the day.

I’d like to make a proposal that will give nurses an energy boost at work. Now I admit that my suggestion isn’t based on scientific research or evidence based practice. It’s based on an observation. Men and women at the gym seem to perk up and perform better when they are working out next to some hot guy or gal. I think nurses would find their second wind if hospital administrators put treadmills in the middle of every nurses station and invited cute, well proportioned guys and gals to come to the hospital to workout instead of going to the gym. I know I’d have more spring in my step.