Will A Good-Looking Nurse Help You Heal Faster?

The very question seems a throwback to darker times. But that was the assertion of a 31-year-old Czech nurse in the New York Times on Sunday, and it's been bugging me ever since.

The quote was part of an NYT story about how Prague hospitals and clinics are coping with their nursing shortage by offering an unusual bonus to nurses who commit to a long-term contract: Free face lifts and breast implants.

Now, we can all argue (and please do send us your thoughts) about whether an employer's offer of cosmetic surgery is different from any other signing bonus — extra vacation say, or cash.

But what caught me up short was the quote by a young Czech nurse, Petra Kalivodova, who justified her surgery this way:

We were always taught that if a nurse is nice, intelligent, loves her work and looks attractive, then patients will recover faster.

 

Nice, intelligent, loves the work — maybe. (And how about "highly competent?") But patients recover faster if the nurse "looks attractive?"

For an expert opinion, I tracked down Dr. Esther Sternberg a medical researcher and author of Healing Spaces, a new book that delves into the power of beauty to heal.

"The physical appearance of healthcare professionals has not been studied, to my knowledge," Sternberg says. But there is plenty of evidence showing the benefits to patients and staff of prettier hospital rooms and wings — warmer lighting, garden views, and less noise.

These studies have shown a significant increase in both patient and staff satisfaction. We find a significant reduction in nursing turnover, fewer medical errors and shorter hospital stays for patients, with fewer complications, and fewer rehospitalizations.

So what do we tell Ms. Kalivodova?

Many factors that contribute to healing are "culturally related," Sternberg says. But in every culture, the notion that "if a nurse....loves her work, then patients will recover faster," is demonstrably true.