Fasting

lindsay ormerod

lindsay ormerod

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Ok, a difficult and delicate subject, some of my Muslim colleagues are fasting for Ramadan, I know full well that I couldn't do it, it involves such long hours without food or drink that I know my concentration and performance would suffer. If I were a doctor or a surgeon I would have serious misgivings about my ability to function properly, how does everyone else feel about this emotive subject? Should our Muslim colleagues have the fasting period off or should we expect them to still function on what is basically a starvation diet with sleep deprivation thrown in?
 
I suppose it depends on the individual. Who ever is managing people in that situation will have to decide if they are fit to work, if not then they should be sent home sick like anyone else would be.

WOuld you want to be in a fasting persons taxi or coach though?
 
Oddly enough I find I tend to function better when fasting and far worse if I've had a large meal when I just become sleepy and want a nap.
 
Neil said:
I suppose it depends on the individual. Who ever is managing people in that situation will have to decide if they are fit to work, if not then they should be sent home sick like anyone else would be.

WOuld you want to be in a fasting persons taxi or coach though?
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I wouldn't feel confident having an operation done by a fasting surgeon.
 
Neil said:
I suppose it depends on the individual. Who ever is managing people in that situation will have to decide if they are fit to work, if not then they should be sent home sick like anyone else would be.

WOuld you want to be in a fasting persons taxi or coach though?
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But it is self inflicted 'sickness' - I would make them use their holiday allowance or no pay!
 
Fasting is, whatever the religious implications, a personal choice. If you choose to live in a non-Islamic country and you wish to adhere to strict Islamic practise you should do so without it affecting your work or your colleagues. There should be no special treatment for those Muslims who fast; there is none for any other sect.
 
WillowTheWhisp said:
I wonder how many non-fasting surgeons actually go for long periods of time without a meal due to being in theatre or otherwise engaged?
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I wouldn't have thought that non fasting surgeons will go from dawn to dusk without a bite to eat or even a drink of water. :(
 
West Ender said:
Fasting is, whatever the religious implications, a personal choice. If you choose to live in a non-Islamic country and you wish to adhere to strict Islamic practise you should do so without it affecting your work or your colleagues. There should be no special treatment for those Muslims who fast; there is none for any other sect.
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Seconded :alright: Karma sent.
 
it is only during daylight hours- I know some muslims who have a hearty breakfast before sunrise and, after all, how many of us on here have realized, come two or three o clock in the afternoon that we havent eaten yet because we have been so busy - not much difference really.
 
keetah992000 said:
how many of us on here have realized, come two or three o clock in the afternoon that we havent eaten yet because we have been so busy - not much difference really.
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Not me....I'd probably pass out if it got to 3pm and I hadn't eaten or drunk anything.
 
you lucky bugga - there is many a weekend - i get up jump in shower - get girls ready and we go out, see family, they have a maccy d's or something for dinner with andy while i do bits of shopping etc
by the time i get home it is usully late afternoon - then i just wait until tea - not the best way to be i know but i get out of routine so quickly
 
dont really see the harm in it, worked with em fer 23 years n it never affected any work performance on my shift, n was a job ya had to have yer wits about ya, so don't see a big deal wi it.
 
listen its like this

amir khan fasted last ramadan and won his fight

he didnt fast this ramadan and lost in 54 seconds...

*LOL*

:D allow it hehehe

personally it doesnt start getting to me till around 6pm by which time if i was a surgeon i wud b sitting at home.

the only jobs that i'd think twice if i should fast would be the physical ones. you dont really lose concentration just cause your hungry but you would suffer if your thirsty mid-afternoon doing heavy labour.

but great question though.
 
I bet there are lots of people who fast and others around them are totally unaware that they are doing as it doesn't affect their concentration or ability in any way. A lot of busy people just forget to eat or drink because they are concentrating on doing something.

I wonder how it affects life in countries where the population is almost 100% Muslim. They don't grind to a halt do they? Latter-day Saints fast, once a month every month and on other occasions for personal reasons whenever relevant and yet no-one is ever aware of it.
 
Dawn till Dusk Fasting??? Is that not what every single mother does?

I generally dont eat till 8-9pm, doesnt affect anything I do
 
WillowTheWhisp said:
I wonder how many non-fasting surgeons actually go for long periods of time without a meal due to being in theatre or otherwise engaged?
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I was going to bring up this point...because i know many surgeons who function without food for long periods, but they usually grab a quick slurp of tea/coffee/water between cases.
I think that in the main most surgeons are professional enough to recognise if fasting diminishes their ability to function and would do something about it.
 
Until quite recently, the typical shift pattern for junior hospital doctors (SHO's and non-senior registrars) involved a long one-in-three weekend. This involved a start at lunchtime on friday and finish at lunchtime monday. No time was set aside for sleep; the doctor grabbed whatever he or she could, when they could (which often involved kipping on a hospital trolley). It was no secret that the worse time to end up in A & E was a monday morning.

Nevertheless, this was the system that lasted over many years on the basis that it was character and stamina building for doctors and as such an integral part of their training. As such, going without a chicken butty and a glass of pop between the hours of sun up and sun down is minor in comparison. I would be far more concerned about the surgeon who is carried legless from the pub at one in the morning and is due in theatre eight hours later.
 
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