ANGRY! There's no place to eat or drink 'round here! - page 7

My hospital has addopted a policy of No iota of food at or near one's work station. The rule is that all of your drinks (including bottled water) and all of any snacks are to be held in the lounge... Read More

Sep 23, '07


Quote from TeleRNer

My hospital has addopted a policy of No iota of food at or near one's work station. The rule is that all of your drinks (including bottled water) and all of any snacks are to be held in the lounge and never ever be near your area of work. Not even an innocent package of gum!
 
I agreee, having food in the hallway on counters left behind by staff from the last shift is troublesome and a nuissance when you have to spend time cleaning up other's messes. However, when the lounge is located 1/2 a football field's length from your patient's rooms, it's really quite inhumane to ask anyone to chase back and forth after an energy drink and take care of 5 patients all at the same time. 
 
So that's basically my gripe! Not being allowed to have food or drink near your area of work! 
 
I'll admit I've been known to hide my coffee now and then!


 
I do agree that food on pull downs and scattered about the nsg station is tacky. I do believe, however, it is the responsibility of the manager to make sure that his/her staff are provided breaks and lunches, away from the work area as (12)hrs is a long shift.
Sep 25, '07

Yes, while it is a JHACO () requirement it is also an OSHA () requirement that food items be away from patient care areas. The frustrating part is.... are we not feeding pt's in their rooms after we do say an arterial line? I know it is frustating to hide food and drinks, we have to do it, and with that said we have an infection control doctor who comes in checks the drawers and throws stuff away if found. And if you think that is frustration it is an OSHA no-no to have food or drink anywhere inside an ambulance. But like the ambulance and in pt care areas in the hospital if OSHA (state or federal) if you are caught the facility you work for and/or you can be fined anywhere from $7,500 to $75,000 (depending on the number of violations). I believe that is what I am most concerned with.

And remember to be careful out there (Hill Street Blues) because we are all in this together (Red Green Show)

Jon
Sep 25, '07

[quote=1bigmedicRN;2418620]Yes, while it is a JHACO () requirement it is also an OSHA () requirement that food items be away from patient care areas.

quote]

Oddly conspicuous that JHACO and OSHA do not have specific rules about lifting patients in hospitals and protecting our backs. OSHA thinks it is perfectly OK for 2 RNs to reposition a 500 lb pt Q2hrs. There are OSHA requirements for CNAs and nursing homes, but none for nurses and hospitals.

Something that makes you go hmmmmmmmmmm.................
OK, I will put away my water if you pass a law concerning ergonomics and back safety for nurses.:trout:
Sep 25, '07

If they are truly all about infection control, why don't they enforce healthcare workers right to call out sick?
Sep 26, '07

[QUOTE=Hoozdo;2418643]
Quote from 1bigmedicRN

Yes, while it is a JHACO () requirement it is also an OSHA () requirement that food items be away from patient care areas.

quote]

Oddly conspicuous that JHACO and OSHA do not have specific rules about lifting patients in hospitals and protecting our backs. OSHA thinks it is perfectly OK for 2 RNs to reposition a 500 lb pt Q2hrs. There are OSHA requirements for CNAs and nursing homes, but none for nurses and hospitals.

Something that makes you go hmmmmmmmmmm.................
OK, I will put away my water if you pass a law concerning ergonomics and back safety for nurses.:trout:
Oct 11, '07

Quote from loricatus

I was floating today and we had a JCAHO visit. One of the inspectors put his coffee down by the sink to wash his hands, I flew in and dumped that coffee in the trash, pretending not to know who that person was at the sink & ran away as fast as I could. I just couldn't help it since I was dying of thirst and he had the nerve to be walking around with a container of coffee. Don't think he ever found out who did it & I really don't care if I get in trouble for it. You should have seen all the ***kissing they were getting from management-I was getting quite sick watching it.

I can't stop laughing!!! That is soo awesome that you did that. A little taste of their own medicine perhaps? I would've paid a lot of money to see the look on that guy's face. Priceless!
Oct 11, '07

Explain this one to me.

According to policy, JCAHO says no food of drink in the nurses station. Well, last week we had this little thing at our hospital called "I Love Legibility", where two nurses come around with doctor's orders and see if you're able to read it. Here's the kicker, the prizes are cookies! Not in a wrapper, just out of a box. They handed them out right there in the station. I was floored and no one else seemed to put 2 and 2 together.

Strange!
Oct 11, '07

Or the wound vac reps who give us candy at the station while the supervisor watches. We have been told the rule is to protect us and the computers if something is knocked over.

I take my Sigg bottle and put it behind the desktop screen. It's not gonna leak even if it gets tipped over. Heck, it could roll off the desk and still not break. I'm not gonna mistake a cup of pee for my beverage. No one is gonna mistake it for something they can put a specimen in.
Oct 11, '07

Quote from not now

Or the wound vac reps who give us candy at the station while the supervisor watches. We have been told the rule is to protect us and the computers if something is knocked over.

I take my Sigg bottle and put it behind the desktop screen. It's not gonna leak even if it gets tipped over. Heck, it could roll off the desk and still not break. I'm not gonna mistake a cup of pee for my beverage. No one is gonna mistake it for something they can put a specimen in.

Where can you get them?
Feb 3, '08

Quote from TeleRNer

My hospital has addopted a policy of No iota of food at or near one's work station. The rule is that all of your drinks (including bottled water) and all of any snacks are to be held in the lounge and never ever be near your area of work. Not even an innocent package of gum!:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire

I agreee, having food in the hallway on counters left behind by staff from the last shift is troublesome and a nuissance when you have to spend time cleaning up other's messes. However, when the lounge is located 1/2 a football field's length from your patient's rooms, it's really quite inhumane to ask anyone to chase back and forth after an energy drink and take care of 5 patients all at the same time.

So that's basically my gripe! Not being allowed to have food or drink near your area of work!

I'll admit I've been known to hide my coffee now and then!

i do understand thier rational ( at least at someplaces of work lol) howver fwiw - i dont know to many who dont "hide" a drink and even a snack. the place i work now has a side room designated so everyone can keep thier stuff nearby but not at the workstation so we dont have to go a football field away. just a thought.
Feb 3, '08

Quote from mianders

osha or jcaho says that a nurses station is a patient care area and that is why you can not have food or drinks there. i have been a nurse a long time and have never seen a nurse do patient care at the nurses station. it is a rediculous rule made by people who have no idea what they are talking about on this matter. don't get me wrong they are both worthwhile orginizations, but this rule is wrong.

it's a shame
with osha, jcaho, & dept of health
to blame.

that nurses can't
eat or drink
at work stations
somebody take a quick look and blink.

if nurses
all gave up their jobs
the entire human race
would starting droppin'-dead in blobs.

we need to eat and drink, too.
yes, we give patient care
but we have nutritional needs too.

who says patients and families
shouldn't see us eat?
only the real unproessionals
could support this feat.

we nurses are human
who need to survive
the toil of long hours/accountablity
requires food/drink and drive.

won't somebody say something?

[s]registered nursing. the best profession healthcare dollars can buy.[/s]
Feb 3, '08

Quote from hikernurse

Of course with a policy like this, I'm sure your hospital enforces a lunch break (or two if you're working a 12-hour shift) and a couple of mid-breaks in between for eating, yes?

HA! my hospital is trying to come down on us over the food/drink at the nurse's station thing (there's an outbreak of a norovirus affecting many staff at the moment) However, not one of our night supervisors is enforcing the rule. Why? Because 11-7 nurses DON'T GET A BREAK where I work. We're allegedly a different kind of human who can survive without nutrition for 8-12 hours after sleeping all day. When I was first hired, I asked why we are the only shift who doesn't get a break, and got two responses- 1-"that's the way it's always been done here" and 2-"isn't it always quiet enough that you can get a few bites in while charting?" The real reason, IMO- because we are a non-smoking facility, one would have to clock out and leave the grounds in order to smoke. This way they think they're cutting down on "smoke breaks", since any employee smoking, say, on a sidewalk, has "left the grounds" while on duty- they obviously aren't on the break they don't get at 2AM.

ANGRY! There's no place to eat or drink 'round here! - page 7

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