define break...lol

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Anyone?

Specializes in Oncology.

I don't think I've ever had a break as a nurse.. I want off the floor, not disturbed, 1.5 hours per day, can be separated in smaller sections. (I work 10 hours 5 days a week) and I don't want to ever be holding my pee. If someone isn't dying, they can wait 2 minutes for me to urinate.

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

Frequently, a break for me was simply being able to finish my sandwich while sitting on the john peeing. If I were very lucky, no one pounded on the door and asked, "____, is that YOU in there?" before my sandwich had been eaten.

This state doesn't mandate lunch breaks -- they are at the sole discretion of the employer. We were given two 15 minute breaks per 8 hour shift or 3 per 12 hour shift which what was I worked. Don't think I ever got to take more than one and even that was rare.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I work on a critical care unit at a Level 1 Trauma Center. We are REQUIRED to clock out and go to the break room, cafeteria, or wherever for 30 minutes during our shift. They don't want us carrying our unit phones or pagers during those 30 minutes, either. It's nice! As a student, I did clinicals on an ICU unit where the nurses didn't take true lunch breaks, but they also seemed to have a lot more down time to sit at their station and read, snack, etc.

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A nursing break is like a "mom break".

You seize the opportunity for that break when the time is right, and if you are lucky you might get the full 30 minute break and a couple of shorter ones.

Your responsibility for your patient does not take a break( depending on who you trust to watch/babysit).

Sometimes real life needs override an idealized desire for uninterrupted breaks of a certain length.

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The place I work PRN at makes it impossible to take breaks. The AL is huge and many different sections. It's split between 3 nurses. So I am on the top floor. If I wanted a break I would have to call downstairs to the nurse that has 1:60 ratio, have him count with me, give him my keys, then take an hour unpaid lunch (it uses to be 30 mins since we are on 8 hour shifts but they made it an hour to save money) then have the other two nurses do the same when I came back. Our breaks would total well over 3 hours with count time factored in...I have time to take breaks because I am in memory care with less patients, the other 2 do not so I am not going to bother them. I just stay at the desk to monitor everything and snack on pretzels. When I was in skilled on 8 hr shifts I never had time to break.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

A break is just that: My own time with no responsibility for anything at work.

We get 60 minutes (30 paid, 30 not) somewhere 1/3 to 2/3 of the way through the shift.

Slipping off the floor for 5 minutes to pee isn't a break and I won't ask for permission nor offer an apology for doing so as needed.

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It's embarrassing to say how many lunch breaks I've received out of years of nursing I've done.

Some facilities require nurses to carry around phones and at those places I'm just happy if I don't receive a call while I'm in the bathroom. Sorry, I can't grab the chart bc I'm sort of busy....

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It's embarrassing to say how many lunch breaks I've received out of years of nursing I've done.

Some facilities require nurses to carry around phones and at those places I'm just happy if I don't receive a call while I'm in the bathroom. Sorry, I can't grab the chart bc I'm sort of busy....

Im sure no one in nursing school would have thought you'd be Writing orders on tissue in the bathroom to later place in charts.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

It is wild to me that some people are getting up to 90 minute-long of breaks. In a twelve-hour shift, a person is only entitled to thirty minutes at both hospital I work at.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

30 minutes out of 12 hours is awful.

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Seriously, breaks are a necessity for health reasons...like anything else, if you don't take care of the acute stress it becomes chronic. Nurse managers who schedule you on

day/night rotations are trying to kill you, IMHO.

I completely agree with the health reasons. Our health AND our patients'. There were a handful of times that I left the building completely (I lived right around the corner.) I stopped off at home, scarfed down oatmeal and got to see my husband for 10 minutes. When I returned to work, I felt overall happier and more alert, ready to take whatever was thrown in my way next. But as I said, I only did it a handful of times. I made sure it was a good time for the other nurses and CNAs. I wouldn't leave the premises if they were swamped at that time. We also normally took turns sending 1 person out to go to Dunkin Donuts for some good coffee. Then we sat (at night) at the nursing station for 5 minutes charting and enjoying coffee. There were many messed up things about the place I worked, but we had great teamwork.

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Im sure no one in nursing school would have thought you'd be Writing orders on tissue in the bathroom to later place in charts.

Ewwww....Its more sanitary to write directly on your scrubs :D

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