What do you do on your break at work?

[fedupnurse]

I work nights. SOme of our staff nap, some eat, some play on the computer. Last fall we have the Leonid Meteor showers and a colleague and I went to the beach on our break to watch it. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life! Do any of you do interesting or unusual stuff during your break at work????

[obtnt]

I join the ?break? crowd. In 15 yrs I never had an "official" break!!! I did work with the smoker crowd, who ALWAYS managed to go outside, even with all h$#& breaking loose, and no one had time to go get them!! We have had them paged before and occaisionally they could hear it outside!! For some reason, the rest of us NEVER got a break. I consider it a break to be able to go to the CAN!! Most nights we were lucky if we went to the cafeteria and brought back food, to be eaten over the course of a 12 hr shift. Of course, the docs had trays delivered to the unit by dietary because they might not be able to walk to the cafeteria, poor babies. Also, it IS the LAW that we get breaks, just try to work with management on THAT ONE!!!hahhahahaha

[JailRN]

Break--I get on the computer, onto Allnurses,com and post.

[labornurse]

It's been so long since I've had one that I don't think I'd know what to do with it if I got one.

[HazeK]

pee...refill my diet Pepsi...That is all there is time for in L&D!

[patsue53]

What I've noticed in reading over these posts is that noone questions the legality of hospitals not making sure that nurses gets the legally mandated breaks that they have coming to them. I was even told once that hospitals are "exempt" from the state labor laws which mandate a 15 minute break for every 4 hours worked and 1/2 hour lunch break after 4 hours. I rarely get a coffee break, but if at all possible I make sure I get my lunch break...and I take that break in the cafeteria...not in the break room where I'm too easily accessible. But if I don't get a lunch break I make sure to punch out "no lunch" so I get paid for that 30 minutes. As for the smokers....they're getting their breaks...so who's the smarter nurse?

There's no nurse's union where I work. For those of you who do have a union, is the issue of legal breaks addressed?

Lord knows WE DESERVE A BREAK!!!!

[doobiedo, RN]

I worked at a facility that was union even though I was not necessarily in agreement with it. Yea we were suppose to get breaks...lucky to get 5 min to hit the BR if we were lucky. We did wise up and let supervisor know if we did not get lunch although you seem to spend more time explaining why you did not get lunch. Felt you had to justify yourself all the time

[DIPLOMATICRN4HIRE, MSN, RN]

OMG there is a break?????

zoe

[rnoflabor2000]

What the heck is a break? I thought that is what happens to bones sometimes. There is a unit on our floor that actually called us once and asked us to send them a Nurse so they could go to lunch. That kept us laughing for months. In our unit, we get all the patients if any other unit is short nursing staff (in OB mind you). We never get to say, "oh sorry, we don't have enough nurses"

[rnoflabor2000]

A quick note, I have noticed that not one L&D nurse said that she (or he) gets a break.

[mopsi]

Ahhh...the welcome smokes and caffine..the only way I can stay up for nights....

[jwhitrn]

Break?! Does any one really get breaks?

[Sherrigillis]

I can totally relate. It really gripes me that some non-smokers feel that they are not getting the same amount of time for breaks that the smokers do, that is your own fault if you are not assertive enough to take your break, or confront the smokers you feel are over indulging in theirs. Now I know that some smokers, especially where I work, do take extra time, but we smokers that actually work as a team and care about our pts wellbeing, as well as our coworkers that are right out straight, the first thing on our minds is our pts, not how fast we get to that break. So keep that in mind. Sherri