Do Nurses eat their....lunch?

[massrn116]

Just out of curiosity I am wondering how many nurses get an assigned lunch break and how many actually take it.

I work in a small community hospital, a ten bed ICU. It can be somewhat busy some days but then there are days when if lunch were assigned and my co-workers could organize themselves, we could all have a 30 minute break on our 12 hour days. Instead everyone decides at the last minute they are going to "run and get something" (our cafeteria closes at 1pm) they then bring it back to the station and eat while answering call lights, the phone, charting and letting visitors in.

When I am in charge I post a lunch break schedule for people to fill in the time they would like to go, based on what they feel may come their way during the shift. It is my attempt to get them organized. There are many days when others are in charge that no lunch break is even thought of till almost 12:30 or 1pm. I then ask if anyone has thought of lunch and I get a "roll of the eyes." People seem pretty content to eat on the run but I feel like an outcast because I need a few minutes to decompress during my shift. Another "no-no", is that if I am not assigned lunch and I have no opportunity to take 30 minutes, I put in for "no lunch", to get paid for it. In reality we should get three 15 min. breaks and a 30 min lunch. (We sign in 15min before our shift and out 15min after because we do not get a paid lunch break) Thoughts?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

lunch? what is this lunch of which you speak? for me, there are days when i eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in my car.

[scrubwearer]

Very rarely do I actually ever get to clock out and eat lunch. Normally I'm shoving whatever food I brought in my mouth as I'm charting or doing some paperwork. Luckily the CNA's where I'm at will ask if us nurses want anything and will pick us up something when they go out.

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[JenforRN]

I think they do. On the units I've had rotations, generally half of them report off and go for ~45 minutes, then the other half goes. I can't think of a situation when a nurse was called back from the break room, generally the nurses on the ward handle whatever needs to be done. They also get 1/2 hour breaks at 9am and then a dinner break around 5pm. I've had classmates get in trouble for not taking breaks - the instructors saw it as a bad habit to compensate for poor organization skills since we only have 2-3 patients.

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

needless to say, when i use to be a staff nurse i never had time to go to lunch even though my nm keep saying "gitano you have to go to lunch" however, if i did my task wouldn't be completed at all and it would put me behind schedule. therefore, i always brought with me a protein shake and plenty of healthy bars plus finger food that i didn't have to place in the mico, it was eat as you go those days. having said that, this is the reason why some of us are obese, because the only food available and easy to eat when you're in the run were the ones in the vending machines, and those are full of sugar, bad calories, and preservatives. with that said, the facility where i work has gotten rid off those vending machines and in it's place healthy snacks have taken over, along with juices and so far it's working nicely

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

Eh.. it's iffy if we get them. Most get the morning break (the staff nurses) but lunch can be iffy. We are pretty good about supporting each other to get the nurse off the floor, sometimes kicking and screaming about having too much to do to leave.

If it's a slammer of a day, nobody gets the 30 min lunch.

As for me, I take only 30 min break in a 12 hr shift...maybe...on a good day. Even then I don't take it for 9 hrs into my shift. Sometimes 10. Most of the time it's 20 min and even then I'm interrupted by staff.

[DeLana_RN, BSN, RN]

Ironically, the only nursing acute care job where I ever got to take a 30 min break was a chaotic, 8:1 ratio telemetry/stepdown unit where all 12-hour shifts turned into 14-16 hour shifts with after-hour charting. I guess they figured that no one would be able to do this if they didn't get a break. The way it worked, you teamed up with a coworker (assuming that your 8 pts were stable at the time, meds passed etc), who took your beeper and covered your pts (yes, 16:1 for 30 min); then you did the same for them. And we were encouraged to leave the floor; I would go outside and eat lunch under some trees.

Since then, I have not encountered such a system. In my current inpatient hospice setting (ratio up to 6:1) I can take my break if I want to, assuming the pts are fine; however, if I do I will end up staying late®, so most often I opt to just skip it. It's night shift for now, where you normally don't eat anyway I do keep high protein shakes and/or Ensure in my bag though to keep me going on the run or while charting.

It's a sad state of affairs for nursing. Needless to say, you don't get paid for skipped lunches or breaks (15 min breaks? Only the CNAs get that), and if you dared request payment for missed lunches, which are of course deducted from your hours, management would just use the old stand-by, blame the nurse for "poor time management".

[JZ_RN]

I was once the only nurse on the floor for 50+ patients all night, there were no breaks,no leaving the floor. 12-16 hours straight, no food, no drinks, no bathroom breaks.

[withasmilelpn]

It is an infringement of labor law to consistently miss lunch breaks. r.

It is not an infringement of labor laws in many states to miss lunch breaks. Check your state Labor laws.

The US Federal Labor Law simply states that a worker may have an 'unpaid' break if the break lasts 20 minutes or more and the worker is completely relieved of their duties. That means if you didn't go to lunch and a half hour was deducted from your pay anyway your facility is breaking the law.

A worker who sits at their desk and eats and answers telephone calls or visitors inquirers or types notes - did not have a break under the definition of the law. A faculty that does not pay for that time is breaking the law.

I worked for a faculty that routinely had inservices that were provided during lunch - staff were encouraged to come and eat during. The facility did not pay for that time and stated they didn't have to because the inservices were not 'mandatory.' (Despite the fact staff were badgered into attending.)

They were unaware that if an employee is attending something work related even if not mandated then they were required to be paid during that time.

I worked for another facility that stated in a meeting they would not pay any nurses for time worked after their shift was over without approval - also illegal. Time worked = time that must be paid.

And still another facility where the manager stated she would only approve nurses request for pay when they missed lunch based on whether it was reasonable or not (acuity, census, etc.) Illegal as well. An employee can choose to work through lunch for whatever reason and must be paid. Period. End of story.

What an employer CAN do is discipline or fire employees that don't follow their workplace rules regarding lunch breaks and overtime.

Healthcare facilities are known for having frequent violations when it comes to labor laws btw.

[withasmilelpn]

Oh - I did bring the laws to their attention by the way. And did get some places to change their practices by pointing out it was in their interest to follow the law. Labor law violations can be VERY expensive for companies. One complaint opens up all their records of all of their employees for years of review, regardless of whether or not am employee voluntarily worked off the clock. And these days of computerized records will clearly show if an employee charted after clocking out. Companies that continue to be unaware or even knowingly violate the law are shortsighted and not very bright in my opinion.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

We are supposed to get 30min for lunch, unpaid. We don't have sign-up sheets as for when to go, we just sort of go whenever we can if possible. If things are the "Q-word" I will take the opportunity and eat my lunch, even if I only have 5 or 10 minutes to do so! Seize that opportunity!!!

[Hay, RN]

Everyday I take my lunch break. I usually go around 12 or 12:30. I have never missed a lunch and never will. (:

-knocks on wood-

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

When I was newer I worked straight through, and gradually over time I've seen that my productivity and my sweet disposition improve if I take a break. I feel washed out and miserable on my off time when I don't get breaks, and the hospital isn't paying me enough to ruin my days off as well. It's hard to leave in the middle of a shift, and painful to crowbar yourself off the chair when it's time to come back, but it's definitely worthwhile.