12N Sleeping During Break

Nurses Safety

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:confused: I am a nurse manager in a HR dept. It has been reported to me that a nurse who was working 12N informed her CNAs that she was going to be in the facility break room for her 30 min lunch if they needed her. The ADON of the facility came in at 5AM (early for 12D shift) and saw the nurse with her head down on the break room table. Instead of approaching her she went to the nurse's station and in 10 min the nurse returned from the break room. Is this an acceptable practice since we deduct 30min for lunch or is this grounds for disciplinary action? The ADON was upset stating that she did not know how long she had been in there that night and then the DON started questioning "how long has she been sleeping on the job" - meaning the two months she has been employed. The DON has made statements that patients were neglected and that she should be discharged and reported to the nursing board. The nurse has told me that she saves her break until the later part of her shift so that she can get a burst of energy for the end of her shift job duties and the long drive home. The nurse feels that her break time is her personal time and she was still accessible to the staff and patients if the need arose ie instead of going to her car. The nurse had excellent references and has received numerous compliments from our day time staff. I feel I should recommend assigning her to straight day sfts to not lose a good employee but feel that others would want her to be discharged to set the example of no tolerance, but with her rebuttal of personal time I feel unsure of how to proceed. They have mentioned that it was an isolated incident that was poor professional judgement on her part, but to me it seems that she had thought out her actions and did not feel she was doing anything wrong so I wanted fellow night nurse's opinion of this or similar incidences. Thanks so much.
Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
:confused: I am a nurse manager in a HR dept. It has been reported to me that a nurse who was working 12N informed her CNAs that she was going to be in the facility break room for her 30 min lunch if they needed her. The ADON of the facility came in at 5AM (early for 12D shift) and saw the nurse with her head down on the break room table. .

A nurse gets a 30 minutes break? That's news to me. Seriously though, when I worked night if I would have taken a break it would have only made me sleepier. I feel though that whatever a nurse wants to do with her own unpaid time is her business as long as she is on the floor and available in an emergency. I would have told that DON what she could do with her job if she didn't like it.

Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
There is a difference between being reported and actually having committed a violation. Anyone can report you, and you definitely have to answer to an accusation, but that doesn't mean it's the law. The worded violation is : "sleeping on duty."

"Sleeping on duty" and "Sleeping anytime on your shift" are synonymous here in NC. You can lose your license even if you are "on break." It is simply not permitted. Just about every facility in our area also has a written policy against nursing personnel sleeping (even on break time).

Specializes in NICU.
"Sleeping on duty" and "Sleeping anytime on your shift" are synonymous here in NC. You can lose your license even if you are "on break." It is simply not permitted. Just about every facility in our area also has a written policy against nursing personnel sleeping (even on break time).

Boy am I glad that I don't live in NC, and that I work on a unit where it is perfectly acceptable to spend one's night-time break taking a cat nap. Again, this is on break, not during patient care time.

I hear that in Europe there is a two-hour overlap on hospital shifts, and also that nurses (for all shifts, I believe) work 10 hour shifts and 2 of those hours are scheduled for napping. Am I crazy or is this true in some places?

Specializes in Cardiac,ICU,.
:confused: I am a nurse manager in a HR dept. It has been reported to me that a nurse who was working 12N informed her CNAs that she was going to be in the facility break room for her 30 min lunch if they needed her. The ADON of the facility came in at 5AM (early for 12D shift) and saw the nurse with her head down on the break room table. Instead of approaching her she went to the nurse's station and in 10 min the nurse returned from the break room. Is this an acceptable practice since we deduct 30min for lunch or is this grounds for disciplinary action? The ADON was upset stating that she did not know how long she had been in there that night and then the DON started questioning "how long has she been sleeping on the job" - meaning the two months she has been employed. The DON has made statements that patients were neglected and that she should be discharged and reported to the nursing board. The nurse has told me that she saves her break until the later part of her shift so that she can get a burst of energy for the end of her shift job duties and the long drive home. The nurse feels that her break time is her personal time and she was still accessible to the staff and patients if the need arose ie instead of going to her car. The nurse had excellent references and has received numerous compliments from our day time staff. I feel I should recommend assigning her to straight day sfts to not lose a good employee but feel that others would want her to be discharged to set the example of no tolerance, but with her rebuttal of personal time I feel unsure of how to proceed. They have mentioned that it was an isolated incident that was poor professional judgement on her part, but to me it seems that she had thought out her actions and did not feel she was doing anything wrong so I wanted fellow night nurse's opinion of this or similar incidences. Thanks so much.

I don't think there is a thing wrong with her napping. I think if people in the work enviroment would worry about thereselves more and not so much others things would run alot smoother. For some reason everyone is worried about everyone else and if you ask me I think that those whom complained need tobe observed and see how perfect they are.

The point is that staying in the buidling is a courtesy. This being the case, my point would be FINE! I'll take a nap in my car during my break and won't be available, regardless.

It is, after all, an UNPAID break - I can take it anywhere - taking it in the breakroom was simply a courtesy.

~faith,

Timothy.

I'm with you. The problem is solved by leaving the building unless the supervisors have the employees chained down to the unit or wearing electronic ankle bracelets.:chuckle

Funny how employers are never disciplined when it comes to this issue. It is an unspoken and unwritten rule apparently that nurses are not entitled to the same rights as other employees within the institution (ie: any staff who is not involved with direct patient care, clerks, housekeepers, dietary, etc).

Actually, in California, the break and lunch rules are enforced strictly, and employers can be fined for not providing these.

It's funny to go to work on some days, when we are extemely busy and to have the supervisors "ordering" us to go to lunch or on break, so the company doesn't get fined.

Specializes in Pediatrics.

I'm still a nursing student, but my husband works at Cedars in Los Angeles and there is a strict no sleeping during your shift, whether you are on break or not, rule there. It seems unfair to me, as I can remember jobs where I was pregnant and needed to lie down 45 minutes for my lunch, and my company actually provided a room and a cot for me! But maybe it is due to a belief that if someone falls asleep even for a short time they will be out of it when they return to work? Or maybe too many people oversleep? Doesn't your hospital have a policy on this?

Boy am I glad that I don't live in NC, and that I work on a unit where it is perfectly acceptable to spend one's night-time break taking a cat nap. Again, this is on break, not during patient care time.

I hear that in Europe there is a two-hour overlap on hospital shifts, and also that nurses (for all shifts, I believe) work 10 hour shifts and 2 of those hours are scheduled for napping. Am I crazy or is this true in some places?

I know on the floors where I've had placement, we've always had a nap at night. Nothing wrong with that at all. Note to self - never work in NC...

"Sleeping on duty is technically not a violation of the NPA. However, if a nurse is sleeping she is neglecting the patient's in her care. So the violation is negligence. If a nurse is on break and has reported and someone accepted the responsibility of watching that nurse's patients then the nurse is not negligent. It may be against the facility policy for a nurse to sleep at any time while on duty and if this is the case it would be an employment issue."

This is from the NC BON.

Specializes in Emergency.

Miss post.

Rj

In my unit, you get a one hour unpaid break for lunch. You are allowed to leave the hospital to eat and if so, you clock out and then back in. If I stay in the breakroom, and decide to take a short nap, I could face disciplinary action for sleeping? Yet the ones that leave the hospital completely are not penalized? That doesn't make sense. To me, unpaid break=off the clock, employers shouldn't be able to dictate what you do. (And I'm in NC....maybe I'll email the board and ask!)
"Sleeping on duty is technically not a violation of the NPA. However, if a nurse is sleeping she is neglecting the patient's in her care. So the violation is negligence. If a nurse is on break and has reported and someone accepted the responsibility of watching that nurse's patients then the nurse is not negligent. It may be against the facility policy for a nurse to sleep at any time while on duty and if this is the case it would be an employment issue."

This is from the NC BON.

Thank you, Neuro!

The glory of being getting documentation from the source!

Specializes in Pain Management, FNP, Med/Surg, Tele.

I totally agree with you. If its my unpaid break time, I'm going to do what I want as long as it is not illegal. Personally, I take power naps. I wake up feeling rejuvanated so I can run around as much as when I first came in. This is why I will try very hard not to work a night shift because I am so used to going to bed around 10, 11pm that even when I go out to hang out with my friends, I am yawning uncontrollably, my eyes start getting watery and red and it is almost as if my body is shutting down and it is embarrassing considering that I just turned 25. At least she was still in the building and she told everyone where she was.

For every eight hours you work, you're supposed to get 30 minutes unpaid lunch break and two 15-minute paid mini-breaks. On my unit, we combine all of that time into one solid hour of breaktime each night. Most of us eat in the break room. Sometimes people go to the cafeteria or out to their cars to smoke. And others sleep for their hour break. Break time is YOUR time, so if you choose to take a nap instead of eat, why is that any of the hospital's business? Actually it's much easier to get ahold of a napping nurse on the unit than one that is hanging out in the cafeteria or in her car smoking! We know where they are, they only stay out for their designated hour, and they are refreshed when they get back from break. So what is the problem? This is BREAK, a time to get a bit of relief from working. It's not like they're sleeping at the bedside or nursing station, they're not visible to patients and their families.
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