Lunch breaks

Nurses Safety

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I am interested in knowing if any facilities allow a person to leave the facility for their lunch break. In my facility it is sort of an unwritten rule that you hang around at least in the building where you can be reachable by phone. (The phone system doesn't work in all parts of the building either). Particularly interested in cardiac units who tend to be a bit more critical with fewer staff.

My personal belief, I would love to leave the facility to have lunch somewhere else. (if you get a lunch) But I also believe and know that it adds extra stress to the nurse that now has twice as many patients to cover for?

What do you think?

hello,

in my area of clinical practice, it is standard for nursing personnel to leave the site premises when they are on their lunch break.

however, i do fel in order to be competent practitioners we need to relax and unwind on our lunch breaks because if one is working 12 hours plus in any one day, one needs to get away from the site area and chill for a little while.

it is understandable that on occasions it is impossible to leave the site area due to staff shortages and one needs to remain within close proximity, but to me when the opportunity is available to go off with colleagues somewhere else and relax, its there to be used.

hope this helps, jeniousno1:cool: :kiss

I can't stand these whiney non smokers either. What about your

car? I ride a bike why do I have to breath your car fumes? Give me a break- the facility policy allow 2 15 min breaks and a half hour lunch. Why are you not utilizing it? They give non smokers LOOKS?!?? huh? Welcome to our world buddy. hey if you are covering every smokers break then i think at LEAST one of them would be nice enough to cover yours. Don't be a martyr . and If your feelings about smoking are so strong just say "no I can't cover" I'm sick of it or whatever- but harboring resentments only hurts you in the long run - look who's not getting a break

I frequently don't take my lunch or supper break because I'm too busy but there are those who will leave an MI in the works to go have that meal - they never ever skip their breaks not matter what. I have that option too. But I choose not to. Nothing against them - they may be diabetic. Then I write on my timecard - I didn't get my supper and I get paid for the half hour if I don't use it.

I have quit drugs, alcohol, caffeine, just lost 80 lbs and gave up my credit card- I am not giving up my smokes yet. Besides almost every single employee - over 40 of us smoke. We have an area by the garbage dumpters where they have even given us milk crates to sit on - does anyone object to that spot?. If a non smoker wants to go out to the dumpters and eat he is always welcome but will have to put up with that darn old smoke smell -it is terrible compared to the dumpster of 1,000's of used briefs isn't it? It kind of speaks something about the nuthouse we work in though

when everybody smokes. I think I saw my CNA smoking something different in her car once but couldn't be sure.

Also I do go out if I take a break- I put gas in car, get groceries, etc.- I have to get out of there even for 10 minutes - I hand my med keys to the other charge nurse in the facility and have never had a problem. She's never had to tend to any of my pts in that small time frame especially since they are all eating in the dining room. Maybe you can work around a quiet time at your place.

we have half hour unpaid lunch break and two ten min tea breaks ... i only leave the building for the half hour lunch or dinner break ... cos i smoke! i dont have the time to change and run all the way down stairs in my short breaks ... so i dont duck out for the quick ciggie during my shift

smoking ... i work in a smoke free environment ... i have no intention of stopping smoking tho .. i was employed there before it came in ... and it isnt really enforced anyway as the security guys smoke themselves most of them .... i got caught once ... and they just asked me to close the door behind me when i was done .. it is a huge place and it is just impossible to get changed n off the grounds and back in time for someone else to have their break

reported my getting caught to my boss .. just incase she heard about it and she was fine with it as it is a policy which alot of staff do not agree with ... even the non smokers

i really think there should be at least one designated area for staff to smoke ... stuck there for hours on end and not even being able to have one smoke ... bloody stupid i think

if they did get tough on it ... i dunno wot id do .. id prolly still smoke

prob pretty hard to find a job where i could smoke as all dept of health facilities have adopted this no smoking policy

if they decided to sack me for smoking .. then so be it ... dont think it would worry me to be honest

i cannot stand ppl telling me wot to do at the best of times

especially when it is something like that

Recently in the news, there was a report of a nurse leaving Durham Regional for lunch. The nurse was carjacked and killed!!!!

I guess the facilty wants you on grounds for your own protection.

I am in home care so there is no going out to lunch for me!!!!

I work in research, there are 4 of us and we get 30 minutes for lunch (we also schedule our own patients). The MD in charge, though, won't let all four of us go together and leave our area "unstaffed" unless SHE gets to come too! Funny. She's afraid an unscheduled patient will come in on an emergency and she'll have to deal with it...but if she's gone, too then it doesn't matter! :)

I work 12 hour shifts.We are supposed to have a 30 min UNENCUMBERED break.We rarely get that.The other night I was working on the floor alone due to staff calling in sick.I asked the supervisor who was going to relieve me for my dinner break.She said she had no one to relieve me,why couldn't I eat at the nurse's station.I reminded her about the law and my union regs.I still got no relief but you better believe I filled out overtime papers for that time. We rarely get the breaks and our union does nothing to help us.

I am new nurse.... Have worked 7a-7p from my day of hire..As a tech, (with same hospital) got 30 minutes break each shift. As an R.N. have worked passed year, 96% of all combined shifts in "level 1" (high stress) and 90% of all those shifts I got no 30 minute break. Most times the charge Nurse never even asked me...did she ask others nurses..."have you had lunch"? Yes.. she did... I have learned assertiveness,and have improved my "get a break percentage". I honestly know of no other career where you work your brain and buns to exhaustion for 12 hours rarely getting even 30 minutes recoop time..Lawyers sure would not. We nurses work hard.........BIG SMOOCH and HUG to ALL... ( hey make it quick room 12's call lights blaring):blushkiss :kiss

I'm in Public Health now, but when I worked in the hospital I always went outside to eat my lunch where I could at least see the sun and the birds. I refused to eat in the nurses lounge. I felt lunch was my time and I refused to be interrupted while I ate. Now I don't have to worry about lunch because I get an hour and can go wherever I want! ;)

I work at a place that does pay for an half hour lunch. The only bad thing is that everyone eats together, every day. If a patient comes in, you of us had to stop eating and take care of them. In 5 years we have only left the office once to have lunch at a restaurant. The rest has been bringing in something from home!:rolleyes:

I work night shift 7p-7a we do not get lunch break. I would like to know the legality of this and does this vary from state to state. Does anyone know?

I'm afraid I too have the dreaded nicotine addiction and am the only smoker in our small dialysis clinic. I work 12 hr shifts instead of the normal 10 for our unit and we (supposedly) are allowed a 30 min lunch and 2-15 min breaks. The staff usually take their breaks as one 30 min breakfast break because morning is our slowest time of the day. The techs are the only ones who always get their breaks. As for me, because I close the unit, I come in 3 hours later than the rest of the staff. I do not get breakfast break, smoke through my lunch break, and by the time things slow down again, everyone else is ready to leave, so I never get another break. By 8pm I am ready to chain smoke.:smokin: I can't begrudge the people who are ready to leave but I wish there were some way to make it fair for all in this situation. Maybe we should take lessons from the non-nursing staff.

Hey ......I also am a smoker...I work noc shift in a nursing home and I try to take just 2 smoke breaks by breaking up my 15 min break and then I get a 30 min lunch break if i choose to take it....which I don't always....everyone is ok with this as long as I don't abuse it by staying gone more tah 5 or 6 min.

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