Nurses and Lunch Breaks in NYC

sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN · Jun 5, 2014

never had an hr break for meal in nursing........lucky to se part of thirty mins, and when doing acute care, could get you further behind ....some days pee breaks fortunate.... :roflmao:

applewhitern, BSN, RN · Jun 5, 2014

Lunch break? What is that? I have always worked ICU, and couldn't leave my patients alone long enough to go to the cafeteria. Sometimes I can get a CNA to go get me food, but never have I been able to sit in the cafeteria and eat. Most of the jobs I have had were too intense and busy to be able to leave my patients. Nobody to cover for me, anyway. I have often wished that hospitals would send a buffet cart around for the nurses, or let us order a meal and have it sent to our unit. It seems as soon as I get to a stopping point, here comes a doctor wanting to place a swan, do a bedside bronch, or something. On the rare occasions I do go to the cafeteria, I see tons of management and office staff there, enjoying a lengthy break or two. I very rarely see a nurse sitting there.

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Jun 5, 2014

The only job I ever had with an hour for lunch was as a secretary for an insurance company. Otherwise it's just 30 minutes at the hospital. I work nights so there is usually downtime to take a lunch and breaks. It is pretty rare for me not to get my lunch. I would take a no lunch if they left us with just 2 staff, which fortunately doesn't happen often.

RNperdiem, RN · Jun 5, 2014

Here, it is 30 minutes plus a couple of breaks when you can fit them in.

What would I do with an hour break? I can't leave the hospital to run errands, the patient is still officially my responsibility, and I wouldn't want to watch someone elses' patients for that long a time. In ICU a lot can happen in an hour when you have 4 patients (yours + the patients you are covering).

Paws2people · Jun 5, 2014

What's a lunch break??

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jun 5, 2014

Keep in mind that if you are interrupted for work issues at any time during your "meal break", (Federal law) you must be paid for that time. This has become a huge issue - according to a recent report, the number of wage & hour lawsuits has risen dramatically over the last 5 years as employees have become more knowledgeable about their rights.

Most large organizations in my neck of the woods require hourly staff to clock out for lunch rather than doing the 'automatic deduction' because even 'accidental' violations can incur legal liability.

itrust · Jun 5, 2014

I work on a StepDown unit at a Trauma Center in NY, and I get an hr lunch break. My hospital hire nurses (mostly per diem nurses) to come in to cover lunch breaks for the critical care units (At my hospital StepDown is considered critical care). Usually the nurse that comes in to cover lunches have a shorter shift that day (6 hours as opposed to the usual 12). At night if we have coverage (i.e. the nurse who volunteers to cover lunches does not cancel), our lunch break is 2 hours. I like that we have an hr lunch and I feel that we need it. The two hour lunch break at night is also nice. As a new nurse, I'm usually behind so I chart for the first hour of my break and take a nap during the second hour. This is not the case for the Med/Surg or noncritical care nurses. They cover their own breaks, and although their break is technically an hr, it's usually filled with constant interruptions.

SonBSN · Jun 16, 2014

What state do you work in? What unit? How many patients? And how many hours a day? I have 6 patients on a busy surgical unit in a hospital in NYC and work 13 hours a day. Most of the time I am on my feet and when I don't get a break I am exhausted. Especially when I work a couple of days in a row. I wanted to get an opinion on nursing satisfaction. A one hour break for me is not just to 'eat', it's also a way to relax and regroup. I am not sure if the patient load at your hospital is different than mine.

MidLifeRN2012 · Jun 16, 2014

As a new nurse career changer, I do miss my desk job hour lunches where I would go run errands or work out for an hour, then go back to my desk to eat leisurely.

Sigh.... We do get 30 min on PM shift and 45 min on nights. And we each take turns relieving each other. I would insist on taking my breaks ---unless it was in the middle of a crisis

Labor law says we get breaks. Take them.

misstrinad · Jun 17, 2014

LTC in MN. We are supposed to get a half hr unpaid lunch and 2 15 min paid breaks. We never get all of it. There has been 1-2 times I've absolutely had to use my lunch to run an errand and took 1 45 min unpaid break after making sure to collaborate with my manager and CNAs. I could never be comfortable sitting and taking an entire hour lunch. Even when I work a double (17 hr shift) in fact when I got a dog last yr I had just enough time to get hm let him out and get back so I was running hm on my lunch to let him outside and I stressed bc I was off the property and if something happened there was nothing I could do. I usually go sit in my car on break and make phone calls or enjoy the peace but I have been interrupted Soooo many times, bc a resident fell or had become violent or needed their inhaler asap or fire alarms going off. I prefer to be able to respond quickly and my car is closer than the break rm and there I can hear if I'm paged. My staff know if they need me to page me over head or call my cell as there is almost always someone who I have given my cell # to that is working.

In short...no I don't get an hour break for lunch no matter how long the shift. I don't think I would be less stresssed. In fact more stressed if I was forced to take it bc of policy bc there would be more wrk to cram in. I don't think there's any reason for a fill hour lunch break. I don't think my residents would get better care. I usually take 20 min 3-4 hrs into my shift, then a quick 5 min right before lunch is served, then an hr before my shift ends 5-10 min if I have the time.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2014

I would love to get ANY kind of lunch break that did not involve me having a phone in my pocket on which my patients could call me. Because that is not a break IMHO.

According to the Dept. of Labor's humble opinion, it's not a break. Meal breaks are unpaid so the requirement to keep your phone and answer pt calls while on your unpaid meal break = requirement that you work for free. I'd think an easy fix would be to hand your phone to the RN covering for you, and to take hers/his while s/he is on break. But if management is pushing you to keep the phone and be available, you need to be paid for this half-hour.

From the Dept. of Labor's website -- http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs53.htm

Meal Breaks

Bona-fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more) are not work time, and an employer does not have to pay for them. However, the employees must be completely relieved from duty. When choosing to automatically deduct 30-minutes per shift, the employer must ensure that the employees are receiving the full meal break. See Regulations 29 CFR 785.19.

Example #9:

A skilled nursing facility automatically deducts one-half hour for meal breaks each shift. Upon hiring, the employer notifies employees of the policy and of their responsibility to take a meal break. Does this practice comply with the FLSA? Yes, but the employer is still responsible for ensuring that the employees take the 30-minute meal break without interruption.

Example #10:

An hourly paid registered nurse works at a nursing home which allows a 30-minute meal break. Residents frequently interrupt her meal break with requests for assistance. Must she be paid for these frequently interrupted meal breaks? Yes, if employees' meals are interrupted to the extent that meal period is predominately for the benefit of the employer, the employees should be paid for the full 30-minutes.