Dayshifters - do you take a breakfast break as soon as you get to work?

[Snugglibumkins]

I work 7am-7pm, and it seems as though the popular thing to do is to take a "breakfast" break as soon as report is finished in the morning. We had an extremely busy morning today and the nurse I was working beside complained all morning that she hadn't gotten a breakfast break and so she had not had anything to eat since dinner last night. This is the only place I've worked where the floor is a ghost town as soon as report finishes. I'm just curious to know if this is common practice elsewhere?

FWIW, I do think the 12 hour shifts make it hard to figure out when to eat and I tend to take a break after my morning assessments and meds are complete (around 10am ish) for a snack and then eat lunch around 1:30, then grab a quick yogurt around 5pm as I'm winding down my day.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

I'm a night shifter. I find myself at odds with my day shift counterparts at times. But in their defense, right after report the patients are themselves eating breakfast. A perfect time for a quick break for the nurse if:

1) No seriously ill pts who need immediate attention.

2) Your fellow nurse has no seriously ill pts who need immediate attention.

3) No meds due.

4) Work load is light.

I'll admit taking a break immediately looks bad, but I have no problem with a day nurse going to the cafeteria, grabbing a quick meal and bringing it to the floor to eat. So much of nursing is judgement calls.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

I don't have a problem with this if it includes reasonable, common-sense/common courtesy measures such as ... only a couple of people leaving the unit at a time, keeping it brief, adjusting as necessary for emergent situations on the unit. This has been common where I have worked -- many just cannot stomach breakfast at 0430.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I'll admit taking a break immediately looks bad, but I have no problem with a day nurse going to the cafeteria, grabbing a quick meal and bringing it to the floor to eat. So much of nursing is judgement calls.

That's what a lot of my coworkers would do: while the patients were down at breakfast/eating breakfast on the floor and if it was calm enough, they'd grab a quick bite and bring it back to the unit, or fire up whatever microwavable breakfast they brought in with them. I didn't begrudge them that at all: I just happen to be a person who has to eat breakfast shortly after getting up, and a lot of people can't do that.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

9-5'ers eat breakfast before work like responsible adults.

Nah. We didn't! Why do you think corporate cafeterias serve breakfast?

[boushie87]

That seems very odd to me. That someone would come to work and immediately take a break. Shouldn't you be assessing your patients? What exactly are you taking a break from? I think I would rather have a break after I've actually worked a bit then plow through the day without any true break (because really if you take a break after you get to work it's like you're starting work after said break..) Unless of course you're taking two breaks before lunch which seems excessive and unfair, unless that is the policy. The floor I'm on right now as a student has each RN take a 30 min break around 10-11 then they get a lunch, and I'm not sure how long or when exactly) but sometime in the early afternoon. Not sure if they get a dinner but I would assume with the 12 hr shift they must. This seems reasonable to me.

[Mulan]

Are they paying people to work or are they paying people to eat breakfast?

[UpinawayRN]

My break consists of scarfing down chips/nuts while charting. Maybe my fault? But that's the way it seems to go. Can't imagine showing up , getting report , then taking a break!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

if you work 12 hour shifts, you're supposed to get a 30 minute lunch break and two fifteen minute breaks. as long as your patients are covered and there's no emergency going on, why should i care if you take your fifteen minute break to eat breakfast right after report? it would be a problem if these nurses all took off at once, or if they ignored pending emergencies to go eat breakfast -- but if you manage your time wisely, you ought to be able to take a morning break.

[lacnola]

I do all morning vitals, meds, assements etc first... then I do my morning coffee which is usually about 930ish unless it is an exceptionally crazy day

[UpinawayRN]

Big corporate now requires bedside handoff reports..so by the time you are done, from room to room, it's call lights, med and procedure time!

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

I see the day people do this......Then i get to hear them ***** at report how they are always behind from the moment they got there. Really?

[llg, PhD, RN]

Just to add a few factors to consider before judging other people's meal schedules.

1. Some people are diabetic and/or have other, similar issues that may require them to have something to eat early in the morning.

2. Some of us can't eat at home before work because we take meds in the morning that must be taken on an empty stomach. I take a medication that requires me to not eat for at least 1.5 hours after I take it. So ... I get up, check my blood glucose, take my pills, get showered and dressed, drive to work ... THEN get a little food.

I'm not a staff nurse anymore ... but if I were ... I would need to follow that same schedule. Maybe other people also have some legitimate reason for the schedules they keep.