Do Nurses Eat?

Too funny :rotfl:

When I took nutrition my Prof. had us compare a protein/energy bar and a Snickers bar, almost the exact same thing! Which do you think I'd choose? Get your meal and your chocolate too!

how funny!!! im gonna go to the gas station across my office and check that out!!!!

i do 14hr shifts and alot of times we are lucky if we get a break, we are so short staffed. i have gone 14 hrs with just 2 cups of tea and nothing else. conditions are not good. Our ward manager says we must take a break but how can we when there is only 2 trained staff on a 23 bedded ward. meds wont be given as on paeds ward its protocol 4 two trained (RN, PAEDS ONLY) to give drugs. It is also against law to leave one member of trained staff on ward. Sorry gone off track a bit there..... :chuckle

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As for breaks: yes, some of us actually get one, but, the time spent is usually utilized as bath room privileges as it takes the entire break to empty ones bladder.

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

So many people I talk to say nurses/nursing students barely ever have time to eat. Is that true? They say nurses live on protein bars and other things similiar to that. I even heard someone say that they give themselves shots of glucose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that seems a little extreme. Whats your opinion or experience?

Sad to say, but yes, that is true for many nurses who do bedside nursing. As for students, I've never worked with student nurses who were deprived of their lunch breaks, so that's not true for them to my knowledge. :)

lunch break is something i have hardly ever missed. may not always be the alotted half hour, but i always eat. i try to make sure my co-workers have had a chance to eat too. if it hits the fan, i can always have someone get them from the break room to rejoin the fun and excitement.

So many people I talk to say nurses/nursing students barely ever have time to eat. Is that true? They say nurses live on protein bars and other things similiar to that. I even heard someone say that they give themselves shots of glucose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that seems a little extreme. Whats your opinion or experience?

Dang, I wish I had that problem! Just kidding, I didn't actually have time to eat healthy foods the way I like. I lived out of vending machines and off of Starbucks for 2 years as I was going through the program. Now, I have my life back and am trying to discover the meaning of dinner all over again!

On a good day, we eat... on a very busy day, we eat anything we can get our hands on! Our managers make sure we get our break time (mainly because they don't want to pay us for missed meals/breaks) by making sure someone can cover us, whether it's another nurse or one of them. I usually prioritize when it comes to patient care, but sometimes, my hunger takes precedence over all.

On top of what we do get a chance to eat, we often get patients who provide us endless sweets and goodies. It's no wonder why we all have a few stubborn pounds lingering! :chuckle

Yes we eat. How we get it done must be creative at times---and it takes teamwork. We have to be willing to cover for each other. Fortunately, where I work, we do well there.

I am just cracking up at Siri's response here!!!!

I really have never met a nurse who can actually work a shift and take advantage of the benefit of chewing and swallowing food and sitting down to rest at any time, on a consistent basis.

You'd be surprised on my unit. For some of the nurses, meals and breaks run like clockwork for them. "Oh, it's 0830, time for breakfast... it's 1240, running just a bit behind for lunch... 1700, can't talk now, gotta have my dinner..." What I wanna know is why everyone else is running around like chickens with their heads cut off while these people have time to sit and eat (and enjoy it) at exactly the same time every day.

Shots of glucose? Wow, that sounds extreme. Maybe in the form of downing a Mountain Dew! Anyway, my advice is to never come to work on an empty stomach - in the event that you don't get a break for awhile, and always pack a decent meal along with little pick-me ups for the times you need a snack and can't have a break. Keep them in your bag as back-up or whatever. I work on a very busy L&D unit and I begin work at 7pm. I have had many nights when I didn't sit down to eat until 3-4 in the morning! Gotta watch what you munch on though. Even cheese or peanut butter and crackers is handy. SG

You'd be surprised on my unit. For some of the nurses, meals and breaks run like clockwork for them. "Oh, it's 0830, time for breakfast... it's 1240, running just a bit behind for lunch... 1700, can't talk now, gotta have my dinner..." What I wanna know is why everyone else is running around like chickens with their heads cut off while these people have time to sit and eat (and enjoy it) at exactly the same time every day.

we have ONE nurse that manages that on my unit. I take my lunch every day, morning break usually, after noon break rarely. Supper break? 3 times in three years. Most of the time I choose to not take the breaks, not that I couldn't. I prefer a late lunch instead. That allows me to get my am work done, and take it easy in the afternoon when I can. Sometimes the afternoons wear me ragged though. I see no reason to not take a break, the fifteen or thirty minutes always does more good than harm to my schedule anyway, but some nurses whine their time away saying "I don't have time, yadda yadda yadda". They would if they'd hush up and take the time for break instead.

It depends on what type of unit you work on. If its a short staffed busy unit plan on finger foods cuz that the best you're gonna get. Those places usually have high turnover rates. I started as a new grad on a Burn unit like this. I was doing a particularly grulleing dressing change. I'll spare you all the details. But I started to get that low blood sugar sway. My preceptor was not sympathetic. She asked me "What's more important your patient or your stomach?" That's an extreme. Usually all of us has some time for a break. Timing is everything. If you have a lull in the shift take it cuz it might be your last. It's always a good idea to have something you can eat quickly in case you're too busy to have a formal break though.