Eating before clinicals

shrimpchips, LPN · Jan 9, 2009

You should get out of that mindset now. If you cant take a 1-2 minute break, long eat a small snack, then something is wrong. You will probably have more than enough opportunities when you are charting.

A lot of hospitals do computer-based charting these days, and I know that my site does that...is it usually okay to whip out a snack while on the floor doing that or should I just go to the nurses station...?

shrimpchips, LPN · Jan 9, 2009

i'm going to be a downer here. but when you start working as a real nurse, you'll have to go several hours without eating a thing. just think of this as a training session. you'll feel starved in the beginning, but then you get used to it. good luck to you.

Yes, I am aware of this. Thanks.

bekindtokittens · Jan 9, 2009

I don't like eating that early in the morning, either, but I would make myself. The days I wouldn't eat in the morning always ended up with me being nauseous and headache-y.

I would make myself half a peanut butter sandwich and eat it in the car on the way, along with a huge cup of coffee. The peanut butter sandwich was car friendly, but the coffee sometimes wasn't, and I'd spill it all over my white scrubs. Beware of beverages and white scrubs; it's like the cup has it in for you! Plus, I can't handle anything sweet that early, so the PB really did the trick.

I would stick a Lara Bar or Clif Bar (black cherry almond, mmm) in my pocket and eat it in the bathroom if I got really hungry. We did both computer and paper charting, but it was not a good idea for us students to be seen by our clinical instructor eating somewhere other than the cafeteria or break room.

86toronado, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2009

I live an hour away from all of the clinical sites my school uses as well, so last semester I got in the habit of arriving 15 minutes early and making myself some instant oatmeal when I got there. That way I didn't have to be eating breakfast at 5:15am, and I always had a built in time cushion in case there was traffic or anything (my school has a very strict attendance policy - 15 minutes late = absence). I would pack an apple in my lunch in case my tummy started rumbling before our lunchbreak I could sneak into the locker room and munch on that!

NightOwl0624 · Jan 9, 2009

I suppose if you're eating something chewy, complicated or messy, there might be a problem. But honestly, something that takes 2-3 bites to complete should not be a problem. (I don't like eating in front of my instructors, either).

And I did eat a granola bar in the bathroom once out of desperation. Usually, once I have gotten that one snack down, I don't think about food again for quite a while, and sometimes am not even hungry for lunch.

And honestly, even when I am a "real" nurse, I think I can make it a priority to take 90 seconds out of my day to give myself nourishment or an occasional sip of water, and I won't feel bad about it, either. I have seen lots of threads on this, about nurses never getting their lunch break. I understand that things come up and you have to be flexible, and sometimes will not be able to take a full "break", but I will never feel guilty providing myself with the basics.

Do-over, ASN, RN · Jan 9, 2009

I keep a granola bar in my pocket and then make sure I actually eat it! One day I didn't - I had to leave the room with the woozies while observing a procedure because I was running on empty. Luckily, the CI didn't say anything - it was better to leave rather than fall out in a patient's room.

Atheos · Jan 9, 2009

I love Peanut Butter/Banana/Honey Sandwiches for breakfast.

Yummy, not too big and it gives me enough energy energy to last awhile.

back2thebooks · Jan 9, 2009

How about a protein shake or cottage cheese (very high in protein)?

Not in clinicals yet, but I am frequently up that early for something. I shadowed a CRNA friend of mine a couple of months ago and I made sure that I ate before I got to the hospital at 6:00 a.m. and went into the O.R.!

I'm always reallllly hungry in the morning, but I take thyroid meds which make me wait one hour to eat. It is horrible for me!

RNDreamer · Jan 9, 2009

On clinicals days, I woke up very early. I would make a peanut butter (and sometimes jelly) sandwich the night before and bring it with me to the clinical site. I usually got there up to 30 minutes early, so I would just eat the sandwich outside before going in. That way, I wouldn't be starving by the time my lunch break came.

CRIMSON · Jan 9, 2009

Wow, I wish our clinicals hadn't of started until 7. First set we were on the unit @ 0530, and second set on the floor @ 0615 and lasted till 1500.

I do not like to eat that early myself would try a banana or apple and carry a nutrigrain bar in pocket. Our instructors recommended peanut butter and crackers or PB sandwich for the protein.

Mommy_of_3_in_AL..RN · Jan 9, 2009

Eat...something..unless you want to pass out cold in the ICU..yes i did that..not because i had eaten..because i had, which was rare for me..but because i was dehydrated, BP bottoming out...fun day i spent in the ER...so make sure you eat!!

missjennmb · Jan 9, 2009

I think its really a bad idea to set students up with the expectation that they will not be able to eat once they are nurses for hours on end. You have to be flexible. At my hospital, a lot of things happen in waves, so you may not be able to have a 30 minute sit down lunch at 12 noon on the dot, but you CAN pop out to the break room for 5 minutes during down time and eat a snack.

If you cannot get a second to feed yourself where you work from the time you clock in until the time you clock out, I'm sorry but you need to re-evaluate your conditions. Even in those situations, it would be MORE advisable to get some nutrition before you come in, like this thread is discussing.