slave labor

Specialties Emergency

Published

I work in a medium sized er. Busy place. Usually am charge rn & triage rn (if not triage, I take on full assignment-4 pts., sometimes more if we are using hall beds). It is almost impossible to be responsible for an entire ER, to know what is going on, to be asked questions everytime you turn around; when you are also trying to take care of your own assignment. the last month (at least), none of us have had a lunch break......12 hours running your a@@ off, full tilt, neck breaking pace, and no food. This is ridiculous! I actually looked up on the internet to see if there is some type of board that I could complain to, and found out that the National labor board does not mandate any type of lunch/dinner break! Certain states DO, but not mine. They staff so tight, we have no one to relieve us....we are supposed to relieve each other for breaks.

Any ideas who/what I can complain to? Don't suggest mgmt. They are well aware....... and have done nothing to change this. I thought maybe state BON? would they do anything? Board of Health? any ideas?

I worked 5 days out of the last 6, (12 hours) and got a lunch break only on my last day. I was told to send a nurse home if we could. I didn't. I sent our only tech home instead. Jerks. I'm pretty sure management gets lunch breaks every day.

burning out.............

We should never put our needs ahead of our patients, especially when our need is the need to eat, and our patient needs life saving measures.

I would never stop in the middle of a code to take my lunch break. :uhoh3: But the gazillion level 4 and level 5's with their colds, STD's and sore throats can SURELY wait while I eat for 30 minutes. I just don't feel THAT gallant.

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Are you seriously complaining about 4 patients? I usually have 6-10 and NEVER get a break. Be grateful!;)

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"We should never put our needs ahead of our patients, especially when our need is the need to eat, and our patient needs life saving measures. "

Are you kidding me? Gimme a break. Its not like the nurse is leaving in the middle of a code to go and eat. Get real. I am sure the "clipboard committess" upstairs take a nice hour long lunch break. Working 121/2 hours without a break is hard and unfair. And its not as thought the entire staff would take a break at the same time. Someone would have to cover those patients. Duh.

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Absolutely, we have to take care of ourselves in order to be able to take care of others. There are days when I have gone nearly the whole 12 hour shift without eating or realizing I haven't gone pee all day, but the longer I am a nurse, the fewer those days are. I know how I perform without a few minutes of peace, and some food, drink.. I need to recharge my batteries at least once a day! Maybe the whole half hour for lunch won't happen, but we need to keep ourselves nourished and energized.

On most days that I haven't taken the unpaid 1/2 hour, I will mark that on the time sheet, because I don't work for free! But I will rarely go without at least taking a few minutes to eat, and I work in a very busy level 1 trauma icu.

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Specializes in ICU/ER/TRANSPORT.

All you nurses with unions, do you typically have to put up with not being able to have 30min for lunch unless there is an emergency going on? Here in Mississippi there is no hospital with a nsg union, but we hear stories how they help you with stuff like that.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
Are you seriously complaining about 4 patients? I usually have 6-10 and NEVER get a break. Be grateful!;)

Welcome to the wonderfull world of nursing

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

I am complaining about having 4 patients......and being in charge.....and "watching over" the entire ER, knowing what's going on with everyone else's patients.....and answering questions from doc's and all RN's....and dealing with traffic control of incoming EMS.....and dealing with managers calling me FROM HOME! telling me to send someone home "the numbers don't justify the amt of staff".

Why aren't you complaining about taking care of 6 - 10 pts?

Don't get me wrong, most days I LIKE my job...it just gets overwhelming @ times, and I NEED to vent. This seems like a good place to do that!

If I don't get lunch, I write "No lunch" and I get paid for it. We are all writing "No lunch" so often that our manager has now made it mandatory that the charge nurse "sign off" on anyone who writes up their no lunch. we've also been informed by our beloved little snitch that she gets mad when we write up our "no lunches". tough sh*&&%t.

what I'm saying is that this is no way to treat an employee, whether it be a nurse or a widget maker. It just seems that nurses are treated like this more that the widget makers.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

ps, hi teeituptom. I still want to work with you!

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No one wants people in pain to wait in the ER. I have done it a few times and I am sure others here have done it as well. It's far from ideal and I wish it could be changed, but with hospitals not having adequate staffing it is now a sad norm. I would certainly understand the nurse's need to eat and rest a few minutes especially as they often work 12 hour shifts. It is the fault of management not the medical staff that they can't get to everyone in a timely manner.

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Specializes in Cardio Vascular, Diabetes Educ,CCU/MSICU.

talk to me in 20 years- you are 27 y.o. and 7 yrs into it. Get down off that cross- someone else needs the wood. Nurses are humans first and foremost and you can't think straight if you are stressed AND hypoglycemic. Cranky nurses are no pleasure to their pt's or co-workers. You'll get over your martyrdom and giving yourself away to management for free- get compensated for missed breaks at least; as Dr. Phil says, "you teach people how to treat you"; don't disrespect or de-value your time or your service.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, ER.

The reason I entered nursing is because I care about others, and I enjoy taking care of people during a time when they need someone to care. I care enough about others not to complain about missing my break. I have based my whole life on taking care of someone else, whether it is my family or a complete stranger, and that is what I am happy doing. I'm not asking for anything in return. I am a wife and a mother first and foremost, and when I am home (4 days a week), I focus on my family, but when I am at work, I am a nurse and I strive to take care of my patients to the best of my ability, and if that means missing a break, then I am ok with that. I, when in charge, ALWAYS make sure that my co-workers have their break, even if I don't, it is no big deal to me.....if I don't get a break, I get paid for it. I am not asking anyone to agree with me, and quite frankly, I don't care what anyone thinks. It's my personal feelings and I do not believe in trying to force your opinions on another.

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The issue isn't about nurses putting their needs before their patients. It's about enabling the nurse TO DO THEIR JOB. Consistently working without benefit of a break/lunch takes a toll on the physical and mental health of nurses, WHICH DOES NOT BENEFIT OUR PATIENTS. The times nurses really need their breaks/lunches tend to be the worst shifts they have (the one thing after another, all hecks breaking loose with the lunatics running the asylum shifts). NO ONE SHOULD BE LEAVING THEIR SHIFT COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED WITHOUT HAVING HAD A BREAK/LUNCH.

Nurses are the rare breed where there will always be one that will criticize another for wanting a break/lunch. Tell me, is there another area of employment where this will happen? I can guarantee that every other employee in the facilities we work in ARE GETTING THEIR BREAKS/LUNCHS AND LEAVING ON TIME WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE NURSES. No one is critical of them. We are the rare breed where there will always be one that allows managment to make us feel inadequate for wanting a break/lunch or for c/o unreasonable workloads. Working 8 or 12hrs without a break/lunch or unable to even relieve one's bladder IS A SIGN OF A POOR WORK ENVIRONMENT.

OUR EMPLOYERS NEED TO BE MADE ACCOUNTABLE IN PROVIDING NURSES A WORKING ENVIRONMENT THAT ENABLES US TO DO OUR JOB. Thats what our nursing organizations need to promote and lobby our legislators for. Thats what we need to lobby and support for each other.

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