How often do you take a break?

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2006

When my blood sugar drops to the 30's or my bladder just can't stand one more minute. According to the rules, even water bottles aren't allowed on the unit. So we dehydrate, blood sugar drops and kidney stones form. Kind of sad.

JenNJFLCA · Oct 21, 2006

I'll take a break in the AM if I have time or if my blood sugar is at about 20 (then I'll make it a priority...if I don't feel well, how will I take care of my pts?). Most of the time I get a 30 min lunch in our TINY breakroom, and maybe I'll take a 15min break in the afternoon. It all depends on the day....

ortess1971 · Oct 21, 2006

Half hour lunch break and a 15 minute coffee break. Sometimes, if you can't leave a case(we tend not to leave in a delicate part of a vascular case, for example.) we'll combine the 15 minute with our lunch. I used to work in a place that would try to deny my breaks-they straightened up after I mentioned that I was pretty sure it was a labor violation and maybe even OSHA would be interested. :devil: LOL...I got my breaks after that. But seriously, I think it is reprehensible that floor nurses tend not to get breaks-why is this allowed? Especially, when supervisors, managers and administration get in some cases an HOUR for lunch and don't have everyone breathing down their neck. If a nurse is a diabetic and her sugar drops because of a missed meal and a mistake is made, something tells me these hospitals would not back up the nurse. It's sad, because they fail to realize the poor treatment of floor nurses is why many new grads want no part of floor nursing. I respect you guys 100%.

jill48, ASN, RN · Oct 30, 2006

i'm sure you have probably noticed that smokers are always sure to get their breaks. I'm a smoker and have been hearing other nurses ***** about that for years. I never take a full lunch or dinner break, instead I break it up into smaller breaks. I take my break when I can get it. I cover for other nurses so they cover for me. I make it fair.

Era · Oct 30, 2006

Doing an assignment, interested in finding out if nurses take a break during their shift? Presuming the majority don't.

I don't function well on an empty stomach so I have to have my break... even if it's just the only one which most of the time it is. Most of the time I get one break so I make sure I'm well fed & watered :cool: I take a big bottle of water with me to sit by my station so I don't dehydrate. :saint:

RN(MH) · Oct 30, 2006

Hi all

The first nursing ome i worked in I did nights (12 hour shifts), we could have an hours break, but it was a paid break, so you could not take yourself off somewhere quiet and relax, all the break meant was that the other staff on duty had to deal with any problems during that hour, invariably we didnt really get a break.

When working on the mental health acute admission wards we were supposed to have a 20 minuts break when on a short shift, but i can say i dont remember having many of these especially if the ward was busy with ward rounds, meds rounds,office work, and lets not forget the patient care. If there a lot of admissions and discharges that shift, then forget a break. Quite often we would have at least 6 admissions and discharges on a typical shift. Then there would be the patients that were acutely unwell that needed to be taken care of. If I was on a long shift (thats 14 hours) we were supposed to get 20 mins in the am, 20 mins in the pm and an hour for lunch. The only break I used to get was a lunch break (and sometimes that was either omitted, or shortened, if we were short staffed,or had problems on the ward. Was very difficult, but worked with a great bunch of people, so didnt seem so bad at the time.

At my last job in a privately run nursing home for the elderly with mental health problems was a nightmare. We were supposed to have 20 mins in the am, 20 mins in the pm and 45 mins for lunch. Very often I didint get a break until about 18.00hrs (we did 12 hour shifts). The problem there was that there would only be 1 qualified nurse on duty at a time, and the owner insisted that the qualified only answered the phones, so just as I would sit down for a break the phone would go, as would the break. I did insist in eating at lunch time, but this would always be interrupted by phone calls,or the HCAs calling me with a problem. A couple of times I attempted to let the HCAs take calls, but they would still always call me. Was a complete nightmare, and the owner had no concept of what stress this placed upon the nurse in charge of the shift. He was only interested in making money and not staff wellfare.

Breaks are extremely important for everyone, and I always made sure however, that my staff had their breaks, and if I sensed they were stressed would often send them somewhere quiet for a 5 min break to have a coffee.

Nursing is a bit like the aviation Industry over here, you are expected to work under extreme stress whilst still maintaining excellent patient care, be at their beck and call 24/7, and get paid very little. Our NHS is a better working environment though, than our privately owned places.

Sunny01 · Nov 8, 2006

I try and take a break every 5 hours.

Nurses don't like other nurses who take breaks...if you smoke and you do take a break, the non-smokers hate your guts and they complain about it constantly...I would suggest non-smokers go take their breaks instead of complaining!

Liliana98 · Nov 9, 2006

A what?! Joking...I take a break since I work the night shift but most of the time it is at the nurse's station. I'm OK with it but sometimes I really feel I would like to get outside and get some fresh air...I bet I'm not the only one!

australianrn · Nov 9, 2006

I work 8 1/2 hour shifts and i get two breaks, one 20 minute early in shift and one 30 minute meal break.

australianrn · Nov 9, 2006

quote=RNKittyKat]When my blood sugar drops to the 30's or my bladder just can't stand one more minute. According to the rules, even water bottles aren't allowed on the unit. So we dehydrate, blood sugar drops and kidney stones form. Kind of sad.

Arggggggg.. not even water bottles allowed on unit ? we have water bottles, snacks. cake , fruit. Tea and coffee is also allowed so long as its past 7pm ( pediatric unit - this rule assumes all children in bed ).

Most shifts I sit with coffee while i do my documentation. Seems alot of rules where you work.

HealthyRN · Nov 9, 2006

I work in the ED. I have a paid hour lunch break. And I am even able to leave the facility if I want! There is a scheduled float nurse who relieves everyone for lunch. After reading these posts, I realize that I am quite lucky. As far as bathroom breaks, I sometimes have to hold my bladder for longer than I would like, but I try to make it a priority.

muffie, RN · Nov 9, 2006

1/2 hour in am, at lunch and at supper

tg my unit is ok so i can go to the br when nature calls