How often do you take a break?

K98 · Nov 26, 2006

Break? What's a break?

Sylv · Nov 26, 2006

We are required to take a 1 hour break. You can split it up to 2 15min breaks and a 30 min lunch or a one hour break or a 15 min. breakfast and a 45 min lunch. They are going to take the time in pay from you anyway, the patient isn't going to die. There are numerous nurses and doctors on my floor the patient will not die. Take your break. I need to get away for awhile and relax my body. You are not a super hero, you can only accomplish what you can. And you won't accomplish much if you don't take care of yourself. Ask for help, you don't have to do everything yourself. The most important thing is that the patient is alive and stable. Also planning ahead helps so much. There has only been 1 time I couldn't go off the unit for lunch and that was durring a blizzard when we were extremly short staffed, but the cafeteria delivered us food for free and we got paid for our lunch break.

You're lucky. You work in a good place. Some places the RN has 7,8,9, 10 or more patients all by himself on medsurg.

Some places there are two people, one RN and one LPN or one RN and one aid, and no one else on the floor, for 10 patients, the RN being ultimately responsible for all 10.

I'm not saying this just to you, but the many people that criticize others for not taking a break, talk is cheap, until you walk a mile in someone else's moccasins you really don't know what the situation actually is for that person.

Oh, and before someone says it, sometimes there is no better place to work, they are all the same.

ns lpn · Nov 26, 2006

I must be really lucky b/c our breaks are paid. Untill I got reading here I thought most places would be the same. I can't imagine not getting pd. breaks when half the time you can't take them or can only take a few minutes of them. Are the places with unpaid breaks unionized?

jojotoo, RN · Dec 1, 2006

To those who complain that only the nurses that smoke get a break: Tell your peers that you too are taking a "smoking break". Nobody says that you actually have to smoke. :smokin:

Marylou1102 · Dec 9, 2006

jojotoo is right. Thats what I do. I'm the only non-smoker on my unit. I cover for them when they leave the floor and they do the same for me on my non-smoke breaks. A lot of times I will sit with the smokers and just socialize. I does wonders to just get away from the floor for a while and decompress.

doingourbest · Dec 16, 2006

I work in Kansas, we are supposed to get the 2 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch break also. We don't ever really get breaks though. We also don't get paid for not taking breaks they still take the time out of our checks. Many a day I have nearly wet my pants because there is no time to go to the bathroom, despite the fact that the bathroom is 10 feet from the nurses station. God forbid you have to have a BM. It really kind of makes me angry when I've got those patients who are capable of walking a couple of miles yet call you repeatedly for things such as "pull my covers up" or "fluff my Pillows" or those who will call you for a new piture of water then intentionally poor it on top of themselves and across their bed and floor so that you have to change their clothes, their bedding, and have to go back and get them more water all the while you are about to wet your pants!

doingourbest · Dec 16, 2006

Sylv-where do you work? Most places around here we have 30-40 medicare patients for 1 nurse.

tde1992 · Dec 16, 2006

I have never understood why someone would work in a facility where they are the primary nurse and have no coverage. I work in an ICU where I have 2 patients and tons of other nurses around to assist. That is why I can take all of my breaks everyday. I would feel like I am being taken advantage of if I could not take my breaks and they were taking the pay from me. I would never walk in anyones shoes who worked with 10 patients and they were the only nurse. That to me is inconceivable, but that is my opinion. Good luck on getting a lunch break, try to stay concious, check your blood sugar. :nurse:

elizabeth321 · Dec 30, 2006

we take 30 mins for coffee in the morning and 30 mins for lunch in a 8 hr shift. You get paid for the lunch break not the coffee....breaks are not optional....I always try to get away for one break at least.

Liz