I have the time (to pee)

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I'm a little perturbed that some of my colleagues claim they haven't the time to pee. Let me just say, no matter how busy a shift, I ALWAYS have time to pee. If you can't take 3 minutes out of your shift to pee, YOU need reexamine your priorities.

Specializes in School nursing.
It's great that you ladies and gents are so comfortable talking about poop... because you'll be doing it a lot more once you become nurses.. One day, you'll find yourself in the break room eating a sandwich (or sad but true, at a fancy-ish restaurant) and in between bites you'll catch yourself asking your colleague or friends/family but hopefully never a date, "what color, consistency, texture, continence, frequency, odor?" And you'll ask yourself, "when did I transform into this person?" lol.

Yep. I remember sitting around a lunch table with two of my nursing school friends the semester before graduation. We each had a sandwich in hand and the topic was poop, being discussed as casually as the TV show we saw last night. Of course, when the same thing happened at dinner with my husband, he was grossed out. Need to remember my audience :).

And I don't work the floor, I'm a school nurse. Things can get crazy during my day, though! I am lucky to have a private bathroom in my office, but there have been times where I have a sick kid waiting for a ride and I turn to the student as say, "Hold the fort for two minutes, I'm using the restroom." I'm also across from our art rooms and have kept my eye/ear out when a teacher needs to pee as well :).

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Specializes in Acute Care - Adult, Med Surg, Neuro.

I too am one of those nurses who doesn't take the time to drink enough water to need to pee. It's hard on my body and I'm going to make it my goal to drink more fluids during my shifts.

On crazy days, even in the bathroom my phone will ring off the hook. Our phones ring and if I don't answer, it will roll over to the desk. Someone usually answers and transfers it right back. So I will pick it up and say "I'm in the bathroom, be right out!" And that usually silences them :D

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Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
:facepalm:
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I do not understand this. With the exception of a few absolutely crazy shifts, I refuse to not make time to pee. that 1 min to hold still and go is important to my sanity, let alone the physical issues.

I often find myself coaching others on taking the couple of minutes it takes to deal with this rather than trying to avoid it. It's not worth it. and you don't really save that much time either

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Specializes in ER.

Pee before every trauma, if you get more than two minutes notice. Otherwise, just go. Seriously, when I worked labor and delivery I didn't feel like I could leave once the patient went into transition. Well, that can be HOURS. Although the patient is in distress they never commented when I left for two minutes.

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In my experience, I'm stuck in the OR with no relief. Unless a rare case like that... Sometimes when pushing for a long time with a patient.

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I don't understand what the big deal is.

Just use your employer-issued Foley catheter and leg bag.

Problem solved.

:cheeky:

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Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
I don't understand what the big deal is.

Just use your employer-issued Foley catheter and leg bag.

Problem solved.

:cheeky:

:yes: Ditto, so what's the big deal?:D
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Specializes in ICU.

Clearly the OP and quite a few of the previous posters have not worked on Med Surg with 8-10 acutely ill patients and a CNA with 20 pts.

There are no breaks of any kind with this staffing pattern which is the norm in hospitals South of the Mason Dixon Line and East of the Mississippi, especially in the for profit hospitals.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Clearly the OP and quite a few of the previous posters have not worked on Med Surg with 8-10 acutely ill patients and a CNA with 20 pts.

There are no breaks of any kind with this staffing pattern which is the norm in hospitals South of the Mason Dixon Line and East of the Mississippi, especially in the for profit hospitals.

Hmmm...considering that I have worked in areas with high ratios-*cough* LTC-where pts in all areas being more acutely sicker, I still find time to pee; even when I worked in a Rehab hospital with post-acute pts and with 16:1 ratio and 1 CNA for the whole floor; I STILL found time to pee, and eat; in this climate being dehydrated with a sepsis and hypoglycemic will do NOTHING for me but end up in the hospital. :no:

Granted, I work above the Mason-Dixon Line...

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Earlier in my career my mindset was to delay peeing thinking "I'll just do this thing and then this etc" until it was time to go home. Now I hydrate like crazy and make a point of peeing when I need to. I would almost call it the "defiant pee". I decided the job taps you out in so many ways I'll be blank-blanked if I'm going to let it extend to my basic health needs. Now if I could only defiantly not try to wreck my back moving patients when I'm by myself it'll all be good. . .:-)

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Clearly the OP and quite a few of the previous posters have not worked on Med Surg with 8-10 acutely ill patients and a CNA with 20 pts.

There are no breaks of any kind with this staffing pattern which is the norm in hospitals South of the Mason Dixon Line and East of the Mississippi, especially in the for profit hospitals.

If you're thirsty, drink. And if you need to pee, pee. Take care of yourself first. This idea that you don't have time to pee is crazy.

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