Lunch breaks during clinicals

k_girl153 · Jul 29, 2012

We were only given 30 minutes. And no one can really say which is better in regards to food....it depends on whether u like to bring a lunch, whether the cafeteria serves good food, etc. I suggest u try the cafeteria the first day then decide what you think will work best for you.

Certifiable, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2012

In most clinical's we were allowed a 30 minute lunch break. we tried to do it collectively so we wouldn't be bored, but it depends if you've completed all your assignments. However, it seemed that the more clinicals we have under our belt, the longer our lunch break became... my last allowed an hour break, together with everyone.

Buying lunch can get expensive really quickly. I usually prepare food and pack it in ice packs. I buy once or twice a week on the days when I have no time to prepare the evening before, or I was just too lazy.

ER(notso)n00b, ASN, RN · Jul 29, 2012

Our lunch breaks were 30 minutes and the entire group went together. We always went to the hospital cafeteria, but lots of people brought their lunch. The cafeteria food at the hospital I was at was delicious! There's a grill and a full salad bar, so plenty of healthy (and unhealthy!) options. We got an employee doscount so it wasn't too expensive - I could get a nice meal and a drink for less than $5.

Katie71275 · Jul 30, 2012

We get 30 minutes to an hour(depends what facility we are at and for how long). I usually bring my own lunch but do buy from the cafeteria as well.

OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2012

We get/got 30 minutes to 45 minutes depending on whats going on. Almost every classmate at all my clinicals just bought lunch but since I was always broke I mostly brought my lunch. I would recommend throwing in a granola bar or some other type of snack that you could eat in case of having late lunchm which for me happened frequently.

kmartin906 · Jul 31, 2012

What's a lunch break? Never had one! Our shifts were 6 hours.

Jennybrie · Jul 31, 2012

What's a lunch break? Never had one! Our shifts were 6 hours.

Only 6 hours?!? I hope you get the chance to do 12 hour clinicals before graduation. You get a better feel for time management and understand why the nurses do what they do when they do it. I would be really upset if our clinicals were half the time of a regular shift and feel cheated out of a clinical experience.

To answer OP's post we get 30 minutes and some buy their lunch and some don't. Occasionally we go to facilities that don't have a cafeteria and we are not able to leave the unit so the only option is to bring a lunch or snack out of the vending machines.

CardiacKittyRN · Jul 31, 2012

We do 8 or 12 hour clinicals based on the rotation... always get a 45 minute lunch break! I like to eat in the cafeteria because students get the nursing discount at the hospitals i've been at. Usually the foods pretty too!

Eagle2110, ASN, BSN, APRN · Jul 31, 2012

Now that I have to think about it......We didn't have lunch breaks

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jul 31, 2012

i made sure my students got lunch breaks because that's part of learning how to work a a nurse and socialize into the role. they often got behind but i made them take their break anyway...because it forced them to be more efficient, and also gave them practice in giving / getting report and sharing the workload.

of course, i never got a break-- i gave one of them money and had her get me a sandwich, a bottle of milk, and a brownie, and i ate while they took a five-minute med math quiz at the beginning of every clinical conference. everyone benefited.

RADIATION_RN · Aug 1, 2012

We usually got 30-45 minutes depending on how our day was going. My school usually has 12 hour clinicals. I always tried to make sure I was never at lunch the same time as my primary nurse so that way I could watch over our patients while they were at lunch and vice versa. One thing I learned quickly my first semester, although it seems ideal to go right at noon, you need to watch for the noon blood sugar checks before leaving on break! haha! We had some classmates get in trouble for forgetting that little detail. I always tried to make sure my patients received their lunch tray and what their noon accucheck results were before I left.

It usually impresses the primary nurses when you report off for lunch and you can tell them, "oh Mr Smith in 455 had a noon blood sugar of 100 so he doesn't require any insulin." Or "Mr Smith in 455 had a blood sugar of 148 so my instructor and I gave him 2 units of insulin and we charted it, he is eating now and I am going to lunch if you are okay with that."