minimum staffing and lunch breaks - enemies??

[wisconurse16]

Curious to see how other facilities offer lunch breaks, especially on nights, when there are minimum staffing requirements.

I work in an ED/level II trauma center, and we have our core minimum staff overnight. If they leave the department to take a break, that means bad things for our minimum staffing.

Not to mention getting breaks is tough enough, but now there is concern that we leave the department with less than our required minimum of staff.

What are other places doing to combat this?

not as much of an issue on days when leadership and other staff can offer coverage.

[LadysSolo]

I got lunch maybe 10 times in 23 years of work (5 8 hour shifts per week scheduled, often stretched to 10 or 12 hours to cover.) We were REQUIRED to clock out for 30 min, but very rarely got the lunch break. I often got to the end of my shift and was getting ready to go home (45 min drive) and remembered I had not peed all shift.

[kskarzin91]

We are not required to clock out for lunch. If we do not take a lunch we write it in a book and get 30 minutes of time for it. I take lunch everyday and work a 36 bed med surg unit with 5-6 patients. I make sure my patients needs are taken care of and tell the unit clerk I will be taking a break but will have my phone for questions. Our CNAs can handle turning and basic needs while the nurse takes a break. And then when the CNA takes lunch the nurses do total care until she/he gets back. It is the norm to take a lunch for everyone and if we see someone struggling the charge will tell them to go take a break and cover for them. And normally someone else will help her double team that nurses patients to help them catch back up. We normally have at least 6-7 nurses working days or nights. There's no staffing difference between the two because care is pretty evenly distributed between days and nights. I've worked both. Nights draws all the labs and hangs the majority of antibiotics. And day shift of course does discharges. I was actually busy at night than I am now during the day on most days.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

I guess I'm not understanding. Take your break. Why is it your problem they understand? Seriously? You are entitled to a break. Take it. If you don't, that encourages the culture to understaff. Do you get that? By not taking your break, you are contributing to the problem. Take your break. Not taking it leads to burnout.

[LadysSolo]

I would rather get my work and charting done and leave on time than take my break and have a half hour over just to get my lunch break. I usually was over anyway, (oncology floor, not a night went by when I wasn't giving blood and/or chemotherapy to nearly every patient on the team (usually 6 to 7 patients per nurse with one STNA per floor.)

[scthomas93]

Nurses get a break?? i wasn't aware of this!! why didn't i know this after 8 years of nursing?? LOl..

[hecallsmeDuchess]

We're required to take 30 minutes break and give our phones up during that time to the covering nurse, if we don't take the break for whatever reason then we're supposed to fill out a form saying why. More often than not, I take my break with phone but usually see all my pts prior to leaving so that they don't call me. I refuse to not take of myself by not peeing or eating during my shift. Maybe if they started giving out bonuses for not peeing and eating, I'll reconsider. My health/life are just as important as the patients I'm there to provide care to.

[Axgrinder]

The last 3 years I worked ICU I was not able to take a lunch break due to the acuity of the pt's. I carried protein bars broken into pieces in a zip lock bag in my uniform jacket pocket. Not only that, I nearly always left late - making it a 13-14 hr shift. Taking a lunch would have put me behind even further, so that 30 minutes just wasn't worth it. My health suffered terribly as a result.

[Mhays]

When I worked at the assisted living, I had to eat lunch either outside or on the floor in the nurse office. I think that it is important for all nurses to have a break off the floor. Here is the link to a healthy lifestyle:

Online Guide for Living a Longer, Healthier Life

Online Guide for Living a Longer, Healthier Life

[Mhays]

When I worked at the assisted living, I had to eat lunch either outside or on the floor in the nurse office. I think that it is important for all nurses to have a break off the floor. Here is the link to a healthy lifestyle:

Page not found / 4

[Mhays]

Here is the link:

Online Guide for Living a Longer, Healthier Life

[Mhays]

When I worked at the assisted living at the skilled nursing center on the weekends, I got a 30 minute lunch break for working six hours. I came in at 7:30 am and my shift was done at 1:30 pm. When I got transferred downstairs in the adult day care center, I had to eat lunch on the floor with the residents; so I hardly got any break until they changed the rules and forced 30 minute breaks off the floor. At the adult day care center, I started out doing six hour days and moved to eight hour days. Then, I worked as a teacher and school nurse and I never got a break there. I worked the standard 8 hour day for teachers and two days a week a few years, I worked 12 hour days. So, it all depends on where you work and what your agency says and has for you. I always say though that everyone should have a good healthy lifestyle and that may mean that you take a break after work like I did and enjoy some down time. Here is something about that:

Online Guide for Living a Longer, Healthier Life

I hope this was helpful to you.

[Mhays]

I never received a lunch break when I worked at the adult day care center. I ate my lunch on the floor of the adult day care center with the other staff members and the participants as well. Then, when I worked in the assisted living which was upstairs of the same facility, I had a lunch break for about 30 minutes. I usually ate outside. I enjoyed having that time to myself because I liked having some time off the floor. I think that it is also very healthy to do that as well. Lunch breaks are essential for all workers.