My family can't believe nurses don't get breaks

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Specializes in med surg ltc psych.

Hi all, I'm currently in nursing school and had mentioned a few times that on my clinical rotations I noticed that it was true that most of the nurses I was working with were not able to take scheduled breaks or lunches, including myself. There just isn't time to plan time. I explained how difficult it is to leave the floor for breaks or lunches when things happen or change with patients, and you can not just walk away for a break or a lunch without making sure you have coverage and have reported off, or how this is a predominant complaint in the nursing profession. I know I have gone well over 5+ hours without a break or any lunch. They just kept saying "It's a federal law, you HAVE to be allowed breaks." How can I help them understand why it just doesn't work that way?

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Specializes in School Nursing.

It just goes along with the territory. Sad but true. :no:

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Specializes in Peds (previous psyc/SA briefly).

Frustrating, isn't it?

I'm not sure there is a way. Even nurses who have worked on the floor forget after a while, I've found. The only people that I know who seem to get it are the people who do it.

I've gone 13 hours without eating or leaving my hallway... many times. And most of the time, at least 2 or 3 of my 5 patients (well, their parents) knew it... and didn't care a bit as long as they had their Pepsi.

If there's no one to cover, there's no one to cover.

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Specializes in ED.

In clinical we are all required to take lunch break. Our instructor told us that if we do not have time to take lunch then "you have not planned your day well". It is law that RN's (and all employees at any company) are to have a break depending on how long their shift is (possibly 2 breaks, not sure of all the legalities). Sure there are days where breaks are cut short or one can't be taken but in my clinical experience a majority of the nurses at least take a short lunch. I refuse to work an entire shift without a break. I will take a quick break but I need to eat at least once in 8 hr. I am not a RN yet but I have a job lined up this summer. I precepted where I am going to work, and my preceptor took a dinner break every shift. They have a buddy system where your buddy RN takes your patients while you go on break. Of course, you need to make sure all your patients are stabilized and are not going to create a ton of work for the RN taking them. you also need to have your phone in case something comes up. I also interned on a busy med/surg floor and all the RN's took their breaks, and another RN watched their pt while they were gone. So, you should not just expect to never have a break. A plan should be in place where RN's are usually able to take breaks.

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Specializes in Peds, PICU, Home health, Dialysis.

Although the nurses on my clinical floors or the ones I work with as a nurse apprentice usually do not take their lunch during their scheduled time... most of them do take a lunch break. But that is usually the only break they get.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

It is not the same everywhere. I get lunch plus two breaks each day(8 hour shift). We all work together to cover each other. Half go while the other half stays and then we switch.

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It is not the same everywhere. I get lunch plus two breaks each day(8 hour shift). We all work together to cover each other. Half go while the other half stays and then we switch.

I'm moving to Canada! :D

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Specializes in Peds (previous psyc/SA briefly).

I'll just point out that I choose to work weekends - no extra staff. And since we're under a hiring freeze, right now, that *really* means we are short. We rarely have a tech (and if we do, it is for 25 beds) and many times we don't have a secretary.

Weekdays has more coverage. And nights has some slower times, so they can trade off. But I like my weekend shift diff... and that's what works with babysitting. So what are you gonna do?

Just as a sidenote... I'm actually quite organized. Not the best housekeeper, but our break situation is not a reflection on my time management skills. :) My housekeeping skills, on the other hand....

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
In clinical we are all required to take lunch break. Our instructor told us that if we do not have time to take lunch then "you have not planned your day well". It is law that RN's (and all employees at any company) are to have a break depending on how long their shift is (possibly 2 breaks, not sure of all the legalities). .

That's usually the "official" version of the state of affairs. Nurse DO get breaks -- they just don't take them because they were not efficient enough to get their work done in the allotted time. So, they work during their breaks to make up for their inefficiency.

That may be true ocassionally -- but in most cases, the workload is so heavy that very few people can work fast enough (and still maintain quality) to be able to take a break. And yet, if a government agency or accrediting agency were to look at the policy, "Yes, the nurses ARE scheduled for the appropriate amount of breaks -- they just don't always take them because they choose to work slowly."

Maybe the OP's family would understand the situation better if it were explained in that way.

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Specializes in Rehab, Neuro, Travel Nurse, Home Care.

When I worked in Cali as a travel nurse, I was the break nurse for the hospital on days when the census was low on my unit. Since the state law says nurses can not have more then 6 pts, the nurses could cover each other patients when they had their lunch breaks. The hosp gave me a hosp cell phone and I would post the number on the units that I cover and tell the time slots that are avail. I just sat around in the cafe until it was time to cover the nurses. Some of the nurses called me to give a PRN med or do a admission. I didn't mind because I was bored.

But now I'm back east and I hardly ever get a full break. I woof my food down and go. One of my non-nurse friends that works near me at some big corp asked me to meet her for lunch and i just laughed hard. She was so shocked that I don't get a break.

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Don't take a job where you don't get breaks. During the interview process, ask. Then check out the floor you will work and see for sure.

steph

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Specializes in ICU/ER.

I have worked both days and night shifts and I notice day shift gets more breaks away from the floor than nights does. During the day our mgr is great about covering while the nurse goes down to lunch. Our DON has even been known to cover breaks. Staffing is better during the day because mgmt is in the bldg. There are the days though that with admits and discharges coming in and out so fast it is not feasible for the nurse to leave the floor for half an hour.

Nights is a different story we are a skeletal staff to say the least. I work nights now and honestly dont feel that bad about not getting to go down to the cafeteria for half an hour, I can sit at my mod and eat my dinner. I may run down to get something out of the snack machine or step outside for a breath of fresh air to clear my mind but surely not for a full half an hour. Because if I am off my unit that means there is only one nurse there. So we just dont leave. There is enough "down-time" at night that I dont feel cheated. Not every night of course, there are some nights where I am so busy I cant pause to even use the bathroom, but this is more of the rarity than the norm.

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