NO LUNCH??? NO BREAKS??? Is that common in nursing?????

[CleveRN2008]

Hi everyone!

This topic has been bothering me a lot lately. I would love to know your thoughts and experiences! I am a new RN working on a cardiac unit. Since I have been on this floor, I have observed and experienced first hand how many of the nurses do NOT get a break during their 8 and 12 hour shifts. If we do take a break, we have to find someone on the floor who can cover our typically 4-5 patients. Our charge nurses do NOT cover lunches and our parent shifters are not used for this, either. There have been many days when I went home after working 13 plus hours and not sitting down once or being able to use the bathroom.

Is this COMMON in the nursing profession? According to wage and hour federal laws, we are entitled to a break.

This frustrates me as I think we are all entitled to some time away and I do not feel it is our responsibility to find our own coverage.

What are you guys finding out in the nursing community? Do you swipe a "no lunch?" Is this even SAFE? Technically, this employer is violating wage and hour laws by not freeing the nurses up for a break.

Please share your thoughts and experiences with me. I think this practice is wrong and I would like to implement change...I just do not know how.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[massrn116]

Sorry Nurse4years, I did not mean to call you a martyr. I truly support that you should have a lunch break and fully support if you do not get it, you should get paid for it. In general the people I work with never seem to think about stopping for lunch. I am a STRONG advocate for lunch or at least getting paid for it. I too do not want to stay past 12 or 13 hours but I know on days I stop for lunch I feel it is a small victory for me. I actually think the people I work with think I am a pain in the *** for being the one to mention lunch and I am just about the only one that will put in for "no lunch and no breaks" when I don't take them.

[chicarn, BSN, RN]

All people on the floor get their breaks except the RN !! Don't know why ? I'm new grad working for 5 months now night shift.

Should the advantages the Ca nurses have be implemented for the whole country or Ca is another country and I don't know. We don't have to move to Ca for better working conditions (There is not enough jobs in Ca for all USA nurses), but may we should us ca as token to bring changes to all states. start to write your representative ( I did that, may be I' the only one writing)

[aloevera]

I am sorry ,but whilst I understand the reality of your present situation , in better times did you do anything to address this problem , when times improve will you do anything to address the lack of breaks . I don't think so , from the evidence of your present situation , you obviously didn't work to bring about proper breaks , in the past and will not in the future. So you have and will indeed perpetuate your problems .

At the facility I work at we faced this and other problems , coverage for breaks has been resolved , but in order for that to happen we risked loosing our jobs . It was worth it !, Now we can discuss problems with the DON upon an equal footing , not like serfs to the king .

duh,.....huh... ??????????????????????????

[ozoneranger]

The night before our graduation, I dreamed we had to cath ourselves & wear a leg bag during the ceremony.

Turns out I'm psychic.

Who knew?

[SweetLemon]

I have not had a chance to wade through all the replies but in case this has not been mentioned...

Read what your contract says... does it state that you are given certain breaks at certain times. If your are part of a union contact your rep *that's what you are paying those stinking union fees for right? :smackingf

I have found that sometimes it can simply become a culture on a certain unit. Many of the nurses feel overly busy and as if they do not have time to take a break and because of this those who wish to take theirs go under the radar.

I am allowed two 15 min breaks a shift... as well as a 30 min lunch. none of these can be take within 90min of me starting or ending my shift.

Good luck hope it works out for ya!

Manda

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

I have not had a chance to wade through all the replies but in case this has not been mentioned...

Read what your contract says...

The replies from people who did not get a break were non-union.

[massrn116]

Although I am union and many don't take lunch or breaks and don't put in for it. I do and feel I am under "the radar."

[aloevera]

after years of working through lunch to enable me to "stay on top of things" I do believe I am going to take my 1/2 hr. lunch when I go in again...after reading all of these posts...I must agree...we are not paid for that 1/2 hr. and unless I am in the middle of something I cannot get out of....I am going to take a lunch break !!!!

Now, where to go? the cafe is too far, we have no break room....hmmmm...I will have to think on that...there is usually a doc in the report room at any given time....hmmmmmm.....I must think on this...

we really should have a break room but do not....

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

The replies from people who did not get a break were non-union.

I am union and have missed many breaks. This is an issue that affects the whole spectrum, not a union vs. non union issue. The only difference may be that if I miss my break, I cannot be retaliated against for claiming the overtime, and if we stick together and never work through a break without claiming the overtime, this can send a powerful message to the powers that be. They may not care what our working conditions are like, but the do care about the bottom line.

[tinderbox]

It's about time management...working harder to get yourself caught up to a place where someone just has to monitor for a few minutes while you eat. However, on day when you are short staffed, it's not going to be possible.

In our hospital, nurses can only leave the floor to get something in the cafeteria but they have to come straight back and eat in the breakroom on the floor so they can be pulled in an emergency.

Wow. You just reminded me why I want to leave this profession asap. Attitudes like yours prevent change and prevent RNs from being treated like professionals who deserve REAL breaks.

[MelissaPhoographerRN]

I read several pages of this. I've worked on a tele floor and in the ER. On the tele floor it was about 50% of the time I got no lunch. Of course I was a new nurse and moved slower than an experienced nurse, so I was always running behind and felt I couldn't take the time to eat or I would get even more behind.

In the ER 99% of the days I wouldn't even have time to pee. I would always go, but knew my patients weren't safe while I was gone as nobody else had time to watch them either. In our department we had to let the charge nurse know we didn't get a lunch and she would make note of it on the daily log and it would be added to our time for the week. However, this usually didn't get done. I once was standing behind a charge nurse who had just told me she would put me down for no lunch, even though I didn't even ask her to yet. I had 3 ICU patients, plus 3 other ER patients. Totally crazy and she knew I hadn't had time to break. Anyway, she didn't know I was standng there and she went on and on about how she never wrote anyone down for no lunch, no matter what. It was our own problem if we didn't get a break.

Of course this same charge nurse would lay her phone down and go outside to smoke at least once an hour and take the other smoking staff with her while the rest of us non smokers were expected to watch their patients. Nice huh??

[MissERN]

I remember laughing to myself last week as I walked back out to triage, because I caught myself thinking, "Wow, I just had a 10 minute lunch break!" It's silly how excited I was! Of course, I was eating in a little corner of the ER, sitting on an egg crate by a trash can, but I loved it!! :wink2: