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.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
How long does it take you guys to pee? Seriously! How hard is it to duck into the restroom for a minute?
I think whoever said that was just trying to stress a point............3 min. to pee is one thing, but getting 20 min. to eat is a whole different ball game...........
I'm 11 years night shift and I can count on one hand the number of times I have physically left the floor for a full meal break. The vast majority of night shift nurses I work with tend to count their meal break as that time where they chart with one hand and eat with the other. It's not a time management issue for us. We have been stripped to the bone. Excessive and frequent OT gets one a poor review and eventually fired. It's come to the point that we couldn't get everything done and charted if nurses got their proper breaks. I accepted this part of the job a long time ago. It's not right but it's not going to change anytime soon, especially in this job market.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
yes, when I am off 2-4 days, I usually gain 2-4#...then when I work my 3 days, I lose it............that about sums it up............I bring a sandwich and if I get to eat it, I am running or writing at the same time!!!!!
It's not a time management issue for us. We have been stripped to the bone. Excessive and frequent OT gets one a poor review and eventually fired. It's come to the point that we couldn't get everything done and charted if nurses got their proper breaks. I accepted this part of the job a long time ago. It's not right but it's not going to change anytime soon, especially in this job market.
The irony here is that this is a common complaint among nurses in the USA that I talk to and obviously on this board and yet there is so much declaration that there is no nursing shortage.
Isn't it obvious that this sort of problem is caused by under-staffing?
Of course, the real problem (IMO) is corporate-run health care but... I digress...
Hmm ... I'm the opposite. I gain 3-4 pounds at work then lose it on my week off. Of course I consider Mountain Dew to be a food group so that could be part of the problem. Tried to give it up but after 3 days my co-workers were considering placing me on the MSSA protocol for withdrawl if I didn't pick up the habit again (something about concern over potentially homicidal behaviour towards interns or something). Fortunately pizza can be eaten one-handed so my productivity doesn't decrease during break time .
I recall this joke I heard years ago about some passerby finding an unconscious woman in the parking lot of a hospital.......how did the passerby know she was a nurse? Because half her ass was chewed off and she had a full bladder!
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
I recall this joke I heard years ago about some passerby finding an unconscious woman in the parking lot of a hospital.......how did the passerby know she was a nurse? Because half her ass was chewed off and she had a full bladder!
The irony here is that this is a common complaint among nurses in the USA that I talk to and obviously on this board and yet there is so much declaration that there is no nursing shortage.
Isn't it obvious that this sort of problem is caused by under-staffing?
Of course, the real problem (IMO) is corporate-run health care but... I digress...
I agree. My floor is staffed "appropriately" for the number of patients per the powers that be but the acuity and needs of the patients are crazy. Last night I had 5 patients. One was a 100 years old who was just coming back from hip surgery, another was 101 who needed 2 units of blood. Another was 85 and another was 84 who had just fractured her shoulder- she was my admit. 2 out of 4 of these little old ladies were confused and liked to pull their IVS out amongst other things. Another of the ladies only got confused at night. My last patient was a 46 year old car accident victim who fortunately hadn't broken anything and was otherwise healthy. The post op had a whole new set of orders and the admits can take a rididculous amount of time. Then there is the calling of the Doc for things that come up like breathing difficulties, uncontrolled pain, etc, etc, etc...
I would like to see management take care of these people and get their 30 minute lunch and breaks and manage to get out on time. So technically by the "numbers" I was not overworked but the acuity was crazy.
It is not that I mind taking care of or doing anything at all for my patients but please do not breathe down my back about OT and missed lunches, etc. Even the poor charge nurses get a full assignment so they have a hard time helping out.
I have been a nurse on this floor for a little over a year and have only got my lunch break twice.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
I agree. My floor is staffed "appropriately" for the number of patients per the powers that be but the acuity and needs of the patients are crazy. Last night I had 5 patients. One was a 100 years old who was just coming back from hip surgery, another was 101 who needed 2 units of blood. Another was 85 and another was 84 who had just fractured her shoulder- she was my admit. 2 out of 4 of these little old ladies were confused and liked to pull their IVS out amongst other things. Another of the ladies only got confused at night. My last patient was a 46 year old car accident victim who fortunately hadn't broken anything and was otherwise healthy. The post op had a whole new set of orders and the admits can take a rididculous amount of time. Then there is the calling of the Doc for things that come up like breathing difficulties, uncontrolled pain, etc, etc, etc...
I would like to see management take care of these people and get their 30 minute lunch and breaks and manage to get out on time. So technically by the "numbers" I was not overworked but the acuity was crazy.
It is not that I mind taking care of or doing anything at all for my patients but please do not breathe down my back about OT and missed lunches, etc. Even the poor charge nurses get a full assignment so they have a hard time helping out.
I have been a nurse on this floor for a little over a year and have only got my lunch break twice.
We staff 5 to 1.....(and include the techs as staff !!) we do not staff for acuity either....to me, that is the biggest problem..............they don't care about acuity.......just numbers........
I don't get a break, but I get disciplined if we clock punch "no meal" so what I do is essentially work for 30 minutes for free. It's wrong, and yes, it is illegal, but I know I can't change it and keep my job.
Do you live in a "Right to Work" state? I do. A good friend of mine (a CNA at a hospital-based nursing home) was ordered to work off the clock the other night and when she refused, the charge nurse told her in no uncertain terms that if she ever hesitated to do what she was told to do again, she would be fired immediately.
That is just not right.
This is the same nursing home I mentioned in a previous post where CNA's aren't allowed to sit down at all during a 12 hour shift while not on break. Ever. If you are caught sitting, you can be fired. Your charting is done while standing, etc...
I'm a student...That being said, I'm not sure I could handle not having enough time to at least snack. I am prone to hypoglycemic spells. That could get shady pretty fast when providing pt care (I'm imagining myself flopping right over while changing a bed pan... ).
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aloevera
861 Posts
I think whoever said that was just trying to stress a point............3 min. to pee is one thing, but getting 20 min. to eat is a whole different ball game...........