nurse hydration

Can have it at the station as long as it stays out of site. But most of us drink as little as possible so we don't have to go to the bathroom.

Can have it at the station as long as it stays out of site. But most of us drink as little as possible so we don't have to go to the bathroom.

That is depressing! Even on my busiest nights I can get someone to cover my kids for a minute if I need to use the restroom. We are allowed to have water bottles out on the floor. Even drinking water all night long, the air is so dry that I still feel dehydrated when my shift is over. Our unit is one big room with pods, so there isn't a nurses's station.

We have an area right outside the unit we can keep drinks at.

We don't really have a nurses station, we have pods with a computer at each bedside and I would say almost all of us keep a drink at our computer.

So each bedspace has a counter with a computer and you are allowed to have a drink on that counter within a few feet of the baby? Just trying to understand and get a mental picture in my head. Thank you!

We used to be able to have them in the cabinets in hallways outside the pod but that is no longer...only in the breakroom. Doesn't make sense since there are WATER FOUNTAINS there. I keep water in my bag though so I can step out to drink it.

There are several pods with 6 bedpots each. We are not supposed to have any food or drinks EXCEPT pregnant or breastfeeding women can have water. Isn't that crazy? If the water can be in the pod... why can't everyone have water? That said, most people bend that rule and bring in a drink, keeping it out of sight.

I second that it is very depressing that you try not to drink so you don't have to pee! You know you need to stay hydrated! Our is dry also - so if I don't drink something my throat hurts.

So each bedspace has a counter with a computer and you are allowed to have a drink on that counter within a few feet of the baby? Just trying to understand and get a mental picture in my head. Thank you!

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Ok so this is my wonderful drawing of how our pods are set up. Each straight line is the wall (they are half walls) the B is the baby, and the C is the computer. Basically at the end of each wall we have a desk with 2 computers on it, one for each baby. The distance from the computer to the baby is about 8 ish feet. We keep covered drinks at the computer only. Sometimes we just keep our drinks in our bag in a cabinet and grab a drink whenever we want it.

Ok so after I posted this I realized I couldn't center anything. There should be a bed and a computer on each side of the wall and the bed is centered in between the 2 walls. Hope this helps you get a mental picture of what I was talking about :)

Well, I worked last night and I found out we actually do have a policy that states no drinks at the BS. However I never knew this....most likely because I'm newish and EVERYONE, yes everyone, has a water bottle or a covered drink at their bs so I just never really thought about it. Oh but the breastfeeding moms can have water. Like someone earlier said....if one person can have it and it's allowed, then why shouldn't everyone be able to have it. That doesn't make much sense to me. Hmmmmm.

We are only allowed to have drinks in breakrooms or restrooms. We were all given the OSHA printout that mandates this-no drinks are allowed in patient care areas or anywhere that blood or body fluids might be found-so our nurses' station in the pod is out too because people put specimens on the counters when they are labeling them. Our hospital is very strict about this and I think my kidneys are suffering for it.

Thanks for the schematic drawing! It does help to see how your unit is set up. Our policy is vague - based on OSHA, which is even MORE vague: There will be no food or drink in patient care areas. So what EXACTLY is a patient care area? The curtained bedspace, certainly, where all the care activities occur. But what about the little nurse's station in the middle of the pod with computers, phones, countertops, where NO patient care activities occur? It is very frustrating!

The OSHA guideline is very vague and states: "Eating, drinking, smoking (!!!), applying cosmetics or lip balm, and handling contact lenses are prohibited in work areas where there is a REASONABLE LIKELIHOOD of occupational exposure." Not a miniscule risk of contamination, but reasonable likelihood. This phrasing is the basis for my argument. If the nurse's station counter is needed to label specimens, why can't that be done in a designated area away from the drink area?