Nurses eating and drinking at the nurses station

I've been doing my externship in the ICU and PCU this summer, and all the nurses drink from covered containers and eat snacks at their desks (there's a desk outside each pt. room that we use for charting and watching the pt). Each time I've gotten up to actually take a normal break, my pt has dropped their pressure or had a BM...heck, when I even think about sneaking off to the bathroom, IV pumps start beeping. Our manager encourages us to take lunch breaks, but he knows it's almost impossible and he never says a word about a drink or snack at the desks.

i just dont understand how eating a snack or drinking water is unprofessional... really... as long as youre not talking with your mouth full.

Here's my take on it. If we actually EVER got to take lunch breaks, I'd have no problem with not eating at the nurses' station. However, 99.9% of my "lunches" are spent documenting at the computer and answering alarms while keeping an eye on my monitors in between bites of food. No one can ever cover each other because it's so busy, and I've yet to see any of the higher ups sit in to relieve any of us. So unless they want to scrape me off the floor from hypoglycemia, they can put up with the working lunches.

Edited Jul 17, 2011 by NeoPediRN

At my job we have no breakroom to get away from it all it bothers me that we don't no where to decompress if I need to and we are not allowed to leave the building anyways I usually work through them anyway which I hate and if u leave then one nurse has 60 pts for 30 min argh anyway I think breaks should be carefree where u don't have to work through them if an emergency happen then off u go back to the rat race anyway had to send a pt out to the hosp they returned just as I was going on break so I didn't take one don said I still should have clocked out mind u we have to do readmit paperwork and call primary dr and assess the pt do body audits blah blah blah u get the picture nowhereto break and u want me to work for free are u kidding me I should have taken that up with the administrator

Edited Jul 17, 2011 by martinalpn
need to say more

I eat and drink at the nurses station, even though it isn't allowed. We all do at night on my unit. I'm sorry, but I'm hungry and I don't have time to take a 30 minute break while making someone else watch my patients. I chart while eating too, its multitasking for me.

I used to feel OH NO Not at the nurses station, than I became a nurse. Our ability to take breaks are so limited. You eat/drink when you can. There are days I think I need a foley!

As long as your discrete Why is it an issue? Is it hurting you? Is it hurting anyone else?

If any other job worked 12 hours, they would be permitted breaks, In our line of work, we are permitted breaks "if workflow allows" and you know what I GET HUNGRY, Thirsty etc.

Joint commision states drinks are permitted at nursing station as long as they are covered (food, well um, no)

Just for giggles, how many of you have eaten birthday cake out of either a. a styrofoam cup or B. an kidney basin with a tongue depressor?

Just for giggles, how many of you have eaten birthday cake out of either a. a styrofoam cup or B. an kidney basin with a tongue depressor?

Styrofoam cup--yes. No to the kidney-shaped basin =)

Is it any wonder that nursing is on such a downslide as a profession when clearly no one stands up for themselves? I see many other professionals in the healthcare industry that have not bowed down to management the way that nurses have, and they have maintained reasonable working conditions. There's something deficient in the typical nursing personality-type that wants to be the ever vigilant downtrodden saint in love with their own passive-aggressive self-sacrifice. There's no need for unions or even a unified front, simply a more self-respecting attitude amongst nurses.

I work nights so no one cares. I typically chart while I eat since I usually dont have any other time to do so.

I drink all the time too. I bring a water bottle and it goes on the COW with me. For some reason our floor is one step cooler than nuclear reactor core hot so I have to drink. Hydrate or die!