Overtime and Lunches?

shellsgogreen · Mar 23, 2008

i'm on a tele floor, and we do cover each other for breaks.

i rarely take the full breakfast/lunch break - usually just enough to sit, eat, slurp back some coffee and regroup before being tossed back out into the lion's cage again

:uhoh21:

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 23, 2008

what is your average overtime per shift & what type of unit do you work on? does computer documentation contribute to increased overtime? do you have time for lunches, and do your coworkers cover your patients so you can have an uninterrupted lunch break?

we're salaried, so we don't get overtime unless we work more than four hours. computer documentation has actually decreased time needed for charting, once you get the hang of it. we now have software that calculates our drips, computes our svrs, pvrs, etc., adds up our i & o, and tracks our vital signs while we're changing that humongous dressing on our other patient.

i've found over the years that no one will "give" you a lunch break. you have to arrange your work so that you can take one, and yes, co-workers will watch your patient while you eat. but that's about all they will do.

loriangel14, RN · Mar 23, 2008

I work mostly day shift. Half of us go on first break for coffee 9:30 - 1000 while rest cover and then the other half goes 1000-1030. Same for first lunch, 1145-1230 and then the other half goes 1230-1315. We all take an on the floor break together at 1430-1500. Thye do not disturb you while you are on break except they occasionally will call the charge nurse in the lunch room if it is an emergency. Many people actually leave for lunch, to eat, shop or what ever.

kimmie518 · Mar 23, 2008

I work mostly day shift. Half of us go on first break for coffee 9:30 - 1000 while rest cover and then the other half goes 1000-1030. Same for first lunch, 1145-1230 and then the other half goes 1230-1315. We all take an on the floor break together at 1430-1500. Thye do not disturb you while you are on break except they occasionally will call the charge nurse in the lunch room if it is an emergency. Many people actually leave for lunch, to eat, shop or what ever.

Is this an 8 hour day? That's a lot of break time. Almost 2 hours. lol

loriangel14, RN · Mar 23, 2008

Well we get paid for 7.5 :lol2:

barefootlady, ADN, RN · Mar 24, 2008

Many facilities here say you will not be paid for "no lunch" unless the HN or supervisor agrees the unit is too busy for the break. OT is much the same .

Becca608 · Mar 24, 2008

Is this an 8 hour day? That's a lot of break time. Almost 2 hours. lol

Different location with different rules in a different country. I guess two hours seems like a lot in the States, but most countries don't have the workweek that we have. Employee lives in Europe are supposed to be much more balanced and I would imagine the Canada would follow th UK.

MikeyJ, RN · Mar 24, 2008

I love the hospital I work at because there are not strict guidelines of when you can take your break and lunches. You take your breaks when you want to take your breaks and you take your lunch when you want to take your lunch. There is no clocking out when you take a break or eat lunch.

Some of the adult med/surg floors are absolutely nuts and not sure when the nurses get to take a break or lunch; however, the pediatrics floor is fairly laid back and they cap the patient loads. On shifts where everyones acuity is high and you end up getting admits, it can be hell and no breaks or lunches are taken. However, most nights I work, the nurses are able to take a few 15 minute breaks and get their full 30 minute lunch break. There are some nights where all the patients are low acuity, only 4 patients per nurse, and the nurses are able to order in food and take an hour lunch together.

Nursebarebari · Mar 24, 2008

We get paid time and half for missing lunch break only if the unit is too busy or ones assingment got heavy. 90% of the time we take about 2 hr lunch break (night shift) mostly to sleep not to eat. There is always at least one nurse working OT per shift, some times as much as 2 or 3. I work on a step down/med surg unit. I think computer doc. makes my job/life much easier.

imanedrn · Mar 24, 2008

What is your average overtime per shift & what type of unit do you work on? Does computer documentation contribute to increased overtime? Do you have time for lunches, and do your coworkers cover your patients so you can have an uninterrupted lunch break?

Yesterday was my first day on my own after my precepting period. Currently, I average about 1 hour "over time" (though I'm not getting paid "over time" - I just paid for an extra hour of work). It's usually to finish up the little details of charting that I missed during the day.

Last night, the night shift was short 1 RN. Our units are split into 3 "pods" with 2 RNs & 1 CNA for 12 patients. When we're short 1 RN, 4 have to take 1 extra patient, and 1 RN has to take 2 extra. This causes a few of the RNs to be "split" across more than 1 pod - which means they have to run back and forth to care for their patients. In any case... Last night I stayed late to help make sure a few things were ready for the 2 RNs that were split between my 6 patients - little things like having the pt's next bag of IV fluid out already, the cups for stool / urine samples, forms filled out for procedures.

My husband has asked me if THEY would stay late to help me like this. I don't know if they would, but I figure if I'm not dead tired (esp. if I don't have to work the next day!), I don't mind staying a bit late to make sure the continuity of care is there - and to make sure they're able to provide the care they need to without having to worry about some small detail that might put them behind.

imanedrn · Mar 24, 2008

...

I think the computer documentation is a boon and a burden. The system is very fickle and will time out / log you out after X minutes of inactivity. So, if you're in the middle of something and get called away, you have to log back in again. Overall, I prefer it to paper documenting just because there is so much in the computer to help you along. Sometimes I will forget to write a little detail about my assessment on my notes. When I read it on the computer though (we use exception charting), it will remind me, "Oh yeah! I did / did not see / do that..." Overall, I believe it does NOT contribute to my overtime, though.

While I was precepting, I did not take lunch a few times - just would eat the snacks I brought with me. One of my wonderful CNAs reminded me that I can't care for my pts if I don't care for myself - which I found to be completely true on those days because I was sooo drained! Now, I don't care if I'm behind in charting, I make sure to take "lunch" before 3 pm. I try to plan it at a reasonable time between meds and when things are "calm." Of course, that's all relative in nursing.

We have this new "handoff" rule where you're supposed to fill out this form regarding the status of your patients when you go to lunch or breaks (which I have yet to take!). Some nurses use them because they're required now. Others aren't too worried about it. I just let my pod-mate know what's going on with each patient. I try to plan lunch after ***I*** have taken care of everything critical, so my pod-mate won't have to worry about anything critical. If something does happen that either of us can't handle, though, the break room is close by, so it's easy to stick your head in and just ask.