q's- end of shift relief, meal/break relief timing, inservice relief

[scrubs12]

hi all,

i have burning questions about getting RELIEF! please let me know what is the practice in your hospital!

End of shift relief:

the last 30 minutes end of shift in the OR. i work in a unionized hospital in los angeles. we have staggered shifts but the majority is 700-1530 and 0700-1930. this question is not addressed in the union book.

we are expected to be dressed (in scrubs), clocked in and ready by 0700. relief nurses are expected to to be the room by 1500 or 1900. there is a 30 minute overlap for what i believed was used to get report and for the outgoing RN to change.

a fellow nurse complained b/c she did not get a pm break. i grieved it to management but they came back saying that she was relieved at 1510 and so had time to get her last break before the end of her shift!

Lunch relief:

how many hours do you have to wait to get lunch relief? sometimes we've waited more than 6 hours to get a 30 minute meal break for an 8 hours shift. again, union book does not address timing of the meal break. california labor law is vague about it.

Inservice relief:

inservice is 1xwk at 0700- am staff and 1400- pm staff (1500 start). surgery starts at 0800 for inservice days. relief rns ( 0900 and 1100 start) often times do not get a chance to go to inservice b/c they are still giving afternoon breaks to the am staff. this is a known issue but management isn't doing anything to make changes for relief rns to attend inservice.

what is the relief practice in your hospital?

[babs123]

California labor law is quite specific regarding breaks and meals. check out: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_restperiods.htm .

It has been my experience (34 years in the OR) that if you are required to wear a uniform (read scrubs) and change into that uniform at work, you do so on company time. Management determines how long is reasonable for the staff to change into their uniform and be ready for morning report. One of my previous employers believed five minutes was sufficient to change clothes, my current employer allows ten minutes and then it's time for report. The same is true at the end of the shift. This time period was/is not considered our "break". These were non union hospitals and all in California. Good luck.

[MsLeylaBar]

Our OR morning huddle starts at 0700 so most of us come to work around 6:45-6:55 to change in the locker room. Same with the off shift staff, they come in ready to work at 0900 and 1100.

We always get a 15 min break in the morning, breaks start at 0900, lunches start at 1100 for 30 min, pm breaks start at 1400 and for those who work 12 hour shifts like 7a-7pm staff, they get another break around 4-5 pm for another 15 min. The only time we don't get a break is if we got overlooked and if you call the charge nurse then they correct it and would send someone.

This is a medium size OR. We have a union.It states in our contract that we always get a break after every 4 hours of work.

I realize that in other places that breaks are rare.

In response to Argo, I have worked in the OR for many years too and I also love where I work but I do care whether I get a break or not. This is reality for us here. We get our breaks, our turn over times are between 10-20 mins..maybe half hour for spines or cranis, when would you have time to grab something to eat. You are preparing for the next case, seeing the patient, opening for the case. Yes, you can go to the bathroom but eat? Do you just grab a protein bar? Eat a half a sandwhich?

[Argo]

yeah, usually if it is a long/busy day I will just grab a protein bar or granola bar and get a drink of water. to each their own though, some people desire to sit down and eat a full meal every day no matter what.