Sitting at work

[nursefortheLord]

I recently shadowed in the pediatric CICU. It looked amazing! I noticed that a lot of nurses stand when they could be sitting to document or do other things. The patients are tiny; a nurse could even do a lot of work on the patient while sitting. Is it looked down on if a nurse sits? I get back pain when I have to stand for too long, but I feel like this shouldn't prevent me from working there because I can sit and do things like document. I worry that the culture of the unit may make me feel like I have to stand though. What have your experiences been with standing and sitting at work?

[adpiRN]

I sit to document and when I start IVs and sometimes when going over discharge papers.

[CelticGoddess, BSN, RN]

I sit whenever possible. I will sit and do an admission history, I sit when I chart and I sit when I start IV's. Being on the patients level helps with communicate, I have found. And I know, when I was a patient, I preferred my nurse to sit and talk with me, instead of standing talking down to me.

[Tex.]

I work in an adult ICU, but I often catch myself standing when I could be sitting....and I usually make myself take a chair. You never know when **** will hit the fan and you won't be able to sit even if you wanted to.

Not sure why I find myself standing to chart or whatever I happen to be doing/not doing. Nervous energy maybe?

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

I stand a lot, but that's because I get interrupted a lot and am always ready to dash off. If there's some true down time, I'll sit for a while.

[lunchboxRN]

We often sit to document and to talk to patients. Twelve hours is a long time to only stand if you don't need to.

[NOADLS]

If you calculate the amount of time per shift that I am sitting, it is easily half of the shift, if not more.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I am seated during the majority of my shift. Some of my coworkers and managers frown down upon employees who spend an inordinate amount of time sitting, but I've stopped giving a hoot about their perceptions.

[kakamegamama]

When I worked NICU I often sat. At almost 6 feet tall, bending consistently can be pretty uncomfortable. As a NP, I sit when I interview patients, and sometimes when I do part of an exam (like, for feet/lower legs, and of course, pelvic). I guess one advantage of standing is that if something happens and you have to hustle, you save the step of getting up. Nowadays, my hustle isn't much more than a shuffle, though, so I'm not sure it'd make a difference :-)

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

I rarely get to sit. I really need to though, my knees are killing me at the end of the shift.

So much that I think I will have to look into working in a different setting .

I may get to sit maybe 10 minutes out of a 12 hour shift. Sometimes we don't even get a break , or if we do its for maybe 15 minutes due to the Patients interrupting us:(

[Tex.]

I rarely sit, but I do pee every 15 minutes because I live in constant fear that **** is ABOUT TO GO DOWN and this very well may be my last chance for the rest of the shift lol. Truth.

[RNperdiem, RN]

When I work nights, I rarely sit down. This is my choice because an inertia and sleepiness sets in sitting down that makes getting up so much harder. I would rather keep upright and moving. It keeps me alert.

Even working days, I don't sit except for lunch and some charting. I have the most awesome pair of shoes for work. I can stand all day and my feet never hurt.