So do you actually take your breaks?

harleypinkno15 · Mar 26, 2011

That's the kicker. We ARE a "smoke-free" facility. That's why she has to walk off campus to do it. I could go on and on about the nonsense but don't want to hijack the thread

That's just crazy. I get it on hijackin the thread.

purse · Mar 27, 2011

I just dont understand why the management seems to put so much workload on us???!! I think they should walk a day in our shoes and work as a PCA, we really do a lot, especially because we dont have a nurse on duty.. so its just us, to give meds, toilet people, change them, dress them, serve them meals, do their laundry, housekeeping, vitals each shift, etc etc etc.... there is hardly a second to sit down, and sure as hell no time for a break! heaven forbid if someone were to fall, and even if they were ok, the book of incident reports you have to fill out will take up your entire night!! UGHH.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2011

For the most part, management could care less that we are overworked and understaffed. They are all well aware. And it's about getting more for less, and cutting costs in this economic climate. I hope, at some point during my nursing career, things will improve. Not anytime soon, though, unfortunately. It's as though they expect us to be superhuman.

rn1233 · Mar 27, 2011

I've only worked at 2 hospitals (Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis & UCSF) where the charge nurses made sure the nurses were getting their lunch break and only one hospital that made sure the nurses got their 15 min breaks as well (at UCSF). After working in California, I am now a HUGE advocate for mandating nurse/pt ratios. I never realized how helpful it was (& to improve pt safety) to have a nurse actually covering/taking care of patients while I was away on break!

NeoNurseTX, RN · Mar 27, 2011

Absolutely! We get 30 min non paid and two 15 min paid. I usually just take a 45 min lunch and a 10 min snack unless I'm slammed but 99.9% of the time I get at least one break.

Scrubby · Mar 27, 2011

In the last enterprise bargaining agreement my state government agreed to the condition that a nurse MUST have a half hour unpaid meal break within 5 hours of commencing duty.

It sounds nice in principle but it's causing havok everywhere. On the wards the am shift starts at 0700 which means the nurses must have either had or started their lunch break before 12. The late staff don't come on till 1300. Managers have been trying to force nurses in some areas to have their break at 0900.

gebanks31 · Mar 27, 2011

When I worked 12 hour shifts on the floor, it was a miracle to get an uninterrupted 30 minute break. Recently, our facility instituted the policy of making us clock out for lunch 30 minutes. The new policy seems to be working well, but I have also changed positions.

I definitely take my break.

A 30 minute uninterrupted lunch break is the law (at least, in Florida).

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Mar 27, 2011

Our 30 minutes lunch of written into the schedule and you have to be relatively on time and you have to go or you'll get written up.

I don't have time to take the 15-minute breaks and since those are not unpaid, management doesn't care.

backatit2 · Mar 27, 2011

I work 12 hour shifts and our breaks are the same - one 30 minute unpaid break and two 15 minute paid breaks. I'm a CNA (nursing student) and on top of working my butt off and getting paid crap, I would have people coming to get me off my break to answer call lights and/or just completely ignoring the call lights EVEN when they knew I was on break and EVEN if they were sitting around chatting about American Idol. If I was getting paid more than a Burger King employee, it might not bother me to get interrupted (not that I would know) but since 30 minutes is being taken from my check, I AM and DO take a 30 minute break. The 15 minute breaks don't always happen and that doesn't bother me so much.

I would advise you to start doing what I learned really quickly to start doing and that would be to find a good stopping point, let your supervisor know you're going on break, and then LEAVE THE FLOOR. Don't come back to the floor until your break is OVER. Technically, you CAN clock out and leave the facility on your break so there is nothing they can do or say to you about leaving the floor to take your break when it's an UNPAID break. Make it a routine to leave the floor on your break so nobody can say you only leave when it's busy, etc. I don't care if I'm just going to use the restroom and then finding a chair and staring at the wall for the remaining 25 minutes. I leave the floor and take my break. So should you! When they stop taking 30 minutes out of my paycheck, I'll stop taking my breaks and start feeling guilty about not working for 30 minutes.

*Posh* · Mar 28, 2011

I work 12 hour shifts and our breaks are the same - one 30 minute unpaid break and two 15 minute paid breaks. I'm a CNA (nursing student) and on top of working my butt off and getting paid crap, I would have people coming to get me off my break to answer call lights and/or just completely ignoring the call lights EVEN when they knew I was on break and EVEN if they were sitting around chatting about American Idol. If I was getting paid more than a Burger King employee, it might not bother me to get interrupted (not that I would know) but since 30 minutes is being taken from my check, I AM and DO take a 30 minute break. The 15 minute breaks don't always happen and that doesn't bother me so much.
I would advise you to start doing what I learned really quickly to start doing and that would be to find a good stopping point, let your supervisor know you're going on break, and then LEAVE THE FLOOR. Don't come back to the floor until your break is OVER. Technically, you CAN clock out and leave the facility on your break so there is nothing they can do or say to you about leaving the floor to take your break when it's an UNPAID break. Make it a routine to leave the floor on your break so nobody can say you only leave when it's busy, etc. I don't care if I'm just going to use the restroom and then finding a chair and staring at the wall for the remaining 25 minutes. I leave the floor and take my break. So should you! When they stop taking 30 minutes out of my paycheck, I'll stop taking my breaks and start feeling guilty about not working for 30 minutes.

I would LOVE to do this! My problem is that when I'm gone, something will happen to one of my patients. Yes, we cover for each other but I've noticed that these nurses will answer my patient's calls but just say "Your nurse is at lunch - I'll tell her when she gets back". Even for pain meds! Before I take my (rare) breaks, I'll make a round to make sure everybody is ok, but you know how it is... :rolleyes: If I'm covering for a nurse, I'll make the effort to actually DO SOMETHING for the patient. Isn't that what "watching the patients is about"? As you can tell, this is a hot topic for me...

harleypinkno15 · Mar 28, 2011

I would LOVE to do this! My problem is that when I'm gone, something will happen to one of my patients. Yes, we cover for each other but I've noticed that these nurses will answer my patient's calls but just say "Your nurse is at lunch - I'll tell her when she gets back". Even for pain meds! Before I take my (rare) breaks, I'll make a round to make sure everybody is ok, but you know how it is... If I'm covering for a nurse, I'll make the effort to actually DO SOMETHING for the patient. Isn't that what "watching the patients is about"? As you can tell, this is a hot topic for me...

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get all of us nurses in one facility that work this way. What a blissful place it would be. I really don't know why this happens. I understand. I have often said I should just leave the building. Then what would happen. It seems if you are there, they find you and really don't care if you are on a break. Just nurses venting I don't know if there is a solution.

*Posh* · Mar 28, 2011

It would be lovely!I would love to work in a facility where ALL the nurses worked together to actually take care of ALL the patients. Oh, well...