no time to eat/use bathroom?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Nurses Month 2024 | Discounts & Freebies AORN Celebrates Nurses Month

hi everyone..i have read and heard alot about how nurses have no time to use the bathroom much less eat when they are working so hard... i am a prospective student and i have pcos/hypoglycemia..which means i MUST eat every 2-4 hours or i get verrrrry ill..... am i doomed as a nurse or is that what snack bars in your pockets are for? :) thank you xo jenn

Specializes in LTAC, Peds/OB/GYN, wounds, M/S, Alz, Ger.

I have yet to find a way to take my breaks or lunches since I quit smoking. I usually start my shifts on a dead run and end them the same way. I try to find time, and once a moment appears, I am called to a room/phone/family/doctor ectra even when I tell people "I just need a minute; can this wait 'till I can use the bathroom"? I usually get the responce "oh this will only be a second and then you can go." by then I am running agian. I can't say that when I smoked I got out any earlier however, I did find that others were more accepting of my smoking than relief of an over filled bladder.... I have pretty much quit drinking fluids while I work to avoid having this extra stress. I rarely take lunches (it has to be a real slow night) and I may have to stay over a bit to finish charting and all but I gaurentee I haven't wasted any company time and My patients are all happy and contented for the next shift. :) surely there are a lot more nurses out there like me.... who put the patient before the nurse in order to assure great care and a job well done. I don't think I am slower than my collegues, but I know they take alot more breaks and so I care for the patients they have too. Could this be the problem?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

No one will just drop dead if you go to the bathroom. The human system is made to intake fluid and food and produce waste via bowel and bladder. If you really need to use the bathroom the 3 minutes it takes will not in the great scheme of things greatly affect the care you deliver. I am always assiting others and answering call lights and fixing pumps and vents of Pts that are not my Pt's. As a male I am also asked by most of the females to assist with cleaning and changing linens because I am a male and they feel I am stronger and can do this easier. So in that respect I am actually busier than most others because other nurses will go out of their way to come and get me to assist with these things instead of just asking the nurse right beside them.

I provide wonderful care and still find time to use the bathroom and take my break, as I said care is continuous and I ask someone to keep an eye on my Pts while I go. I also never stay late I have my paperwork completed and everything that I can reasonably do and am ready to give report when my relief arrives.

Rant Warning......

I do not appreciate nurses that stay over and are running around trying to complete tasks that they did not get too. Especially if they will not stop and give report and then I have to wait to start my shift and the tasks I need to complete in a timely manner. If the leaving nurse continues doing things and puts off report and I can not start on time it throws my entire schedule in the crapper. I have had nurses that will say I just need to get this done and I tell them just come give me report and tell me what you didn't get to and I will do it. If I have a nurse that keeps working and won't give report I have learned to read the chart and just begin my care without report and then when they are ready I just tell them to write it down and I will read later. I see the same nurses doing this repeatedly and they always end up staying about and hour over every shift and to me it just seems like ridiing the clock. I can understand an occasional bad shift that requires extra time and attention and the need to stay over to complete charting and documentation but when your shift is over you should accept that you can not do it all and find a stopping place and give report and trust the oncoming nurse to deliver care. I swear there was one nurse I used to tease and tell her that she was the only nurse I knew that could work 4, 8/hr shifts and have a 40/hr week.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I used to be one of those who never took breaks or always worked (charted) during them. Since I was the only RN in the building it was often too hard have a decent break anyway. That soon stopped out of necessity when I started back to work after maternity leave and needed to "pump" (won't go into the details). All I need to do was post a sign on the door "Lactation Room" and EVERYONE stayed away from me :eek: I still multi tasked tho..pumped, ate lunch and charted, but at least I was left alone :D

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Originally posted by michelle126

I used to be one of those who never took breaks or always worked (charted) during them. Since I was the only RN in the building it was often too hard have a decent break anyway. That soon stopped out of necessity when I started back to work after maternity leave and needed to "pump" (won't go into the details). All I need to do was post a sign on the door "Lactation Room" and EVERYONE stayed away from me :eek: I still multi tasked tho..pumped, ate lunch and charted, but at least I was left alone :D

Michelle . . that is funny. I did the same thing . . funny how no one says anything about a nursing mom who needs to pump.

I'm with most of the posters here . . it does not take that long to run to the bathroom - maybe less than the 3 minutes posted above. No one is going to die if you have to pee.

Take your mandated breaks.

steph

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Originally posted by TRISKIX

I have yet to find a way to take my breaks or lunches since I quit smoking. I usually start my shifts on a dead run and end them the same way. I try to find time, and once a moment appears, I am called to a room/phone/family/doctor ectra even when I tell people "I just need a minute; can this wait 'till I can use the bathroom"? I usually get the responce "oh this will only be a second and then you can go." by then I am running agian. I can't say that when I smoked I got out any earlier however, I did find that others were more accepting of my smoking than relief of an over filled bladder.... I have pretty much quit drinking fluids while I work to avoid having this extra stress. I rarely take lunches (it has to be a real slow night) and I may have to stay over a bit to finish charting and all but I gaurentee I haven't wasted any company time and My patients are all happy and contented for the next shift. :) surely there are a lot more nurses out there like me.... who put the patient before the nurse in order to assure great care and a job well done. I don't think I am slower than my collegues, but I know they take alot more breaks and so I care for the patients they have too. Could this be the problem?

I completely understand your situation. I went through numerous simular stressful moments when I quite smoking. Be prepared to loss some more friends over your decision to continue life as a nonsmoker. People that you called friend before hand your going to have to find out that now you have absolutely nothing in coming. mhw .:chuckle

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU.

Even on the craziest nights, I still get out on breaks. True, it might be a lot shorter and later than usual, especially if I've gone on a transport or gotten a sick admission. On my unit, people are so supportive, even if you have a horribly sick baby (I work NICU) they pretty much push you out to the breakroom at some point and watch your patient. In this case, usually people only go out for 10-15 minutes, just long enough to scarf down dinner. But during a shift like that, 10 minutes, a diet coke, and a sandwich...I swear it's like Popeye and his spinach! Instant rejuvination!

Of course, that kind of a night is pretty rare. On a typical 12-hour night shift, we usually have no problem getting out for 30 minutes during the beginning of the shift, and a whole hour during the night.

And I totally admit to it - I'm one of those nurses who often gets swamped at the end of the shift (when all kinds of new orders come up, or the baby gets worse, etc.) and stays a little late. BUT I have to say that I give report as soon as the day shift nurse gets there so she can start her day. From that time on, the patient care and all that is in her hands, I just might be finishing charting or sometimes I'll clean up or stock the bedside if I totally depleted the supplies during that crazy end of shift.

As for bathroom breaks - okay, it takes 2 minutes! Just GO!!!

:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psychiatry.

>

Oh, I can relate. And an apple with some peanut butter is a quick bite to eat for me. I never take time off the floor. There really isn't time for it. Busy floor.

Kelly

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psychiatry.

As for bathroom breaks - okay, it takes 2 minutes! Just GO!!! >>

Definitely! It's actually not a good thing to hold/wait to go the bathroom. Not good for the bladder.

Kelly

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I worked in a really busy unit and we took a 15 min break in the Am and a 60min break in the afternoon. We had to cover for each other, but there were ground rules. Don't expect your break partner to take your postop admit, transfer a pt, do your bronch, etc. Sure, the hour when you have 4 pts is a hectic one, but it is worth it to know you will get an hour to chill out, too.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
Originally posted by CCU NRS

I

I do not appreciate nurses that stay over and are running around trying to complete tasks that they did not get too. Especially if they will not stop and give report and then I have to wait to start my shift and the tasks I need to complete in a timely manner. If the leaving nurse continues doing things and puts off report and I can not start on time it throws my entire schedule in the crapper. I have had nurses that will say I just need to get this done and I tell them just come give me report and tell me what you didn't get to and I will do it. If I have a nurse that keeps working and won't give report I have learned to read the chart and just begin my care without report and then when they are ready I just tell them to write it down and I will read later. I see the same nurses doing this repeatedly and they always end up staying about and hour over every shift and to me it just seems like ridiing the clock. I can understand an occasional bad shift that requires extra time and attention and the need to stay over to complete charting and documentation but when your shift is over you should accept that you can not do it all and find a stopping place and give report and trust the oncoming nurse to deliver care. I swear there was one nurse I used to tease and tell her that she was the only nurse I knew that could work 4, 8/hr shifts and have a 40/hr week.

Not all nurses are like you however, if you tell some nurses what you didn't get to, some will tell you that you'd better finish up your work after report that they have enough to do without doing your work too. Others will not say a word until you leave then talk about you like you're the laziest good for nothing incompetent nurse they ever saw (of course they are the one's who leave you plenty to do because their shift is different and more busier than yours). That happened to me today, at 6:45 my patient called me in the room, her IV came out. I started a new one before I went into report and made the next shift wait a few minutes. Not everyone gets the concept of it's a 24 hour job. I'm good at leaving stuff, but say "the IV just came out" and getting the look "yeah right, are you going to start it before you leave?" isn't worth it. I make them wait. However, I am assertive enough to ask them to do stuff, and stand up for myself when I need to. We have some awesome nurses who don't care if you leave them stuff too, they all aren't that bad.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Oh my gosh Tweety I just had the same kind of experience. I do not understand why we have to sweat the small stuff and why we forget that this is a 24 hour a day job.

The truth is there are all kinds of people in every job and we would find the same frustrations elsewhere.

I will still make time to pee . . .and I really think I can do it in less than a minute.:D

steph

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment