Maybe this sounds silly, but I was curious. Excuse my pre-nursing student ignorance, and feel free to move this.
I hear a lot of stories on here and elsewhere that nurses get so busy they have no time to pee/eat.
Isn't there nurses with bladder control problems, IBS, hypoglycemia, etc kinds of conditions that they DO need to take short breaks for??
I'm very worried because i'm slightly anemic and need to eat every so often or I will pass out, and I also have IBS that can strike at inopportune times:uhoh21:
I'm not a nurse (yet!) but I've worked in a hospital for a long time. Sure, there are the occasional really busy days when nurses and ancillary staff don't get the full-fledged uninterrupted 30 minute lunch break we are supposed to get. But no one is expected to work a whole shift without eating or drinking. And I don't think I would continue to work someplace that expected their employees to forgo their basic bodily functions.
I think it's kind of like being a mom with young children. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the needs of the people you're taking care of that you forget to take care of yourself. But you aren't doing your patients any good if you are distracted by a nearly overflowing bladder or have such low blood sugar that you can't concentrate and make errors.
Dude, don't worry about it. They do not usually tell you about this in nursing school, but most facilities give you a personal allowance of 10-12 superabsorbent depends each week (two per shift). You can get more, but it is based on senority, hours worked per week, and whether or not you have any management responsibilities. Management gets less because they spend most of their time creating hassles for the floor nurses and therefore, have plenty of time to hang out with John Crapper. I hear magnet hospitals pass out camel packs containing orange gatorade laced with loperamide. Sure would like to try it, but have never had the privilege of working in a magnet facility. Maybe some of the other members in the allnurses community can ellaborate on that.
Please do not tell any of your nursing instructors that you have been given this information. It would most certainly lead to your expulsion from nursing school and you will never know the true triumph of completing a 16 hour shift with the aid of nothing else other than your trusty superabsorbent depends.
Dude, don't worry about it. They do not usually tell you about this in nursing school, but most facilities give you a personal allowance of 10-12 superabsorbent depends each week (two per shift). You can get more, but it is based on senority, hours worked per week, and whether or not you have any management responsibilities. Management gets less because they spend most of their time creating hassles for the floor nurses and therefore, have plenty of time to hang out with John Crapper. I hear magnet hospitals pass out camel packs containing orange gatorade laced with loperamide. Sure would like to try it, but have never had the privilege of working in a magnet facility. Maybe some of the other members in the allnurses community can ellaborate on that.
Please do not tell any of your nursing instructors that you have been given this information. It would most certainly lead to your expulsion from nursing school and you will never know the true triumph of completing a 16 hour shift with the aid of nothing else other than your trusty superabsorbent depends.
When I took a retail pharmacy job, one of my friends suggested I get an indwelling catheter with a leg bag.
Seriously . . . when you interview for a job, ask about breaks and lunches and see if they are scheduled and have coverage. Otherwise, don't take the job.
steph
Then I wouldn't work in a hospital in this city...
Then I wouldn't work in a hospital in this city...
I am considering writing a paper in my RN-BSN program about this phenomenon . . . why have nurses done this?
It is one of the things that surprised me - I became a nurse at 40, having no background in medicine so this was foreign to me . .. being treated like this and taking it.
Wow, it always amazes me when nurses say they don't take lunch or don't use the bathroom. I work in a level one trauma ctr, that is usually packed beyond capacity, and we all take a one hour lunch every shift. when we first come on shift, lunch times are determined. you usually know who you will be working with and can coordinate so that your patients are covered during your lunch. I also use the bathroom whenever the need strikes me. I know that the smokers may not like this but, I got to thinking after having worked with smokers for years, smokers will not forego a smoke break for anything. I have never heard a smoker say- wow i didn't smoke all shift! they find a way to go out every hour. i think that it is high time that all nurses made lunches and bathroom breaks a regular part of their shift.
I agree with this. as for the smokers, it IS absolutely true. So I would ALWAYS take a "smoke break" with the smokers. it is only fair. You get some funny looks, especially if it is raining / snowing outside, and you grab your coat to go out. Still, it breaks up the monotony and you feel refreshed.
GrumpyRN63, ADN, RN
833 Posts
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