Want to be a nurse, but have to eat.

wincha · Mar 21, 2007

That is ridiculous. Of course you get to eat and go to the bathroom. Organize your day, schedule your lunch time, have someone cover you for your lunch time. Take a break when you need to just plan ahead.

bill4745, RN · Mar 21, 2007

Or find a new place to work, if possible.

mismissy69 · Mar 21, 2007

this is an issue that I am currently batteling, look at the "looking down on nurses who take a lunch break" forum for more info

Young Woman · Mar 21, 2007

hey i just was reading your post people shouldnt look down on us nurses

well i am studying to be a assistant nurse nurse's aid

and you see all sorts in it people need us

and in relation to mismissy69 what they are doing to u is wrong everyone has a lunch break a rest to go to the toliet

if they dont do that with you look for a new job theres plenty aroujnd that need help

u deserve better

trudy

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 21, 2007

Where is it written that nurses have to skip all their breaks?

I've gotten a lunch break 100% of the time that I've worked. Sometimes it's not precisely at noon, and a couple of times it's been 2:30 and 3pm but 100% of the time I've worked I've gotten a meal break.

It's a priority for me like passing meds, doing treatments, ADLs, teaching, etc.

I pee when the urge strikes as well.

miko014 · Mar 21, 2007

Nurses are not supposed to skip all their breaks! You ahve to take care of yourself too! I go to lunch every day! Sometimes later than other, lik,e Tweety said, but yes, I always go! I am no good to my pts if I am so hungry that I can't concentrate.

The last shift I worked, I went to dinner at 7:30pm. I came back at 8, and there was one other nurse who still hadn't gone. I followed her around all night to tell her I would help her, watch her pts, whatever, just that she should go eat! She never did. She did stop and eat some graham crackers and juice at about 9pm and then at 10 when I was doing my report, she came in and ate a little bit of her dinner. Now why couldn't she have just skipped the crackers and gone and eaten? I don't know. I stood there and said, "I will do whetever you need me to do - I am caught up. Just go eat!", and she kept saying, "I'll go in a minute, I just want to finish this real quick". It's ahrd to change the thinking of people who do that!!! But there is no reason that you should have to skip your meals or not go to the bathroom for an entire shift! Sometimes stuff comes up that might make you have to change the time you go, but you should always go! I'm no lawyer, but I do believe that you are required by law to have a break...just think of pt safety! How safe are you being when you are running around, thinking "I have to pee! I'm starving! I wonder if my blood sugar is still above 80", etc etc!

Just_Me_2 · Mar 21, 2007

I have always managed to find time to eat and pee during my shifts. I hear from other nurses that they don't even have time to use the bathroom, and it always amazes me. It takes, what, 2 minutes? I can count on one hand shifts where I haven't been able to take a short break, and those were due to an emergency or staffing problem.

Obviously if there is a critical emergency then that is going to have priority. But, I really think it is possible to take a few minutes to sit down and eat and drink something, even if it means taking my charting in the report room while I am eating a sandwich. In order to advocate for our patients we also need to be sure that our own needs are being met. Eating and peeing are basic needs that will affect your health if they aren't met.

NurseShelly · Mar 21, 2007

When I first started almost a year ago as a RN, I was told by one of the more experienced nurses that I wasn't organized enough yet to go to lunch while still on orientation! I didn't know any better and just kept working without any kind of break at all. By the end of the shift, I felt sick, tired, and cranky. That one day was lesson enough for me. I agree with everyone else, find someone to cover your patients, and if that becomes a problem, talk to your manager. Safety first, for you and your patients.

RunningWithScissors · Mar 21, 2007

The last 2 shifts I worked, I did not eat for over 24 hours in between.

Getting home too late and exhausted to eat, up in the am too tired to eat, lunch at 1230, and repeat the next day.

miko014 · Mar 21, 2007

The last 2 shifts I worked, I did not eat for over 24 hours in between.
Getting home too late and exhausted to eat, up in the am too tired to eat, lunch at 1230, and repeat the next day.

Wait...are you saying that the only time you ate was at work? 'Cause isn't that the opposite of what we're talking about?

If you didn't eat at work, I would have called the charge nurse to watch my pts, and if they couldn't do it, I would have called a response nurse or the supervisor and said, "look, I need to eat. Help me!" That's unsafe for you and your pts.

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Mar 21, 2007

I can forget about peeing and hold it pretty long, but I have to eat food. I cannot go more than 6-8 hours without eating, or I will pass out cold. I don't understand how nurses are supposed to skip all their breaks but still take good care of their patients, even though they are starving and lightheaded and have to pee, and I think it's ridiculous.

Then EAT!! Seriously, who told you that you can't? Who says nurses are SUPPOSED to skip all their breaks? I don't. Many others don't. Why should you? I eat a little something every 3-4 hours or so to keep myself going. It takes a little planning and prioritizing on my part, but I manage to do it. I also manage to answer nature's call - once again, my health takes priority #1 (as it should). You have to decide that the body you have is the only one you are going to get and take care of it.