What do you wish for in a break room?

[RNmom08]

My hospital is revamping a breakroom for nursing staff. Actually, they are finally making one. This is one that is a central breakroom in addition to small mini breakrooms (that are actually unused pt. rooms) on individual floors. The hospital is actually asking us for our input for what we want the breakroom to include. I'm interested in what others are thinking as well...

If you could, what would you want in your breakroom??? TIA~

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Air? Fresh? what is this you are speaking of? This probably will not happen as "they" are afraid someone might be so happy to be at work they might just want to take that extra step (out of the window). I don't remember a staff member doing so, but I know we had a couple of patients do it. Now there are double storm windows with Plexiglas bolted between. No air except recycled air.

[Nacki, MSN, NP]

The basics for eating like plates, silverware, cups a ice and water machine. A TV. Coded entry...these are a must for me

[ktwlpn, LPN]

After the day I had today I would have loved one of those Margarita machines.....and some nachos with chesse and jalapenos

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

Digital code lock on door. Two microwaves. somewhere to put your feet up.

[november17, ASN, RN]

We have a tiny breakroom with awful uncomfortable chairs, roundtables, a full sized refrigerator, and some other junk. I think the only reason it is really a breakroom is because it is too small to fit a patient bed into. I'm sure that 40 years ago it was probably a patient room back when the hospital beds were much smaller.

There was an old microwave that was literally probably one of the first models ever made and I believe it had probably been there since 1982...didn't work worth a darn. Recently though one of my coworkers moved and donated a bunch of stuff from her old kitchen; a baker's rack, coffee maker, a toaster oven, and a new(er) microwave. Recently our manager thought it would be a good idea to put a TV with a VCR in there....except the TV is some 1976 model zenith with the flipdial UHF/VHF wheel and the color is screwed up (greenish tint), and the crackles so badly it's almost unwatchable. It's actually the old TV they used to use for patient education that was on a cart they'd wheel into people's rooms. After they replaced it with large screen LCD tvs in patient's rooms with video on demand, we got the leftovers. She also thought it would be nice to include a selection of educational movies for us to watch; such as, "All about your coumadin therapy" "managing pain in the orthopedic patient" "diabetes and you" and all those old patient education videos. YEA just what I want to watch on my break!!! Unfortunately there is no cable and that TV sucks anyways so whatever.

There are also memos all over the walls so no matter where you look, you're faced with memos from the chairman of the hospital, dates for conferences that are coming up, stuff about JCAHO, and this massive poster of cardiac dysrythmias.

The only thing I don't like is that when we get nursing students they pile all their stuff up in there, so it makes the cramped space that much tighter. And there is one group that uses our breakroom to do their post and pre conferences...it kind of sucks because their post-conference is right when our lunch time occurs. Even trying to snag my lunch out of the fridge can be like solving a rubik's cube trying to get past 8 students and their instructor. I can't even take a leak during that time without leaving the floor altogether to go to a different unit, because the employee bathroom is in that room and I'd feel weird that they are right outside the door listening to me tinkle. We really don't have anywhere else to eat or read quietly and be insulated from the barrages of requests. I'm sure they would do it somewhere else except there aren't really any other rooms they can do it in. What would make my breakroom better? Employees only! No offense to nursing students...but we're still there LONG after they go home! It just makes breaktime on their clinical days kind of suck.

My dream breakroom would be a room WITHOUT those really bright flourescent overhead lights. Indirect lighting like wall sconces. Neutral warm comfy colors on the walls; You know how they have color therapy? Maybe one of those relaxing colors. A TV with cable that actually worked so we can veg out if we want. A toilet with REAL toilet paper (like charmin or something), instead of that Scott's Tissue "Magazine page consistency" commercial crap. Even the patient's rooms get better toilet paper then we do! No announcements, "memos" or guidelines r/t work on the walls. And one of those water dispensers that you can get hot/cold water from instead of just getting water out of the sink.

[Apollorn]

Waht do I wish for in my break room?

Natalie Portman. Though in a more semi-realistic way, I'd like to have a cocktail bar... that'd be nice. It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

[ilstu99]

I'm confused and I hope someone can clarify this for me:

The ER docs at my hospital work 12 hours shifts. When not busy, they retreat to their rooms with a futon, television, telephone, and internet hookup.

Why do nurses not receive the same? We work 12 hours, sometimes more.

Nurses who are not busy? Am I in the wrong department/hospital/state?? :chuckle

Anyway....

We have a breakroom. It's about the size of my home's bathroom, but it does have a TV, sink, dishwasher, microwave and fridge...with card-only access. So I'm totally grateful for that!

The downside is that there's one tiny table (seats 4) for about 100 nurses, and we have lockers, coat-hooks and mailboxes in the same room. The door is always opening, people squeezing through to get their whatever...there are no actual "breaks" going on there.

So I want more space and seating! I'd also like someone to stand guard over the fridge to prevent "borrowing," to run the dishwasher and generally keep the place clean. I'd hate to see what some of these nurses' homes look like! I don't think I'd want a phone, but I wouldn't mind a computer that has more access than our workstations. :typing

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

the opportunity to eat lunch without being disturbed every 3 minutes

a quiet room with no loud tv

a nice comfy couch to sit on rather than hard chairs

a phone that doesn't allow calls in, but you can makes calls out

[EmmaG, RN]

aw..............

hi, honey!

so good to 'see' you.

big, squishy hug:icon_hug::clpty:

stick around, y'hear?:redpinkhe

muuuaaaaah.

leslie

Hi! *hugs*

[CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN]

Please, please, please don't place the restroom behind the table where we eat. To enter the room after doing one's business with other staff eating is just plain embarrassing. Besides, sometimes it stinks!

consider placing the restroom outside the breakroom always!

Can the TV! It dominates the conversation and dulls the minds of the viewers besides. Murdoch, apologies man, but this fluff has gotta go!

[HangTen!]

A masseuse:yeah:

[lainith]

Not to sound like a brat but I envy anyone who actually has a break room. I work in a C-store to put myself through school right now and we have no break room. Our breaks, if we ever GET one, are to be no more than 10 minutes (for eating, smoking, and restroom) and the only place we are allowed to sit is in the back room. Only thing to sit on back there is a milk crate. *sigh* ALL of our stores in the chain are like this. We have an "illegal" bench outside that I am grateful for in nice weather but the constant harassment by customers while you're outside makes it impossible to enjoy a break.

Ideal break room in a hospital? Someplace comfortable to sit, a dinning type table with chairs, full sized fridge, microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker, cabinets, telephone. Could care less about TV and what not. Sink would be great!