Why can't we have breaks?

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2006

I know a former teacher who now works in healthcare. She says she was stunned at the pace of working in a hospital. She said in education, they all thought they had it so horrible, but when she got into working in a hospital she realized that there is no comparison to the pace of work. Notice I didn't say complexity of work, just pace. She said in education they had too many meetings and would dissect a dissection. Then they'd talk about their feelings about it. She said now, she'd just like to pee. The pace is just different.

I would argue that it is workload issues. Chronic understaffing.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2006

Hi. I see your in England.

I work a 12-hour shift and sometimes I don't get a morning break like some of my collegues, in fact I never get a breakfast break. Sometime during that 12-hour shift, I don't care how far behind I get I will take a lunch.

It's a priority, right up there with meds, assessments and treatments. Unless I have a critical patient that I absolutely can't leave. I prioritize a lunch break and eat a good meal. 99.99999% of the time. I can think of only a handful of times in 14 years that I've missed a meal.

It's my health and wellbeing and I demand a lunch. If it looks like I might be having trouble, I'll let the charge nurse know and the manager know and never once have they encouraged me not to take a break.

Town & Country · Feb 24, 2006

I have worked a lot of different places and have frequently encountered nurses on twelve-hour shifts who don't take breaks.

They have a nurse : patient ratio that's too large, not enough help, and although a charge nurse wouldn't tell you NOT to take a break, they know there are nurses who aren't taking them.....it's sortof an unspoken thing. By law, you're supposed to get X amount of breaks. It's just that alot of nurses are so busy they feel like they "can't."

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2006

Dare I say, in the Untied States of America, the corporations that own hospitals literally suck dry their staff and overwork them to the point of burn out. There is just more worker protection in Europe from what I hear.

Noahm · Feb 24, 2006

At my job we are told we must take a break. But they staff our 20 bed acute medical ward with highly dependent patients with only one RN, one aide. That's it. We don't even have a unit clerk anymore, they can't replace the full time unit clerk we had who retired because they can't afford to. How the heck am I supposed to take a break without hurting my patients? Can't be done. I often work 12-15 hour shifts without a meal, bathroom break. Luckily I am only part time. When a nurse calls off sick they refuse to replace her, and if someone offers to work overtime so that there can be 2 RN's on the ward for a shift, the powers that be won't let her do it, because they cannot afford to pay overtime. No more overtime, no agency allowed to be called in EVER. No, Europe isn't any better, some of the hospitals in the UK are in dire straits financially right now. I have worked in europe and the usa.

What I have done is started bringing high energy bars into work with me and I shove one in my mouth when I get a chance.

GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · Feb 24, 2006

If we were to get breaks, that would require another nurse on payroll to relieve us. Its cheaper to say its our fault we can't get a break due to poor time management. It doesn't matter you are the only nurse on the floor, and can't leave, its still our fault.

Alex3 · Feb 24, 2006

Learning a lot from your comments and agree with all of them, alas. Like the idea of energy bar in pocket. I tried those sugar-free(!) apple sweets - they're pretty refreshing & good for a boost, but nothing in my mind beats a cup of tea.... . Even getting some water on my placement was a joke as we had to go to the other end of the ward. Have to laugh but going to the toilet was a pleasure in terms of sitting for a minute or so during a shift...

Undecided7 · Feb 24, 2006

You pretty much have to be a "martyr" to work in acute care nursing- no one else would put up with it. It sucks you dry- physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually- leaving nothing for yourself or your loved ones at home. I'd be interested in how you feel after about 5 years of working in a hospital- do the ER (they never get lunch in my hospital- maybe a pizza delivered so they can eat on the go). You'll be amazed at how long you can hold your bladder. Let us know how that's working out for you and if it's better than teaching.

I live in Nevada and I have yet to meet a nurse that does not gamble heavily, drink, smoke, overeat, or chemically regulate their body clock with drugs (be it excessive caffeine, Benadryl, Ambien or other sleeping pills, Xanax, etc). Almost no one would go into this if they really understood what it entailed and how it would affect their lives. By the time most people realize it- they have put so much work/money/time into the career that people just "give up" and accept their fate.

Alex3 · Feb 24, 2006

Just a suggestion, do you think conducting a survey in my next placement - asking various depts whether they took breaks, is a bad idea in terms of morale and subsequent placements for me? There's so little out there in terms of evidence.....Clearly I'd seek permission from those above & use interpersonal skills... Am I taking it a bit too far? :rolleyes:

Noahm · Feb 24, 2006

You pretty much have to be a "martyr" to work in acute care nursing- no one else would put up with it. It sucks you dry- physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually- leaving nothing for yourself or your loved ones at home. I'd be interested in how you feel after about 5 years of working in a hospital- do the ER (they never get lunch in my hospital- maybe a pizza delivered so they can eat on the go). You'll be amazed at how long you can hold your bladder. Let us know how that's working out for you and if it's better than teaching.
I live in Nevada and I have yet to meet a nurse that does not gamble heavily, drink, smoke, overeat, or chemically regulate their body clock with drugs (be it excessive caffeine, Benadryl, Ambien or other sleeping pills, Xanax, etc). Almost no one would go into this if they really understood what it entailed and how it would affect their lives. By the time most people realize it- they have put so much work/money/time into the career that people just "give up" and accept their fate.

So so true. What pisses me off the most is that the hospitals staff the wards like this, with impossible nurse patient ratios. The nurses try to deal with this by working a long shift and sacrificing breaks to increase their chances of meeting their patients needs. Still they can't meet their patients needs because its impossible, and then the patients are whinging on about how the nurses "don't care, don't want to be bothered etc etc".

I have worked many a long shift with no break and saved people's lives and all I got at the end of it was a complaint from a patient that I took too long to answer their call light. Why? Because I was tied up with a cardiac arrest and I was the only nurse on the floor. This happened in hour 14 on my feet with no break.

flashpoint · Feb 24, 2006

I think it is pretty hard to get a break at most nursing jobs. In the clinic I work at, we run from the minute we walk in until the minute we leave...if we take a break, patients end up waiting, phone messages pile up, procedures are delayed, etc. I joke with my boss that I would be much more efficient if I didn't have to take a lunch hour...but at about 4:00, I would start to fade from hunger...:)