Why coffee with every meal?

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

What is it with the hospital obsession with coffee? My patients seem to get it with every meal. I wonder, at what point in the day do they switch to decaf? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, it's coffee, coffee, coffee, and lousy coffee at that. The last place I worked was the same.

Blah!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Perhaps it's because coffee is more than a drink. It's an addiction to caffeine, and I have known some patients who will go berserk without their regularly scheduled cups of coffee or cans of cola throughout the day.

Also, the hospital might think that the customer service scores will improve if they keep the coffee abundant with every meal, no matter how lousy everything tastes.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

Do people really drink coffee at every meal? I can see breakfast, but dinner? How many people drink coffee at dinner? Anyone?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

When I was a seventeen-year-old working at McDonald's as a crew member, some people would regularly order coffee instead of soft drinks with their extra value meals for lunch and dinner. Although this was happening 11 years ago, I cannot imagine that peoples' habits have changed dramatically since then.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

Coffee is just a traditional drink with Americans, yes at every meal. Younger people may not realize it, but oldies like me know my parents and lots in my generation DO like coffee at every meal and lots of times in between....

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Coffee is just a traditional drink with Americans, yes at every meal. Younger people may not realize it, but oldies like me know my parents and lots in my generation DO like coffee at every meal and lots of times in between....

I have been working at nursing homes during the past 3 years, and many of the elderly residents that I have known enjoy a cup of coffee with each meal. Also, some insist on having it between meals, during snack times, and at odd hours such as midnight.

I admit to stopping at Starbucks for a hot-brewed coffee and a pastry for lunch or dinner multiple times during the last year. If I don't feel like spending the money on Starbucks, I'll opt to purchase cheaper coffee from a convenience store or gas station mini mart.

[Multicollinearity, BSN, RN]

I remember my grandparents put on a pot of coffee before breakfast and then later after dinner. It was like their ritual.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

I never remember my parents ever drinking coffee at dinner time. This is news to me. We never had coffee at the dinner table.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Our hospital does not do this, and especially since I'm on the cardiac unit, most patients need a doctor's order to allow caffeine.

But, I do agree with the observation that a lot of elderly folks take coffee with every meal, even dinner. Some even like it after dinner, before bed.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

at breakfast, before lunch (coffee break---note it's COFFEE break, not put your feet up and relax break), lunch, after lunch (another COFFEE break), dinner, after dinner, before bed....

coffee doesn't even taste that good unless it's flavored, in my opinion, but I have friends who are into the ritual humongously!

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

How can anyone sleep if they drink coffee before bed?

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

My husband can't sleep WITHOUT coffee before bed. It makes no sense to me, but that's how it is!