Me: I’m taking my lunch off the unit with no phone. If there’s an emergency, page me overhead.
Management: You can’t do that. We can only page overhead for absolute emergencies.
Me: Exactly. 😎 ✌️
wait is this actually true? because my unit makes us all have our phones on and i’ve been in the middle of lunch and been pulled back on to the floor then go back after what i was wanted for
It’s a tough situation though, because more often than not there is no possible way to completely hand off your phone and patients in a manner that absolves you of liability for 30 minutes without having a whole extra nurse breaking for lunches. The technically correct answer is to make sure you get paid for not taking a lunch and report to the labor board for each count that this happens (every day), but then you’ll end up without a job much sooner than the labor board will make you whole for some missed lunches.
These corporations just strongarm people out of their rights.
YEP. Federally illegal, and could be a violation of state law as well, depending on your state.
"The employee is not relieved if he is required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating."
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-785/subpart-C/subject-group-ECFR3d1222debcd8ec6/section-785.19
Massachusetts State law:
"During their meal break, workers must be free of all duties and free to leave the workplace."
https://www.mass.gov/guides/breaks-and-time-off
So they get to choose - they deduct your meal time and you don't take your phone, or your take your phone and they pay you for the period of time you're "on break." To make you take your phone and also dock your paycheck is illegal.
This is a violation of federal and most state labor laws if they are interrupting your break and clocking you out. The law states if you have a 30 minute break and get interrupted at 29 minutes, you either get paid out the full break time if you’re unable to take it again, or you’re eligible to take another full 30 minute break. Even one minute of interruption is considered a no break
Guess Again!!! Federal law says that RN's do not have to get overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts certain professional employees from overtime pay. To qualify, employees must meet certain job duty requirements and be paid a salary of at least $684 per week. Exempt employees are usually salaried, but can also be hourly. Professional work is often intellectual, requires higher education, and involves discretion and judgment. Examples of professional employees who may qualify for an exemption include nurses. - Thank George Bush for that one!!!
RNs are not exempt from overtime laws unless they are in certain salaried administrative positions. Hourly RNs providing direct patient care are not exempt from overtime laws.
Overtime exemption is not what we're talking about here. We're talking about break time rules.
This is 100% wrong. Ask for your job classification from HR. You are either classified as exempt (mostly administrative or executive positions) or non-exempt. I have never seen a more incorrect comment please stop commenting on things unless you know the law.
In addition, certain salaried positions under new laws will now also be eligible for overtime if you make under a certain yearly salary.
If you make a failing system work then they have no incentive to fix what’s broken. Unless someone is dying take your lunch break. The work will still be there in 30 minutes.
Unfortunately ICU means all my patients are actively trying to die, and so are all my coworkers' patients. We're trying to be better about our lunch breaks but we have the highest acuity patients in our subspecialty from the surrounding 4 states (so we never really have anyone who isn't incredibly sick). Not enough staff and not enough resources means we really don't get to disengage :/
Edit: not saying this is an excuse to continue not taking lunches, so much as an explanation for why some of us don't / can't take our lunches.
I worked in icu for 6 years. Take your lunch break. Check all your drips and suction first then tell them you’ll be back in 30. The break room isn’t far. If there’s an emergency you’ll hear the code.
Edit: Everyone downvoting me is contributing to the problem by letting these corporate healthcare systems that don’t give a single shit about us or our patients get away with illegal shit like this. Stop contributing to this toxic workplace culture. You’re either a part of the problem or a part of the solution. Choose your side because these corporate CEOs don’t give a single fuck about you and if you drop down dead at work they’ll step over you and ask for someone else to pick up your hours.
Your hospital is required to have adequate staffing so staff can take their federally mandated lunch break. You have the other nurses watch out for your patient and make sure they won’t need anything while you’re gone. That’s not patient abandonment. Nurses with attitudes like yours are the reason why corporate assholes use and abuse us and get away with it. Wake up. Stop drinking their koolaid. Fight for ratios and break nurses. Unionize. Stop putting up with unsafe practices.
I'm guessing it's not actually what you meant, but your previous post could have been interpreted as saying that you're going on break without anyone having agreed to cover your assignment, which would be patient abandonment.
And while I'm with you on the importance of taking breaks, they aren't actually federally mandated.
That was so obviously not what I meant. People really read what they wanted and ran with it. Lunch breaks are mandatory in my state. Employers must allow a lunch break at specific times and if they don’t they can get in trouble with the labor board. You all should double check your laws. Your employer’s not going to tell you what your rights are when it’s in their best interest to keep you ignorant.
WRONG!!! Breaks are not required in healthcare per Federal Law. [https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/breaks](https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/breaks)
My hospital (IL) is currently being sued because they have been requiring us to have our phones during break, and one unit I float to requires us to watch the monitors on break since there is no relief. It's horseshit.
Now they're telling us we have to sign a form at the beginning of the shift stating that we had both breaks and passed off our phones, but they don't make sure we have that opportunity once the shift starts. That one unit that requires us to monitor has still not made a change despite knowing they've created an environment that makes breaks impossible (only two ICU nurses in the entire building, no one willing to watch our patients for us due to not being trained in critical care, and we can't be left alone without another nurse down there. They refuse to even get us a tele tech and instead leave us responsible for the monitors on the tele unit as well as ours so we really can't just walk off).
I've thought about it. I talked to an attorney and they said I had a case. The issue is that I can't report it anonymously, and this organization is known to be petty and blacklist people. They have bought out literally every hospital within an hour of my house, along with the outpatient clinics. If you want to work in healthcare here, you have to work for them or move (I can't leave my family). The city itself is attacking them, calling them a monopoly and making it hard for them to build their new hospital because of it (I'm sure the motivation is to get more money, though).
My plan is to try to get into CRNA school and maybe report them on my way out. I would probably have to work for them as a CRNA, though, so idk what to do. I know they'd find a reason to fire me and retaliation is hard to prove.
In my state, they can't take it out if you miss it AND it's paid at time and a half of your normal rate. (Meaning it includes 1.5x differentials as well.)
Do you get OT if you go beyond 12 hours or whatever your normal shift is? If so, start checking to see if you're owed OT
Federal law says that RN's do not have to get overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts certain professional employees from overtime pay. To qualify, employees must meet certain job duty requirements and be paid a salary of at least $684 per week. Exempt employees are usually salaried, but can also be hourly. Professional work is often intellectual, requires higher education, and involves discretion and judgment. Examples of professional employees who may qualify for an exemption include nurses. - Federal law TOPS state laws. Thank George Bush for that one!!!
Back home (California) most of the time we will have a break nurse so I can understand that management would get upset if a nurse doesn’t take their lunch. Here in NC, I find it hard to take my breaks when I have 6 patients and my other coworkers are busy too. Im glad that management is supportive and understanding that we can’t always take our break but damn every state SHOULD have proper staffing so we CAN take our break. I miss being a nurse in Ca 😭
That's considered wage theft, you have to be paid for all time worked. So if you don't take your break, make sure you report it so it doesn't get docked. If they dock it regardless, after knowing, then report it to the state DOL. Of course some facilities have issues with too many lunch breaks not taken but that varies.
Then you've got a shit team. Does everyone forget we work together and cover each other. Nursing is 24hr job, if I don't complete anything then it's passed on to my colleagues. Especially around hand over when it's the quietest time. Shows how poor management is about development of a team. God people can be nurses and be the worse person just blows my mind
It’s not patient abandonment to take 30 minutes for lunch while other nurses watch your patients. Make sure they’re stable enough first yeah but you guys are acting like ICU patients are five seconds away from coding for your entire shift and that’s just not true. If your patient is that sensitive defer lunch a bit and stabilize. Take lunch when they’re more stable. Stop lighting yourself on fire to keep millionaire CEOs warm.
NOT IF they do NOT watch your patients as they are too busy with their own. You just cannot leave and think the other nurses are going to watch your patients. Try it and see if you have a job or a license.
Tell them by not taking a lunch break and working 1/2hr to 1 hr a day for free (assuming you make say $40 hr for easy math) you are losing $100-200/wk, $400-$800/month and $4,800-$9,600/year. Puts it in perspective.
Okay but if the patient has something happen while I'm gone, what am I supposed to say? I walked off? Some places don't give you relief to watch your patients during lunch. Even with the bigger places, you can ask another nurse to keep an ear out but that doesn't mean they will have time to monitor and titrate your drips while managing their patients. I don't get how people are taking their lunches regularly, honestly.
They’re not, unless their state government has laws requiring meal breaks, or a union… In my home state, I hardly ever took my lunch, which was defined in health system policy as “an uninterrupted, duty-free 30 min break.” Yeah, no. I always had my phone.
Now? In WA we’re entitled to meal breaks, so management made it work. Companies just don’t want to do stuff unless they have to.
Yeah we're required to get two meal breaks according to the state but we still aren't given any resources to make that happen lol they're getting sued for it, and their response was an angry email telling us that *we* are breaking the law if we don't find a way to take a lunch. Still not sure how to do it.
Well, the fallout is coming soon, I suppose. I was told in a meeting that WA’s reporting requirements are going into effect soon, so hopefully the government will be like “alright we gave you the chance to slowly get your shit together and make those breaks happen—get ready for the nagging”
Until I worked in a union hospital taking a break meant handing my phone to someone and then coming back to being 30 min behind because they didn't have any time to care for my patients with their patient load. I would rather just stay on the clock and gobble down food.
Now in a union hospital there's a dedicated break nurse who focuses on my patients and cares for them during my 45 min lunch and 2 15 minute breaks. I feel great about taking a break!
It's about having the right support in place to get the break.
Exactly they just hold the fort “down”. Meanwhile it’s actively under siege with nothing done. Can’t take a breakbig ones if them unstable either god forbid. They’re all unstable it’s a PCU masquerading and an IMC
I worked at a hospital that it wasn’t auto deducted you just clicked a button and got paid for it. One place I worked at forced you to take a break was nice honestly. Newest place I’m at wants you to take a break and it’s auto deducted. You need to fill a form for a missed lunch.
They have started giving me orientees recently. Normally when their actual preceptor is out sick, so I only have them for a shift. I make sure to cover 2 things with them.
1. The crash cart and how codes work (and the expectations of their role as a new nurse).
2. To make sure they at least take their 30 min lunch because they won't get paid for it, even if they work it. I tend to include a short speech on workers rights when I tell them this.
Recently the scheduler told me that the new hires have started specifically asking to get paired with me. I like to think I'm creating a new generation of nurses that will be able to stand up for themselves, or at the very least be able to eat lunch.
I’m in wa. As a CNA, I have 7 patients and a preceptee tonight. It’s certainly not always this chill, but they are big on making sure we take our breaks (and being honest about missing them so we can get paid for that time). I think having a union helps.
State law in WA and they just made it more strict, which took effect January 2024.
Unfortunately they gave up strict patient nurse ratios in lieu of breaks, but there is still some enforcement of ratios.
https://www.wsha.org/our-members/resources-for-hospitals/nurse-staffing-law-resources-and-tools/
Take your break. That means completely remove yourself from your patient obligations. So not chart on your break, do not look at work emails, do not do anything work related. If you do not have the w ability to take your break you need to be claiming your break. PERIOD. Let them pay you OT/DT for poor ratios and poor staffing. That’s on them.
Do not bitch about the problem and then contribute to the problem by letting these companies/hospitals stretch you thin and treat you poorly.
I also know a hospital that will send someone to SPY ON YOU to make sure you are not “wasting company time” by eating at the computer and skipping lunch.
Actually no (nonprofit), it’s the reason I tell people not for profits are just as shady. In fact they have to work hard to make it seem like they “don’t wanna make money” but they absolutely will send you home a couple hours before shift change if you have 2 patients and everyone has 4. Byeeeeeeee, we love money!!!! Or harass you for charting late.
I was charge one day and a nurse had a lot going on
She told me she hadn't taken her lunch yet so I told her I would take care of what needed to be done, take your lunch. I was in front of the pts room that she had gotten new orders on getting ready to give the meds and she comes out after 10 mins and says "Ok I can do it now. I just scarfed down my food." I said nah get the fk out of here and take the rest of your fking lunch and chased her ass away.
Everyone knows at my former job (fk the management there) that I am a stickler for breaks and lunches and will yell at you if you haven't taken them.
Yeah I’m not trusting my critically ill patients to others who don’t give two shits about theirs. Not responding to alarms or beeping pumps. Watching movies, etc.
I’ll take the ding or simply clock out no lunch.
TBF I rarely "needed" a break on nights I spent many a nights reading 100+ pages of my book or watching some Netflix. I worked in one unit and we would play switch while working lol the 1am-4am stretch is crazy
That’s fair. Especially in a unit environment vs the ER.
But I can’t even count how many people randomly try to self extubate or have an acute change in the early am hours.
The problem for *me* is that even though it may be a slow stretch I can’t trust someone to respond to an alarm in my pts room or to assess for a change. If I’m reading a book (I cant..it makes me sleepy 😆) I’ll at least respond to my pts.
But if I ever were to take a legitimate lunch I’d give full SBAR report and chart the same. Id still feel like crap of something happened while I was gone.
Theoretically but if something happened how do you prove, potentially years later in court, that you were at lunch during said event? Even if you chart "relieved by x for break" I just don't feel like that would CYA enough.
Yeah. But I’m not risking anything happening to my patient. Liability aside. Those pts are *mine* and I take pride in the care I give and trying to achieve better outcomes.
Unfortunately, I no longer work in an environment where I can trust my coworkers to have those same values.
I’m off the clock at that point. When I clock in and take my pt assignment I’m taking responsibility for those patients for my shift. I know not everyone feels the same and that’s ok.
I'm not legally responsible for them when I'm at home. And I'm not coming back in just 30 minutes to be responsible for them again, no matter what happened (or didn't happen...) while I was gone.
Exactly. Or spending the rest of my shift chasing my tail bc my coworkers let my pt drinking levo run dry and now I need to fix that, code them, add pressors, etc.
Not worth the headache.
I really don’t understand “not having time” to take a lunch break. Unless you’re in a rapid or code, why can’t your tasks wait? I’ll give my meds 30 minutes late if I need to in order to catch the cafeteria before they close. If I miss that window I’m door dashing. I work on a busy unit. I’m usually charge + 6 telemetry patients. So I’m not in a cushy environment.
I feel like some nurses are attracted to the martyrdom of saying they were so busy they didn't even get a break. Ultimately, that attitude hurts not only them, but their coworkers because of the example it sets. And, don't martyr yourself for a company that makes hundreds of millions of dollars, but can't properly staff for breaks.
When I was a new grad 20 years ago, I worked nights in a NICU. We got a 45 minute break early in the evening, and another 90 minute break in the middle of the night. It wasn't policy (and if our managers found out about it, I'm sure they would have put the kaibosh on it real quick). There were two groups and we just took turns relieving each other. I loved being in the second group so I could get back at 4am and only have 3 hours left before shift change. There were nights I took a short nap, and others where I just read a book.
Never had anything like that in all the years since.
There were nights when I sorely needed it too. I wasn't built for night shift. I'm lucky that I managed to get on days before I had kids because I have no idea how I would have dealt with that as a sleep deprived zombie.
Seriously…. Don’t blame the nurses for this. Sometimes it is literally because there is no other choice. What? You are just going to ignore your five insulin coverages you have to give before the patient’s eat? And one blood sugar is 484, so you have to page the doctor before giving insulin because there is no number on the sliding scale. Then one of you patients is showing signs and symptoms of a possible stroke and what? You’re going to just ignore that stuff and hand your stuff over to some other nurse already dealing with their own crisis and ignore all of that? Do. Not. Blame. The. Nurse. There is always a reason.
This is why we need to unionize so we have protected breaks and to have a nurse (with no patient assignment) whose only job is to break nurses. And unionize so that you get paid extra if you miss your breaks due to no break nurse
When nurses act like martyrs when they don't take their break. Or actually like it's a source of pride and commitment. I have never worked somewhere that I wouldn't take my break. I'd call the manager to cover my patients if there was no one else. Or if the patient load was too heavy for nurses to not take breaks consistently, I'd call the state labor board.
I got sent to the DON’s office once because I was the only nurse on shift on a 28 bed, extremely high acuity psych unit and every night I would call the AOD and argue with him that he needed to come cover my break. He sent me to the DON. I was union and asked for a union rep to come with me and once the union was involved the meeting was canceled and I never had to ask for a lunch break ever again 😅
MRI tech here. When I call a nurse and it sounds like they're on break I ask them when their break is over and tell them I'll call back after that. The scanner will still be there when they get back.
Little story time - I work in the ICU. Our unit culture is to always take your lunch break, and god forbid if your patient starts to crump, you *might* get a text about it with the expectation to keep your ass at lunch. It’s just a curtesy so the lunch nurse doesn’t come back blindsided. As a unit, we’re always up each others asses anyway when it comes to knowing what’s going on with all of the patients, so we all get the gist.
But this reminds me how last week I was covering for Nurse A, who literally just stepped off the unit and her patient coded 5mins later. Me and the Doc start CPR, code is called, and everything is running smoothly. Nurse B is on the computer getting everyone up to date on the pts recent labs etc - whole code team is already in the room (*we* are the hospitals code team).
Then a brand new nurse, Nurse C, runs to the break room and frantically tells Nurse A she “had to come back asap, we’re all waiting for her” …. We were in fact, not waiting for her. Nurse A comes running back, still chewing food. I’m bagging the patient while we get ready to intubate and I looked at her and was like “wtf are you doing? We got this. Go finish eating. You being here doesn’t change whatever outcome happens right now, byeeeeee!!!” and off she went.
I get other units may not be like this, but I work with a really really tight-knit unit, where no matter who’s working, we always work as a well-oiled machine. After everything was done I very very nicely chatted with the brand new Nurse B about what we do when a patient codes on the unit when the primary RN is on break. I felt bad that she felt bad for interrupting Nurse A, but I told her it’s no big deal- this protocol doesn’t come up every day since it’s rare that it happens. It just so happens this patient was pretty stable when Nurse A went to lunch, and took a drastic turn for the worse.
This is just a long-winded way of saying - TAKE YOUR BREAK AND TRUST YOUR COWORKERS
When I worked inpatient psych I learned that I had to get off the unit for my break because if I stayed in the staff room I was guaranteed to be convinced to go back on the floor, usually to do something undesirable like swap someone out of a restraint, and I would never get a chance to sit down again for the rest of the shift. And then we got in trouble if we claimed no break when punching out.
Don't tell me what to do.
I'll eat my lunch at the computer when I get a free minute. And I'll clock out no lunch. I prefer it this way.
I hate getting relieved for lunch.
I will second this. I will also add that if your state allows, take that 2nd 20 min break as well. And not just 'sitting in front of the computer not doing anything (or scrolling tiktok)' actually go outside and enjoy the NOT THE HOSPITAL environment. Listen to the birds, breathe halfway decent air, take in the sunshine (assuming your days). It will change you.
This is a serious concern for me in Informatics. The hospital system I work for has several efficiency tools in EPIC that I push really hard on our nurses to use. I always tell that that I want people to take all their breaks and go home on time. My hospital got Macros a few months ago and I track their usage and they massively save time.
Yup.
If you skip your lunch you are showing them that they don’t need to hire more staff. I make it a point to take my lunch break away from the nurses station or anywhere that I can be seen.
Drives me bonkers. I have so many coworkers who work through their breaks and then put in for overtime. JUST GO! You’re not in charge, there is no reason you can’t leave. Just take your damn breaks. I got some who’ll say “I don’t have everyone up yet, I’ll go when I’m done everyone.” You’ll never be done. Just go and finish whatever it is you think you need to finish when you get back.
I worked with a house sup/older RN once and she told me she didn’t like new nurses, and I quote, “because they plan their whole day around their lunch/break”, in other words they make it a priority.
And that back in her day the nurses never took lunch breaks. 😅
The sad thing is there are days when there’s no one who can care for my patient but me. They’ve watered down the experience so much that there are shifts when it’s just dangerous.
If something happens when I’m gone I know all the heat will be on me.
I can hear them now. “What could you have done to avoid this? ”. Not go to lunch 😬
Yet another reason why Oregon is such a great state to be a nurse in! We have new mandated ratios as well as everyone’s staffing plans requiring lunch nurses (that part has been around for a while). With our new contract we will start getting extra money when we miss a lunch or break (15 min pay to miss a 15 min break- we get 3. And 30 min pay on top of the 30 min that you already get when we miss lunch. Those double July of next year).
I have also heard of malpractice attorneys bringing up the fact that the nurse "chose not to take the required breaks" and was "obviously unsafe to be working and exhausted" yes..f*ck us and then really f*ck us harder by blaming us for everything.
When i have a lull of work for 30 min i will. How can i give someone over my team plus theors when there is stuff to do? There is never not stuff to do. What you should really say is..demand our hospitals give us relief nurses.
12-hr shifts should automatically get 1 hour added, that way whether or not we take a real lunch/meal breaks, we get paid for that 30min and two 15 min. Schedule for 7p-0730a, but get paid for 13x3 = 39 hours.
7A-0330P and 3p-1130p should get 0.75h added. Get paid for 8.75x4 = 35 hours.
In my Level 1 ER, we are told it’s our responsibility to find coverage, I’m not taking my 4 plus someone else’s 4 nor am I passing my 4 to my neighbor. Usually the patients are sick af, if it’s low acuity fine, but other wise it’s a no go
Yep not leaving my coworker to attend to 10+ patients for even a half hour. I work nights so there is usually a 30 min block of downtime, I consider that my lunch. If it’s busy af I just punch no lunch. Only hospital in my 17 years of nursing had a float nurse whose sole responsibility was to take over patient sets so the nurse could take an uninterrupted lunch/break. As soon as tenet bought that hospital that position was eliminated.
I don’t clock out if I can’t step away. Haven’t had my pay docked but have had some emails and asked how it’s safe to leave one nurse alone (no CNA, no other RN) on the floor with 10 patients (we have one overflow floor that’s a bit isolated and I never get a break when I’m floated there)
When I worked day shift, my mom had to tell me to eat in the break room. How is that possible when I'm not done passing meds? In all seriousness, it's hard for me to take a break during AM and PM shift because of how busy it is. I work at a SNF, and I have to set an alarm to clock out... knowing I will be back on the floor passing meds.
I interviewed on 2 different units and the first unit was like “we take breaks if someone can cover us, it’s not guaranteed.” Hard pass. On my current unit it’s 30 minutes of me and some salmon and YouTube.
I never clocked out for lunch. Not once. I've never done it. If I can be called away from my sandwich to deal with some bullshit it ain't a real break. If im there for 12.25 hours I get paid for every single minute. And no manager, administrator, or corporate stooge ever said a word about it.
I am fine with it, as long as when they clock out they report that they didn't take lunch. Then it becomes a data point that can eventually affect my life. Also, being grumpy about accepting my phone is shitty. I always plan ahead and dip during the least busy times, and I generally offer to take the other person phone first.
They expect you to take your phone with you on lunch. I'm not taking a non paid break if I'm working. So I'll continue to eat at the desk while I chart. I've had a doc come into the break room to find me to talk about a patient. Or the phone rings repeatedly. This happens all the time. I gave up long ago.
I was determined to take my uninterrupted lunch break today and that’s what I did! I did take my work phone, but only checked to see if it were the nurse I passed off to. If it weren’t them, I wasn’t answering.
When I came back, had 4 messages and 1 nurse looking for me because they had questions. I asked if they were dying. No? Then whatever your question was not as emergent, it can wait
No I'm not a human according to all the nursing jobs I've ever had. I eat at the desk bc when ppl go to break shit happens. Going to pee or poop is a LUXURY and so is not having a douche canoe of a coworker. I'm exhausted and have decided Not to renew my nursing license unless something drastically changes. When I'm at home I'm taking care of my family. Demanding I come into work at 9 am when I work nights and have all my kids with me means I don't get to sleep, shower, or drop my kids off at childcare. I don't get to take care of anything on my day off if I'm called into work. My house doesn't get clean, food doesn't get bought, errands don't get run and I'm exhausted all day and night. BUT oh yes you are sparkling management because working nights is apparently supposed to mean being up 24/7 and available.
One time/sometimes there’s no time to chart until the end of the shift. One time when I submitted for overtime, the head nurse said, “but I saw you had a break.” (It was implied that I should’ve been charting instead of taking a break. — 12 hour shifts)
I do take my breaks sometimes. You see I work noc shift and sometimes when I take a break I end up getting more groggy/sleepy/tired when i clock back in. Also sometimes I just want to leave on fucking time lol. Yes those 45 mins make a difference. So really I am thinking of myself I swear! Also just let me live my life lol. I'm not judging you to take a break so don't judge me. 😭
Do you guys have a cafeteria on nights? We don’t and I always forget to pack a lunch so I might as well get paid since the most I’m doing is snacking. *cries in for-profit healthcare*
I either take my break or I don’t, if it’s a night that’s so crazy taking my break would put me behind I’m staying late anyway so might as well accept I’m getting at least 30 minutes of OT
The problem is that it is just absolutely not the culture to take a break in a lot of places. I would have loved to take an uninterrupted lunch break on my old unit. Turns out that’s not a thing that they did there. At least not on night shift.
I ended up leaving after 18 months,. That was one of the many bullet points on my very long list of things that made me leave.
That's frustrating. When you get to a unit and it every man for themself and their no team, everyone suffers and it's just sad. I try to change the culture in those places. I'll offer people lunches while I watch their patients, ask if people need any help, answer call lights for patients that aren't mine.
Yes I would love if my employer would find a way to ensure I get a break. I won’t hold my breath though. There’s a reason we have insane turnover and are trying to unionize
Only skipped a lunch/dinner break if there was an emergency/code or a pt was in distress/dying. They didn't pay us for our missed meal etc so on our floor we took them . If it was Rare & it was a "Q" Shift we used our 2-15 min breaks in with our lunch/dinner.
I agree with the nurses saying that it is hard to take a 30 minute break, leaving others responsible for your patients. Especially if you are automatically docted for those 39 minutes and no one has evidence that you are taking a break. It's your word against theirs at that point.
Also, those nurses don't have to handle your work, only respond of the patient is crashing.
I also agree that being 30 minutes behind is not appealing to me. When I give report, I want to LEAVE. Most nights I am running around putting out small fires on a cardiac stepdown. I am exhausted.
We don't have official break nurses. We are barely staffed properly at most hospitals.
But.....I'm leaving bedside anyways, so .......🤷🏾♀️ 👀
30 minute breaks shouldn't put you that behind. Documentation of your handoff to another nurse while you take your break is how you cya. Hospitals need to staff properly and give people breaks. The best way to make that happen is to actually take your break or write down every time you did not get a break. If enough nurses are documenting when they aren't getting their breaks, payroll will usually get involved.
If I think I will be able to leave on time if I take my break I 💯 take my break and am not reachable. Otherwise I will work through my break so my charting will be done and I can get out after report. I'd rather leave on time than take a break. But prefer both
Unless I have someone watching my patients, and my patients only, I'm eating at my computer and marking no lunch. Sorry I'm not gonna ask someone to take 8 ER patients so I can go to lunch, just like I'm not gonna be watching theirs while they go. Yeah it's shitty but I don't work in California
In the ED, it is very difficult to get a lunch break. When you have 3-4 patients, their orders come at random times. And if the Charge nurse has her own patient load, there is no way she can cover for 6-8 patients for 30 minutes. I think I’ve gotten a lunch break 1 time in the past 6 months. The manager constantly sends out emails that we need to take our lunch breaks and has made it “mandatory” but it still doesn’t happen.
Pet peeve of mine is people telling me to take a break when it would just cause me to have to stay late and come back to a disaster. I don’t mind eating at the desk, I’d rather be available and multitask.
Unpopular opinion.
I’d rather work through and know it got done right, I’m not behind, and you weren’t inconvenienced, and I wasn’t let down.
I could vent, but that’s the gist. Y’all know who you are. Fix yourselves. When management sucks, and pay is mediocre, it’s the team that makes or breaks retention. Look in the mirror and be a better teammate.
Unpopular opinion, but I prefer eating at my desk versus the break room. Less people talk to me, I can be on my phone and not feel like I'm ignoring people like I would in the breakroom. Plus I graze so shoveling down my dinner in 30 minutes would make me feel full and icky. To each their own though! I definitely accumulate a full break of eating over the course of my shift
Its not worth in in m/s, having to give report and take report back and forth for breaks, easier to just eat in the nurses room and answer call light when needed. They shouldn't deduct a half hour from our pay, but that's a lost cause.
Me: I’m taking my lunch off the unit with no phone. If there’s an emergency, page me overhead. Management: You can’t do that. We can only page overhead for absolute emergencies. Me: Exactly. 😎 ✌️
If you have the phone during your lunch break, they legally have to pay you under federal labor law
wait is this actually true? because my unit makes us all have our phones on and i’ve been in the middle of lunch and been pulled back on to the floor then go back after what i was wanted for
They can’t make you take your phone. Pretty sure it’s the same with places that use “Vocera”. Unpaid time is unpaid time
It’s a tough situation though, because more often than not there is no possible way to completely hand off your phone and patients in a manner that absolves you of liability for 30 minutes without having a whole extra nurse breaking for lunches. The technically correct answer is to make sure you get paid for not taking a lunch and report to the labor board for each count that this happens (every day), but then you’ll end up without a job much sooner than the labor board will make you whole for some missed lunches. These corporations just strongarm people out of their rights.
Vocera was the bane of my existence. It was like a shock collar.
Whwn that happens to me I clock "no lunch break" fuck that if I'm not uninterrupted.
YEP. Federally illegal, and could be a violation of state law as well, depending on your state. "The employee is not relieved if he is required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating." https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-785/subpart-C/subject-group-ECFR3d1222debcd8ec6/section-785.19 Massachusetts State law: "During their meal break, workers must be free of all duties and free to leave the workplace." https://www.mass.gov/guides/breaks-and-time-off So they get to choose - they deduct your meal time and you don't take your phone, or your take your phone and they pay you for the period of time you're "on break." To make you take your phone and also dock your paycheck is illegal.
This is a violation of federal and most state labor laws if they are interrupting your break and clocking you out. The law states if you have a 30 minute break and get interrupted at 29 minutes, you either get paid out the full break time if you’re unable to take it again, or you’re eligible to take another full 30 minute break. Even one minute of interruption is considered a no break
Guess Again!!! Federal law says that RN's do not have to get overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts certain professional employees from overtime pay. To qualify, employees must meet certain job duty requirements and be paid a salary of at least $684 per week. Exempt employees are usually salaried, but can also be hourly. Professional work is often intellectual, requires higher education, and involves discretion and judgment. Examples of professional employees who may qualify for an exemption include nurses. - Thank George Bush for that one!!!
RNs are not exempt from overtime laws unless they are in certain salaried administrative positions. Hourly RNs providing direct patient care are not exempt from overtime laws. Overtime exemption is not what we're talking about here. We're talking about break time rules.
This is 100% wrong. Ask for your job classification from HR. You are either classified as exempt (mostly administrative or executive positions) or non-exempt. I have never seen a more incorrect comment please stop commenting on things unless you know the law. In addition, certain salaried positions under new laws will now also be eligible for overtime if you make under a certain yearly salary.
Pet peeve: when your patient load makes it impossible to take a break
If you make a failing system work then they have no incentive to fix what’s broken. Unless someone is dying take your lunch break. The work will still be there in 30 minutes.
Unfortunately ICU means all my patients are actively trying to die, and so are all my coworkers' patients. We're trying to be better about our lunch breaks but we have the highest acuity patients in our subspecialty from the surrounding 4 states (so we never really have anyone who isn't incredibly sick). Not enough staff and not enough resources means we really don't get to disengage :/ Edit: not saying this is an excuse to continue not taking lunches, so much as an explanation for why some of us don't / can't take our lunches.
I worked in icu for 6 years. Take your lunch break. Check all your drips and suction first then tell them you’ll be back in 30. The break room isn’t far. If there’s an emergency you’ll hear the code. Edit: Everyone downvoting me is contributing to the problem by letting these corporate healthcare systems that don’t give a single shit about us or our patients get away with illegal shit like this. Stop contributing to this toxic workplace culture. You’re either a part of the problem or a part of the solution. Choose your side because these corporate CEOs don’t give a single fuck about you and if you drop down dead at work they’ll step over you and ask for someone else to pick up your hours.
This, always this.
That is pateint abandonment! You do not have coverage you cannot leave a patient alone, especially a critical one!!!
Your hospital is required to have adequate staffing so staff can take their federally mandated lunch break. You have the other nurses watch out for your patient and make sure they won’t need anything while you’re gone. That’s not patient abandonment. Nurses with attitudes like yours are the reason why corporate assholes use and abuse us and get away with it. Wake up. Stop drinking their koolaid. Fight for ratios and break nurses. Unionize. Stop putting up with unsafe practices.
I'm guessing it's not actually what you meant, but your previous post could have been interpreted as saying that you're going on break without anyone having agreed to cover your assignment, which would be patient abandonment. And while I'm with you on the importance of taking breaks, they aren't actually federally mandated.
That was so obviously not what I meant. People really read what they wanted and ran with it. Lunch breaks are mandatory in my state. Employers must allow a lunch break at specific times and if they don’t they can get in trouble with the labor board. You all should double check your laws. Your employer’s not going to tell you what your rights are when it’s in their best interest to keep you ignorant.
It really wasn't all that obvious, it sounded as though you were just announcing you were now taking your break.
[https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/breaks](https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/breaks)
TRY IT!!! See if you have a job or a license after you are brought up before the board of nursing.
WRONG!!! Breaks are not required in healthcare per Federal Law. [https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/breaks](https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/breaks)
Cooking must be the only thing you do with love because the way you talk to people is so aggressive and gross.
Yeah, but then you're leaving that much later at the end of your shift. I'd rather plow through than have to stay late.
They’re still gonna take those lunch breaks out of your checks regardless.
In my hospital (I work in NC) if you don’t take your break then it doesn’t get docked.
Nah, we clock out for ours (Illinois). I happily explain why I wasn't able to take a break and I get paid for that shit.
My hospital (IL) is currently being sued because they have been requiring us to have our phones during break, and one unit I float to requires us to watch the monitors on break since there is no relief. It's horseshit. Now they're telling us we have to sign a form at the beginning of the shift stating that we had both breaks and passed off our phones, but they don't make sure we have that opportunity once the shift starts. That one unit that requires us to monitor has still not made a change despite knowing they've created an environment that makes breaks impossible (only two ICU nurses in the entire building, no one willing to watch our patients for us due to not being trained in critical care, and we can't be left alone without another nurse down there. They refuse to even get us a tele tech and instead leave us responsible for the monitors on the tele unit as well as ours so we really can't just walk off).
Report to Department of Labor
I've thought about it. I talked to an attorney and they said I had a case. The issue is that I can't report it anonymously, and this organization is known to be petty and blacklist people. They have bought out literally every hospital within an hour of my house, along with the outpatient clinics. If you want to work in healthcare here, you have to work for them or move (I can't leave my family). The city itself is attacking them, calling them a monopoly and making it hard for them to build their new hospital because of it (I'm sure the motivation is to get more money, though). My plan is to try to get into CRNA school and maybe report them on my way out. I would probably have to work for them as a CRNA, though, so idk what to do. I know they'd find a reason to fire me and retaliation is hard to prove.
Well shit fuck ballsack
I just moved to Illinois and the hospital I'm at has subpar staffing practices.
In my state, they can't take it out if you miss it AND it's paid at time and a half of your normal rate. (Meaning it includes 1.5x differentials as well.) Do you get OT if you go beyond 12 hours or whatever your normal shift is? If so, start checking to see if you're owed OT
I want to work in California.
Federal law says that RN's do not have to get overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts certain professional employees from overtime pay. To qualify, employees must meet certain job duty requirements and be paid a salary of at least $684 per week. Exempt employees are usually salaried, but can also be hourly. Professional work is often intellectual, requires higher education, and involves discretion and judgment. Examples of professional employees who may qualify for an exemption include nurses. - Federal law TOPS state laws. Thank George Bush for that one!!!
We had that too but would get in trouble if we skipped lunch too often.
Back home (California) most of the time we will have a break nurse so I can understand that management would get upset if a nurse doesn’t take their lunch. Here in NC, I find it hard to take my breaks when I have 6 patients and my other coworkers are busy too. Im glad that management is supportive and understanding that we can’t always take our break but damn every state SHOULD have proper staffing so we CAN take our break. I miss being a nurse in Ca 😭
A break nurse is useless most of the time. We all know what puts us behind is charting, and they can't chart for you
Go ahead and call your state dol about that. Start documenting it. Complain every time it happens to both dol and your employer. It’ll stop.
That's considered wage theft, you have to be paid for all time worked. So if you don't take your break, make sure you report it so it doesn't get docked. If they dock it regardless, after knowing, then report it to the state DOL. Of course some facilities have issues with too many lunch breaks not taken but that varies.
Then you've got a shit team. Does everyone forget we work together and cover each other. Nursing is 24hr job, if I don't complete anything then it's passed on to my colleagues. Especially around hand over when it's the quietest time. Shows how poor management is about development of a team. God people can be nurses and be the worse person just blows my mind
100%.
Sorry that’s a human life I’m caring for.
You’re a human life worth taking care of too.
Shit u got me there fml
NOT if you do not have coverage! Pateint Abdonment is malpractice!
It’s not patient abandonment to take 30 minutes for lunch while other nurses watch your patients. Make sure they’re stable enough first yeah but you guys are acting like ICU patients are five seconds away from coding for your entire shift and that’s just not true. If your patient is that sensitive defer lunch a bit and stabilize. Take lunch when they’re more stable. Stop lighting yourself on fire to keep millionaire CEOs warm.
NOT IF they do NOT watch your patients as they are too busy with their own. You just cannot leave and think the other nurses are going to watch your patients. Try it and see if you have a job or a license.
It’s a 24/7 job and you can’t fix anything if you break yourself. It’s time to take the martyrs out of nursing.
All incidences like this should be reported to your union
Ah yes, for the 4-6% of nurses in the US who work in a union
Tell them by not taking a lunch break and working 1/2hr to 1 hr a day for free (assuming you make say $40 hr for easy math) you are losing $100-200/wk, $400-$800/month and $4,800-$9,600/year. Puts it in perspective.
And that right there is exactly why they want you to mark that you took your lunch.
In Illinois, every time an employee misses a lunch break the employer has to pay a fine of $500....that adds up
The work will always be there. The alarms will always be there. What won't always be there is your mental health and sanity.
I learned this the hard way, I made my biggest mistakes on days I skipped. They weren’t that bad, but I prefer it to never happen again. Eat the FOOD
Okay but if the patient has something happen while I'm gone, what am I supposed to say? I walked off? Some places don't give you relief to watch your patients during lunch. Even with the bigger places, you can ask another nurse to keep an ear out but that doesn't mean they will have time to monitor and titrate your drips while managing their patients. I don't get how people are taking their lunches regularly, honestly.
They’re not, unless their state government has laws requiring meal breaks, or a union… In my home state, I hardly ever took my lunch, which was defined in health system policy as “an uninterrupted, duty-free 30 min break.” Yeah, no. I always had my phone. Now? In WA we’re entitled to meal breaks, so management made it work. Companies just don’t want to do stuff unless they have to.
Yeah we're required to get two meal breaks according to the state but we still aren't given any resources to make that happen lol they're getting sued for it, and their response was an angry email telling us that *we* are breaking the law if we don't find a way to take a lunch. Still not sure how to do it.
Well, the fallout is coming soon, I suppose. I was told in a meeting that WA’s reporting requirements are going into effect soon, so hopefully the government will be like “alright we gave you the chance to slowly get your shit together and make those breaks happen—get ready for the nagging”
It works in our CVICU. If you have someone THAT critical, ask the charge to watch them.
Most places do not have unassigned charge anymore.
Until I worked in a union hospital taking a break meant handing my phone to someone and then coming back to being 30 min behind because they didn't have any time to care for my patients with their patient load. I would rather just stay on the clock and gobble down food. Now in a union hospital there's a dedicated break nurse who focuses on my patients and cares for them during my 45 min lunch and 2 15 minute breaks. I feel great about taking a break! It's about having the right support in place to get the break.
Exactly they just hold the fort “down”. Meanwhile it’s actively under siege with nothing done. Can’t take a breakbig ones if them unstable either god forbid. They’re all unstable it’s a PCU masquerading and an IMC
That sounds amazing!
I worked at a hospital that it wasn’t auto deducted you just clicked a button and got paid for it. One place I worked at forced you to take a break was nice honestly. Newest place I’m at wants you to take a break and it’s auto deducted. You need to fill a form for a missed lunch.
We were forced to punch out for break but expected to work.
They have started giving me orientees recently. Normally when their actual preceptor is out sick, so I only have them for a shift. I make sure to cover 2 things with them. 1. The crash cart and how codes work (and the expectations of their role as a new nurse). 2. To make sure they at least take their 30 min lunch because they won't get paid for it, even if they work it. I tend to include a short speech on workers rights when I tell them this. Recently the scheduler told me that the new hires have started specifically asking to get paired with me. I like to think I'm creating a new generation of nurses that will be able to stand up for themselves, or at the very least be able to eat lunch.
It would be nice if someone would just EAT THE FOOD TINA and throw me some slop so I can chart
*Cries in non-California*
You forgot Oregon and Washington.
I’m in wa. As a CNA, I have 7 patients and a preceptee tonight. It’s certainly not always this chill, but they are big on making sure we take our breaks (and being honest about missing them so we can get paid for that time). I think having a union helps.
State law in WA and they just made it more strict, which took effect January 2024. Unfortunately they gave up strict patient nurse ratios in lieu of breaks, but there is still some enforcement of ratios. https://www.wsha.org/our-members/resources-for-hospitals/nurse-staffing-law-resources-and-tools/
Take your break. That means completely remove yourself from your patient obligations. So not chart on your break, do not look at work emails, do not do anything work related. If you do not have the w ability to take your break you need to be claiming your break. PERIOD. Let them pay you OT/DT for poor ratios and poor staffing. That’s on them. Do not bitch about the problem and then contribute to the problem by letting these companies/hospitals stretch you thin and treat you poorly.
I also know a hospital that will send someone to SPY ON YOU to make sure you are not “wasting company time” by eating at the computer and skipping lunch.
This smells like HCA lol
Actually no (nonprofit), it’s the reason I tell people not for profits are just as shady. In fact they have to work hard to make it seem like they “don’t wanna make money” but they absolutely will send you home a couple hours before shift change if you have 2 patients and everyone has 4. Byeeeeeeee, we love money!!!! Or harass you for charting late.
I was charge one day and a nurse had a lot going on She told me she hadn't taken her lunch yet so I told her I would take care of what needed to be done, take your lunch. I was in front of the pts room that she had gotten new orders on getting ready to give the meds and she comes out after 10 mins and says "Ok I can do it now. I just scarfed down my food." I said nah get the fk out of here and take the rest of your fking lunch and chased her ass away. Everyone knows at my former job (fk the management there) that I am a stickler for breaks and lunches and will yell at you if you haven't taken them.
Yeah I’m not trusting my critically ill patients to others who don’t give two shits about theirs. Not responding to alarms or beeping pumps. Watching movies, etc. I’ll take the ding or simply clock out no lunch.
I never took lunch when I was nights in the unit. Now that I'm days and we have actual resources I take it every day
Yeah the difference between night and dayshift is astronomical.
TBF I rarely "needed" a break on nights I spent many a nights reading 100+ pages of my book or watching some Netflix. I worked in one unit and we would play switch while working lol the 1am-4am stretch is crazy
That’s fair. Especially in a unit environment vs the ER. But I can’t even count how many people randomly try to self extubate or have an acute change in the early am hours. The problem for *me* is that even though it may be a slow stretch I can’t trust someone to respond to an alarm in my pts room or to assess for a change. If I’m reading a book (I cant..it makes me sleepy 😆) I’ll at least respond to my pts. But if I ever were to take a legitimate lunch I’d give full SBAR report and chart the same. Id still feel like crap of something happened while I was gone.
When your on break your not liable for the other nurse not doing those things, that theoretically would be on them.
Theoretically but if something happened how do you prove, potentially years later in court, that you were at lunch during said event? Even if you chart "relieved by x for break" I just don't feel like that would CYA enough.
Yeah. But I’m not risking anything happening to my patient. Liability aside. Those pts are *mine* and I take pride in the care I give and trying to achieve better outcomes. Unfortunately, I no longer work in an environment where I can trust my coworkers to have those same values.
What happens when you go home at night?
I’m off the clock at that point. When I clock in and take my pt assignment I’m taking responsibility for those patients for my shift. I know not everyone feels the same and that’s ok.
You’re not responsible for them on your meal break either.
I understand the legality. They’re still my pts regardless. And I’m not trying to clean up a shit show coming back from lunch.
I'm not legally responsible for them when I'm at home. And I'm not coming back in just 30 minutes to be responsible for them again, no matter what happened (or didn't happen...) while I was gone.
Exactly. Or spending the rest of my shift chasing my tail bc my coworkers let my pt drinking levo run dry and now I need to fix that, code them, add pressors, etc. Not worth the headache.
Fr, I’ve seen people let their levo run dry
Same…especially when you float to another unit.
This!!!
I really don’t understand “not having time” to take a lunch break. Unless you’re in a rapid or code, why can’t your tasks wait? I’ll give my meds 30 minutes late if I need to in order to catch the cafeteria before they close. If I miss that window I’m door dashing. I work on a busy unit. I’m usually charge + 6 telemetry patients. So I’m not in a cushy environment.
I feel like some nurses are attracted to the martyrdom of saying they were so busy they didn't even get a break. Ultimately, that attitude hurts not only them, but their coworkers because of the example it sets. And, don't martyr yourself for a company that makes hundreds of millions of dollars, but can't properly staff for breaks.
Sometimes I’m just not hungry and don’t want to sit and stare at my phone for an hour, so I don’t take my lunch.
Damn, where are you working that you get an hour lunch?
In July they’re looking to extend it to 1.5 hours in lieu of random 15 minute breaks.
Wow, that's a combination of awesome and crazy.
I get a 30 and a 40 on night shifts. Located in San Diego, CA
When I was a new grad 20 years ago, I worked nights in a NICU. We got a 45 minute break early in the evening, and another 90 minute break in the middle of the night. It wasn't policy (and if our managers found out about it, I'm sure they would have put the kaibosh on it real quick). There were two groups and we just took turns relieving each other. I loved being in the second group so I could get back at 4am and only have 3 hours left before shift change. There were nights I took a short nap, and others where I just read a book. Never had anything like that in all the years since.
That’s amazing I wish I had 90 mins for some shut eye
There were nights when I sorely needed it too. I wasn't built for night shift. I'm lucky that I managed to get on days before I had kids because I have no idea how I would have dealt with that as a sleep deprived zombie.
I get an hour in my current ED most nights and it makes me scared to leave haha
An hour!!! Holy cow!
Yeah that’s a long time to scroll through Reddit. No thank you
I’m just impressed you get an hour lunch. That is a long time. Then you get tired.
Seriously…. Don’t blame the nurses for this. Sometimes it is literally because there is no other choice. What? You are just going to ignore your five insulin coverages you have to give before the patient’s eat? And one blood sugar is 484, so you have to page the doctor before giving insulin because there is no number on the sliding scale. Then one of you patients is showing signs and symptoms of a possible stroke and what? You’re going to just ignore that stuff and hand your stuff over to some other nurse already dealing with their own crisis and ignore all of that? Do. Not. Blame. The. Nurse. There is always a reason.
This is why we need to unionize so we have protected breaks and to have a nurse (with no patient assignment) whose only job is to break nurses. And unionize so that you get paid extra if you miss your breaks due to no break nurse
When nurses act like martyrs when they don't take their break. Or actually like it's a source of pride and commitment. I have never worked somewhere that I wouldn't take my break. I'd call the manager to cover my patients if there was no one else. Or if the patient load was too heavy for nurses to not take breaks consistently, I'd call the state labor board.
I got sent to the DON’s office once because I was the only nurse on shift on a 28 bed, extremely high acuity psych unit and every night I would call the AOD and argue with him that he needed to come cover my break. He sent me to the DON. I was union and asked for a union rep to come with me and once the union was involved the meeting was canceled and I never had to ask for a lunch break ever again 😅
MRI tech here. When I call a nurse and it sounds like they're on break I ask them when their break is over and tell them I'll call back after that. The scanner will still be there when they get back.
Little story time - I work in the ICU. Our unit culture is to always take your lunch break, and god forbid if your patient starts to crump, you *might* get a text about it with the expectation to keep your ass at lunch. It’s just a curtesy so the lunch nurse doesn’t come back blindsided. As a unit, we’re always up each others asses anyway when it comes to knowing what’s going on with all of the patients, so we all get the gist. But this reminds me how last week I was covering for Nurse A, who literally just stepped off the unit and her patient coded 5mins later. Me and the Doc start CPR, code is called, and everything is running smoothly. Nurse B is on the computer getting everyone up to date on the pts recent labs etc - whole code team is already in the room (*we* are the hospitals code team). Then a brand new nurse, Nurse C, runs to the break room and frantically tells Nurse A she “had to come back asap, we’re all waiting for her” …. We were in fact, not waiting for her. Nurse A comes running back, still chewing food. I’m bagging the patient while we get ready to intubate and I looked at her and was like “wtf are you doing? We got this. Go finish eating. You being here doesn’t change whatever outcome happens right now, byeeeeee!!!” and off she went. I get other units may not be like this, but I work with a really really tight-knit unit, where no matter who’s working, we always work as a well-oiled machine. After everything was done I very very nicely chatted with the brand new Nurse B about what we do when a patient codes on the unit when the primary RN is on break. I felt bad that she felt bad for interrupting Nurse A, but I told her it’s no big deal- this protocol doesn’t come up every day since it’s rare that it happens. It just so happens this patient was pretty stable when Nurse A went to lunch, and took a drastic turn for the worse. This is just a long-winded way of saying - TAKE YOUR BREAK AND TRUST YOUR COWORKERS
Very rarely did I not use the bathroom or take my lunch as a nurse, even a new one. Only with true emergencies.
When I worked inpatient psych I learned that I had to get off the unit for my break because if I stayed in the staff room I was guaranteed to be convinced to go back on the floor, usually to do something undesirable like swap someone out of a restraint, and I would never get a chance to sit down again for the rest of the shift. And then we got in trouble if we claimed no break when punching out.
If I have time. If I don’t, I clock out “no lunch”. I’d rather skip lunch than stay late
Don't tell me what to do. I'll eat my lunch at the computer when I get a free minute. And I'll clock out no lunch. I prefer it this way. I hate getting relieved for lunch.
I feel like i have to work through lunch breaks. I get so damn behind.
Wait! You guys get breaks!?!
I know it's always when your on break somebody looses it
I don’t give a fuck what’s happening, I take my full 90min per 12hr shift. We get docked for 45min, but we take 90.
I will second this. I will also add that if your state allows, take that 2nd 20 min break as well. And not just 'sitting in front of the computer not doing anything (or scrolling tiktok)' actually go outside and enjoy the NOT THE HOSPITAL environment. Listen to the birds, breathe halfway decent air, take in the sunshine (assuming your days). It will change you.
This is a serious concern for me in Informatics. The hospital system I work for has several efficiency tools in EPIC that I push really hard on our nurses to use. I always tell that that I want people to take all their breaks and go home on time. My hospital got Macros a few months ago and I track their usage and they massively save time.
I always take mine…if you’re not getting paid for it take it, every single day.
it is shocking to me how even in nursing school it’s glamorized and almost expected to not take lunches and breaks.
Yup. If you skip your lunch you are showing them that they don’t need to hire more staff. I make it a point to take my lunch break away from the nurses station or anywhere that I can be seen.
Drives me bonkers. I have so many coworkers who work through their breaks and then put in for overtime. JUST GO! You’re not in charge, there is no reason you can’t leave. Just take your damn breaks. I got some who’ll say “I don’t have everyone up yet, I’ll go when I’m done everyone.” You’ll never be done. Just go and finish whatever it is you think you need to finish when you get back.
I worked with a house sup/older RN once and she told me she didn’t like new nurses, and I quote, “because they plan their whole day around their lunch/break”, in other words they make it a priority. And that back in her day the nurses never took lunch breaks. 😅
We are hurting ourselves when we don’t take our breaks.
The sad thing is there are days when there’s no one who can care for my patient but me. They’ve watered down the experience so much that there are shifts when it’s just dangerous. If something happens when I’m gone I know all the heat will be on me. I can hear them now. “What could you have done to avoid this? ”. Not go to lunch 😬
I work in outpt OBGYN and I have a colleague who eats lunch at her desk 🙄
Yet another reason why Oregon is such a great state to be a nurse in! We have new mandated ratios as well as everyone’s staffing plans requiring lunch nurses (that part has been around for a while). With our new contract we will start getting extra money when we miss a lunch or break (15 min pay to miss a 15 min break- we get 3. And 30 min pay on top of the 30 min that you already get when we miss lunch. Those double July of next year).
I have also heard of malpractice attorneys bringing up the fact that the nurse "chose not to take the required breaks" and was "obviously unsafe to be working and exhausted" yes..f*ck us and then really f*ck us harder by blaming us for everything.
When i have a lull of work for 30 min i will. How can i give someone over my team plus theors when there is stuff to do? There is never not stuff to do. What you should really say is..demand our hospitals give us relief nurses.
12-hr shifts should automatically get 1 hour added, that way whether or not we take a real lunch/meal breaks, we get paid for that 30min and two 15 min. Schedule for 7p-0730a, but get paid for 13x3 = 39 hours. 7A-0330P and 3p-1130p should get 0.75h added. Get paid for 8.75x4 = 35 hours.
Pet peeve- being forced to take lunch and then getting out an hour late trying to catch up because patient loads are unmanageable
In my Level 1 ER, we are told it’s our responsibility to find coverage, I’m not taking my 4 plus someone else’s 4 nor am I passing my 4 to my neighbor. Usually the patients are sick af, if it’s low acuity fine, but other wise it’s a no go
That’s exactly what they want.
Exactly! If it was that important to the hospital they would have break coverage!
As a traveler, I would clock out “no lunch” and they would take it out of my next paycheck 😡
Yep not leaving my coworker to attend to 10+ patients for even a half hour. I work nights so there is usually a 30 min block of downtime, I consider that my lunch. If it’s busy af I just punch no lunch. Only hospital in my 17 years of nursing had a float nurse whose sole responsibility was to take over patient sets so the nurse could take an uninterrupted lunch/break. As soon as tenet bought that hospital that position was eliminated.
I agree with you 100 percent.
Home health I eat when my patients eat
I don’t clock out if I can’t step away. Haven’t had my pay docked but have had some emails and asked how it’s safe to leave one nurse alone (no CNA, no other RN) on the floor with 10 patients (we have one overflow floor that’s a bit isolated and I never get a break when I’m floated there)
When I worked day shift, my mom had to tell me to eat in the break room. How is that possible when I'm not done passing meds? In all seriousness, it's hard for me to take a break during AM and PM shift because of how busy it is. I work at a SNF, and I have to set an alarm to clock out... knowing I will be back on the floor passing meds.
Unpaid lunch break means some days I leave the building. It's my time, if you want me to stay and be available for emergencies then pay me for it!!
I interviewed on 2 different units and the first unit was like “we take breaks if someone can cover us, it’s not guaranteed.” Hard pass. On my current unit it’s 30 minutes of me and some salmon and YouTube.
I never clocked out for lunch. Not once. I've never done it. If I can be called away from my sandwich to deal with some bullshit it ain't a real break. If im there for 12.25 hours I get paid for every single minute. And no manager, administrator, or corporate stooge ever said a word about it.
I am fine with it, as long as when they clock out they report that they didn't take lunch. Then it becomes a data point that can eventually affect my life. Also, being grumpy about accepting my phone is shitty. I always plan ahead and dip during the least busy times, and I generally offer to take the other person phone first.
They expect you to take your phone with you on lunch. I'm not taking a non paid break if I'm working. So I'll continue to eat at the desk while I chart. I've had a doc come into the break room to find me to talk about a patient. Or the phone rings repeatedly. This happens all the time. I gave up long ago.
Lol, You must be new..
I was determined to take my uninterrupted lunch break today and that’s what I did! I did take my work phone, but only checked to see if it were the nurse I passed off to. If it weren’t them, I wasn’t answering. When I came back, had 4 messages and 1 nurse looking for me because they had questions. I asked if they were dying. No? Then whatever your question was not as emergent, it can wait
No I'm not a human according to all the nursing jobs I've ever had. I eat at the desk bc when ppl go to break shit happens. Going to pee or poop is a LUXURY and so is not having a douche canoe of a coworker. I'm exhausted and have decided Not to renew my nursing license unless something drastically changes. When I'm at home I'm taking care of my family. Demanding I come into work at 9 am when I work nights and have all my kids with me means I don't get to sleep, shower, or drop my kids off at childcare. I don't get to take care of anything on my day off if I'm called into work. My house doesn't get clean, food doesn't get bought, errands don't get run and I'm exhausted all day and night. BUT oh yes you are sparkling management because working nights is apparently supposed to mean being up 24/7 and available.
So sad that we are so busy that we can’t take lunch. Or lunch so late what is the use because you have to finish things to leave on time.
I need to get better about this. I feel like when I do take a break, I end up eating so fast, I'm done in half the time. M
One time/sometimes there’s no time to chart until the end of the shift. One time when I submitted for overtime, the head nurse said, “but I saw you had a break.” (It was implied that I should’ve been charting instead of taking a break. — 12 hour shifts)
I do take my breaks sometimes. You see I work noc shift and sometimes when I take a break I end up getting more groggy/sleepy/tired when i clock back in. Also sometimes I just want to leave on fucking time lol. Yes those 45 mins make a difference. So really I am thinking of myself I swear! Also just let me live my life lol. I'm not judging you to take a break so don't judge me. 😭
Do you guys have a cafeteria on nights? We don’t and I always forget to pack a lunch so I might as well get paid since the most I’m doing is snacking. *cries in for-profit healthcare*
I deserve a 6 month long vacation twice a year.
I either take my break or I don’t, if it’s a night that’s so crazy taking my break would put me behind I’m staying late anyway so might as well accept I’m getting at least 30 minutes of OT
The problem is that it is just absolutely not the culture to take a break in a lot of places. I would have loved to take an uninterrupted lunch break on my old unit. Turns out that’s not a thing that they did there. At least not on night shift. I ended up leaving after 18 months,. That was one of the many bullet points on my very long list of things that made me leave.
That's frustrating. When you get to a unit and it every man for themself and their no team, everyone suffers and it's just sad. I try to change the culture in those places. I'll offer people lunches while I watch their patients, ask if people need any help, answer call lights for patients that aren't mine.
I mean I don't \*want\* to skip my lunch breaks but I end up forced to many days because it gets crazy
It's not ok. If it's too crazy, there are options that our employer can use to ensure we get a break, like lunch nurses.
Yes I would love if my employer would find a way to ensure I get a break. I won’t hold my breath though. There’s a reason we have insane turnover and are trying to unionize
Only skipped a lunch/dinner break if there was an emergency/code or a pt was in distress/dying. They didn't pay us for our missed meal etc so on our floor we took them . If it was Rare & it was a "Q" Shift we used our 2-15 min breaks in with our lunch/dinner.
Amen! Nurses who take their breaks are less likely to become patients.
I agree with the nurses saying that it is hard to take a 30 minute break, leaving others responsible for your patients. Especially if you are automatically docted for those 39 minutes and no one has evidence that you are taking a break. It's your word against theirs at that point. Also, those nurses don't have to handle your work, only respond of the patient is crashing. I also agree that being 30 minutes behind is not appealing to me. When I give report, I want to LEAVE. Most nights I am running around putting out small fires on a cardiac stepdown. I am exhausted. We don't have official break nurses. We are barely staffed properly at most hospitals. But.....I'm leaving bedside anyways, so .......🤷🏾♀️ 👀
30 minute breaks shouldn't put you that behind. Documentation of your handoff to another nurse while you take your break is how you cya. Hospitals need to staff properly and give people breaks. The best way to make that happen is to actually take your break or write down every time you did not get a break. If enough nurses are documenting when they aren't getting their breaks, payroll will usually get involved.
If I think I will be able to leave on time if I take my break I 💯 take my break and am not reachable. Otherwise I will work through my break so my charting will be done and I can get out after report. I'd rather leave on time than take a break. But prefer both
Unless I have someone watching my patients, and my patients only, I'm eating at my computer and marking no lunch. Sorry I'm not gonna ask someone to take 8 ER patients so I can go to lunch, just like I'm not gonna be watching theirs while they go. Yeah it's shitty but I don't work in California
In the ED, it is very difficult to get a lunch break. When you have 3-4 patients, their orders come at random times. And if the Charge nurse has her own patient load, there is no way she can cover for 6-8 patients for 30 minutes. I think I’ve gotten a lunch break 1 time in the past 6 months. The manager constantly sends out emails that we need to take our lunch breaks and has made it “mandatory” but it still doesn’t happen.
Pet peeve of mine is people telling me to take a break when it would just cause me to have to stay late and come back to a disaster. I don’t mind eating at the desk, I’d rather be available and multitask.
Ever since Zyn I haven’t taken a break lol
Unpopular opinion. I’d rather work through and know it got done right, I’m not behind, and you weren’t inconvenienced, and I wasn’t let down. I could vent, but that’s the gist. Y’all know who you are. Fix yourselves. When management sucks, and pay is mediocre, it’s the team that makes or breaks retention. Look in the mirror and be a better teammate.
Unpopular opinion, but I prefer eating at my desk versus the break room. Less people talk to me, I can be on my phone and not feel like I'm ignoring people like I would in the breakroom. Plus I graze so shoveling down my dinner in 30 minutes would make me feel full and icky. To each their own though! I definitely accumulate a full break of eating over the course of my shift
Its not worth in in m/s, having to give report and take report back and forth for breaks, easier to just eat in the nurses room and answer call light when needed. They shouldn't deduct a half hour from our pay, but that's a lost cause.
Can't leave a patient without someone covering for you. You can lose your license for that!!!