Do Other Professionals Skip Restroom Breaks And Meals?

I was a teacher for close to 20 years and there were MANY MANY days when I didn't have time to go to the bathroom! I wanted to, I needed to....but I couldn't leave my class of 5 year olds alone so I learned to hold it. As far as lunches, we had to eat lunch with the class, which meant helping sixteen 5 year olds open their lunch boxes, open straws for their juice boxes, prod them to eat the healthy stuff first, remind them to sit down and use their indoor voice....oh yeah, and try to shove in a few bites of MY lunch before lunch was over.

Quote from RunnerRN2b2014I was a teacher for close to 20 years and there were MANY MANY days when I didn't have time to go to the bathroom! I wanted to, I needed to....but I couldn't leave my class of 5 year olds alone so I learned to hold it. As far as lunches, we had to eat lunch with the class, which meant helping sixteen 5 year olds open their lunch boxes, open straws for their juice boxes, prod them to eat the healthy stuff first, remind them to sit down and use their indoor voice....oh yeah, and try to shove in a few bites of MY lunch before lunch was over.

Quote from RunnerRN2b2014I was a teacher for close to 20 years and there were MANY MANY days when I didn't have time to go to the bathroom! I wanted to, I needed to....but I couldn't leave my class of 5 year olds alone so I learned to hold it. As far as lunches, we had to eat lunch with the class, which meant helping sixteen 5 year olds open their lunch boxes, open straws for their juice boxes, prod them to eat the healthy stuff first, remind them to sit down and use their indoor voice....oh yeah, and try to shove in a few bites of MY lunch before lunch was over.

Nurses do not have the corner market on suffering in the workplace, and it makes us sound a little whiney when we discount what other people go through to earn a living. Yeah, it can be brutal, but a bad day in nursing is better than a good day working in a coal mine. (Raise your hand if you've got a song stuck in your head now.) FWIW, there were many times that my fellow co-workers who were not nurses went without meals or bathroom breaks--routinely.

I dont get why people dont take the 2 minutes to pee. Take care of yourself before taking care of others.

Teachers--so many unpaid hours! I've known research scientists who work with no pay for months to have any hope of getting credit for their work and ever landing a position again. I agree nurses and aides are run off their feet and that is flat out counterproductive and stupid, but we don't corner the market on suffering for others. We'd do better as a profession if we didnt talk about being martyrs as if we had no choice or secretly enjoyed it.

People who wait tables may go 12 hours without a break. I've done it many times. It was just too complicated to find someone to watch my tables, get all undressed to use the restroom, and get all back together the way I needed to be in a short enough amount of time. There were many days I work 8-12 hours without a full dinner/lunch break when we were busy.

Soldiers. Police. Firefighters. EMS crews. Flight Medical crews. Physicians. Shall I continue?I don't think skipping lunches or pee breaks should be a regular thing. If it is, then the unit must be sorely understaffed. But there are occasions in several professions where the professional is called upon to put up with some discomfort and forgo their own needs. I think our noble and demanding professions sometimes require this of us.For the record: I have been a soldier, paramedic, flight nurse/medic, ER nurse, SAR medic. I am married to a physician. There have been quite a few times for both of us when the job simply demanded we do or give more. Including missing a meal break or bathroom break or sleep. We chose these jobs, and that comes with the territory; though it shouldn't be a constant.

There was a big accident on the highway. How did the police know who the nurses were?They were the ones with the empty stomachs, the full bladders, and the chewed asses.We all chose this profession. Unless you're working in the OR on a lengthy surgery, you can find the time to pee.

Quote from dap1848People who wait tables may go 12 hours without a break. I've done it many times. It was just too complicated to find someone to watch my tables, get all undressed to use the restroom, and get all back together the way I needed to be in a short enough amount of time. There were many days I work 8-12 hours without a full dinner/lunch break when we were busy.

If you can't take the 1-2 minutes to use the washroom, you're extremely, extremely bad at time management. That's no one's fault but your own. Heck, even in the middle of very busy overnight calls, I've found the 2 minutes it takes to use the washroom.Now, the food thing is definitely a legitimate complaint. I usually carry a bunch of protein bars or fruit around with me in case I don't have time to grab a full meal (which is a pretty common occurrence) and they work out pretty well. Takes only a couple of minutes to eat and can keep me going for a few more hours.Quote from OCNRN63Nurses do not have the corner market on suffering in the workplace, and it makes us sound a little whiney when we discount what other people go through to earn a living. Yeah, it can be brutal, but a bad day in nursing is better than a good day working in a coal mine. (Raise your hand if you've got a song stuck in your head now.) FWIW, there were many times that my fellow co-workers who were not nurses went without meals or bathroom breaks--routinely.

I don't understand how nurses can't find 2 minutes to pee. There is something seriously wrong with a unit if some form of a break can't be taken. We get insanely busy, but unless there's an emergency, there is time to pee. Sometimes the only option to eat means grabbing a quick bite and then getting back to charting, but I just don't believe that this is normal for most nurses. I agree with studentdrtobe, if this is the norm for a nurse (especially someone with experience), they have serious time management issues. This may be TMI, but I know the flow on my unit and when things are more likely to be slower--that's when I'll eat something or have a BR break, even if I don't need it--it's like the rest of my nursing practice, I try to get everything finished ASAP so I'm ready when all hell breaks loose.