Show Up On Your Own Radar

Hooooray! Spot on

The nurses I work with never take lunches or breaks. I am dead serious that they walk down the hall gulping quickly a cup of soup. Never ever have I seen anyone eat. There is not time. All the HUCs have been let go so there is no one to answer phones or call lights anymore (nurses have to do it). Therefore no one eats. I have put on about 40 pounds d/t working in the southeast US. Remember, no unions and it is true that the hospitals think they are doing you a favor by just giving you employment. If you make a stink you will be let go and that is what happened to me at my last gig. By the end of next year I will be completely out of nursing God willing if the economy turns.

How sad. Even so, you can take comfort, as you are doing, by telling yourself that your days in nursing are numbered. If they weren't I'd encourage you to look for a new job or to check out a new area of nursing.People just aren't meant to function at full tilt for days on end. And when they are asked to do so, they start having physical problems or anxiety-related s/s. I hope the economy loosens up a bit and that upper-level corporate executives start seeing that treating staff members like appliances costs them more in the long run than being decent.One can hope.

Beautiful. I love how these tidbits are not only professional in nature, but personal as well. Thank you for posting, this will certainly not be the only time I read it.

Dead on pro-active advice. New nurses will do well to print this article out for handy reference. Learning to say no, when work spills over into your personal life by trying to invade it like kudzu, is the single best word a nurse can use on a daily basis. Don't be a lonely old nurse in a hospice wishing she/he spent more time with family than on hospital overtime.Thanks for laying the truth out there rn/writer.

RN/writer this is spot on! I am actively taking your advice and taking inventory

In 35 years of nursing, I've rarely missed a lunch break. Sometimes it's at 10 AM or 3 PM, depending upon what the day looks like. Sometimes it's 7 minutes and occaisionally it's been 45. But I've found that there isn't much that cannot wait long enough for you to take a break and eat your lunch. CPR can't wait, obviously. If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to take care of anyone else.