Are you able to take your meals and breaks at work?

Our patients deserve safe and quality care, but as healthcare workers we know that fatigue is a significant factor in medical errors. Our union is working to pass legislation that would require hospitals to ensure staff receive their full breaks. In some hospitals, a bathroom break can be counted against break time, a practice known as ‘intermittent breaking’.

Many of our members report that missed breaks and even meal periods are a common problem on their unit.

One nurse says, “I’m not comfortable leaving patients unattended, and I work on a busy floor with high acuity. We’re expected to cover for other nurses on break, but we’re usually so busy covering our own patients that we don’t have time to check on additional patients. When we miss our breaks, the hospital says it’s our own problem, and there’s no system in place to report missed breaks or meals.”

We’d like to hear from you on a survey of how often you’re able to take your breaks and meals, and how frequently you’re interrupted.

If you’re a healthcare worker in an acute care setting, please take a moment to fill out this survey so that we can share this information with our state legislators. Visit
http://tiny.cc/breakssurvey to fill out the survey, or ask your organizer for a paper copy.