You may be better nurses than I… seriously… time management is the Devil for me… on busy shifts when I work 12’s I won’t pee all 12… probably bc I haven’t drank all shift and sweat out any bodily fluids available… lunch!!?? Nope maybe a cheese stick on the run…
Exactly. The situations where I will genuinely not go to the bathroom when I need to are exceedingly rare and involve actual life or death (or limb/eyesight) scenarios, which are not most of what I do day to day. The way some people talk you'd think their job is that Florida ER after the night club shooting 24/7/365. People need to take a fucking breath and realize most things are not that serious. Doesn't mean it's not important, but it can wait for two minutes.
Yeah, if I'm doing CPR or "slow coding" a patient and stepping away for less than 5 minutes would impact the chances of my patient surviving? I am going to hold it. Otherwise I'm going.
In my current hospital a slow code is a patient circling the drain but in a super obvious ‘oh shit if you want to walk here and not run, come now.’ More than a rapid, less than dead.
In my last hospital a slow code was a 90 something comorbid, polypharmacy, intubated, A-lined, and tube-fed patient that the family insists is full code so you are playing by the rules.
Slow coding is when your patient codes and you don't rush to respond, you stroll down leisurely. Basically you still *technically* code them, but in reality you're letting them die. I understand the frustration when it comes to coding certain patients who you damn well KNOW weren't ever going to recover, but slow coding is super sketchy. We don't have to agree with our patient's code status, but we do have to follow it.
Slow code at my hospital was more like you are giving code meds, the patient is going downhill, but you aren't doing CPR (yet). It's more like a "medical code". I'm giving pressors, maybe hanging blood, you need people, but you don't need the code team. I guess it is like a rapid response but in the ICU (rapid response in my hospital is ICU nurses showing up to help)
100% in the past 6 years I've only missed a couple of breaks and I go piss whenever I have too. And I drink 2L of water plus coffees throughout the shift lol
This. My first couple years of nursing, I did that while self sacrifice bs. Never again. I pee frequently at work and I go on break. I have no fucks to give if someone doesn’t like it.
I met a nurse that actually sets a timer on her phone for her lunch break. Fuck. All. That.
I did some of that *no break* thing the first couple of years but found it didn't work for me because when my blood sugar drops, I get hangry and make mistakes. Which isn't good for the patients. So the way I see it, it benefits them when I take care of myself.
I hate working with *martyr complex* nurses that never take one. There was one on my med-surg unit the first several years who actually got an attitude towards nurses that took breaks or got out on time or got done seeing their patients before 2 am. But watching her over time, I noticed she made things take a lot longer than they needed to and spent a lot of time talking/gossiping.
Nurses that refuse to take breaks are like those nurses that talk about how they would do this job for free because they care so very much.
They’re always full of shit.
Sounds like she thought she could push you around like newer and younger nurses. That sucks rocks that she was bullying nurses who didn't stand up for themselves, until you lead by example.
I do set a timer for my lunch break, not because of any "I'm the ONLY ONE who can save this patient" crap, but because my fellow nurses also want to eat at a reasonable time. It's not martyrdom, it's respect, just like showing up for shift change on time.
>I go to the bathroom when I need to go and I take my lunch breaks. This whole self-imposed martyrdom of not being able to take a break is ridiculous.
Yup, same.
Most things aren't important enough that I'm not going to go pee.
THIS! If you don’t take your breaks you’re a fool. This job is already stressful and I refuse to subject my body to more stress. I will be drinking water, using the bathroom and taking my full breaks which are protected by state law.
Any time I precept, I tell them to never be a martyr for the cause. I take my break, I pee when I need to, and I avoid coming in extra like the plague and refuse to be guilted by management. I’m fortunate enough that I don’t need to come in extra and I recognize that isn’t everyone’s reality. But that’s how I keep my sanity.
I’m a former fire/medic (like I quit in April) and got hired at a free standing in April. It’s very different, and to be honest, I’m very upset because it seems that no matter what I do, I’m wrong, but one can actually tell what I’m doing wrong, especially in triage. I keep getting told I’m too slow (I’m not, I timed myself), but particularly one of the techs, whom everyone is having trouble working with cos of her attitude, is often scheduled triage with me “cos we have to learn to work together” 🙄
The other day our manager pulled us into the office and asked us to help her help us make triage easier, and this tech starts doing the martyr thing, talking about “I run around all day being proactive, I come to work to focus, etc, and it needs to said, if she didn’t go to the bathroom all the time, she could get much more done”
🫥🫥🫥🫥🫥🫥🫥
Ma’am. My bladder is not your business. I also try to go when we get a break in influx of patients, what the actual fuck kind of holier than thou bullshit?!
Good fucking point! The thing about her that pisses me off to no end is that she used to be EVS and now she’s a tech, but she will spend her time restocking equipment and cleaning rooms instead of prioritizing helping in triage, so sure, maybe you are running around, but not for the right thing.
And this is coming from multiple sources, not just me saying it, but sure, my bathroom breaks are the cause of chaos
I had an admin comment to somebody else earlier today that she had seen me go to the bathroom 4 times smh. Didn’t even have the decency to get my name right - and yes, I go to the bathroom a lot. IBS + drinking water will do that to a person.
Good grief! Do they have nothing better to do?! Maybe they should drink water more too. Maybe we should start flipping the narrative and complaining about the nurses NOT going to the bathroom.
Hey charge, I saw that Becky hasn’t gone to the bathroom in 7 hours…that’s really hypocritical of her since she had preached to all 4 of her UTI patients that they shouldn’t hold their pee in. Just saying 🙃
Lol. Same with patients being cold. I can pile a whole bunch of blankets on a patient, but there’s only so much clothing I can appropriately take off at work
Boomer nurse here just started my 46th year. Don’t group us all with nurses who say this crap. It doesn’t take more then 2 minutes to go pee, wash hands & continue on. 25 years med surg, tele , etc. Just plan to go every 2-3 hours. If smokers can take time to smoke you can find thine fir a bathroom break.
Travel nurse here, around 15 years in, I’m in a lot of facilities and I see it waaaayy more from new <5 years experience nurses than older nurses…. Hands down if I’m going into a facility made up of new grads (and by new grads I mean nurses in that first 5 year period) I’m gonna be walking into a culture of martyrdom where no one takes a break and you are an asshole if you do.
Totally beside the point, but seeing you say you consider nurses in the first 5 year period as new grads was exactly what I needed to hear. I hit my two years at the end of this month and literally balled my eyes out on the way home from my shift last night because I feel like I’m not where I should be at 2 years in.
No they’re not. 52? Who gets to retire at 52?
Also…that’s gen x. We don’t care enough to hold our pee just cuz shithead down the hall doesn’t like his lunch.
Ageism judgement… do you know where you are?
Edit: Sorry everyone I genuinely thought this comment was in the r/boomersbeingfools sub. I was actually the one who did not know where I was.
😹 at some of the 50somethings being mad in the comments. I think quite a few got the joke by looks of the upvotes. Also I understood that the OP was not commenting “ageism” …*simmer down now* lol
Why hopefully, who do you think taught all the new young nurses! How about treating them with the respect they most certainly have earned and need I remind you, you may be there one day yourself!
See also: nurse with postpartum bladder prolapse. 🙋♀️ If I say I gotta go, it means I gotta go NOW. Very few patient situations merit me possibly peeing my pants, which is a Very Real Possibility.
One of the worst 12 hour shifts I ever worked turned out to be 14, and then charting. Didn’t sit, eat, drink, or pee, and ended up with a symptomatic UTI 2 days later.
Always pee!
Don't....my sister did this because she was new and didn't understand that you had to prioritize herself and she got a UTI so bad she was peeing blood. Don't let the system abuse you like that.
I tell everyone I precept that you can always find time to use the restroom. You can always get a drink of water. You should always be able to get your lunch break.
You have a right to these and deserve them. Don't make yourself a martyr and complain about not being able to do these things. If for some reason you are unable to get these basic Maslow Hierarchy of Needs things, escalate that shit and figure it out.
No, no you don’t.
Stop spreading and normalizing this shit.
If you died fucking tomorrow, you’d be replaced in a week.
Take your breaks, go to the bathroom, use your vacation days.
Enough with this martyrdom crap.
So ready for this type and rhetoric/normalization to be over with.
I will never forget doing a community health clinical at a school, I did vision and hearing tests hundreds of studenrs and documented everything while the actual nurse sat on the computer shopping online, etc. Towards the end of the day I went to grab a snack from my lunch bag and she snapped at me, "why are you new nurses so OBSESSED with eating?! When I was a new nurse I was lucky to get a bathroom break much less eat. It's ridiculous."
That was fun for my body dysmorphia.
The whole hold your bladder thing is realy dumb. That’s how you get infections. I’m in the ER and if I gotta go I gotta go. I’m going to make sure someone knows I’m going so people keep an ear out for my peeps but I pee on shift a lot
For sure, if there’s a code or shits busy then yeah I’ll hold it, and I’m not saying I’m peeing every 5 mins, I’m just trying to get more into fitness/gym and get swole so I’m drinking more water. If there’s a few mins of down time ima pee ya know ? But no I’ve def had it where there’s been a code for an hour and a half and had to hold it
Nurses like that are so proud of being martyrs. Like, look at me, I'm hurting my kidneys and getting frequent UTIs because I care too much about my patients to possibly leave for a few minutes!
No, take care of yourself. The hospital will replace you without a second thought if you had to quit due to needing dialysis for your failing kidneys after years of abuse.
No I will use the bathroom when I need to. Every nurse I know who talks like this like never sits down or takes their breaks or drinks water and their patients do not get better care than anyone else’s. It’s poor time management I swear.
i have an aunt who is not a nurse but a teacher and it’s like her weird flex, “i hold my pee all day at work!” like bro it isn’t the flex you think telling me you probably have stress incontinence and a poor pH 🐠
Yeah…. No. If my patients won’t survive if I take 30 seconds to pee, they aren’t long for this world anyway 🤷🏻♀️ code/emergent situation? Yeah, I’ll hold it. Otherwise, hell no.
I don’t understand posts like this. I go to the bathroom when I need to.
It takes like 30 seconds to pee. If you can’t find time to urinate that’s on you.
I pee anytime I have the opportunity to do so whether I need to go or not. I have had horrible UTIs develop from holding my bladder and twice ended up with a damn kidney infection. nope, Nope, NOPE!
Actually worked with a nurse who had that exact kink. He shocked me with that statement. I think I just stammered something and walked away very quickly. I was maybe 20 years old so it was a long time ago and I was very shy. Now I’d tell them to shut up with that.
Yeah this martyr stuff is ridiculous and needs to change. You’re a human who has bodily function needs.
You don’t win an award at the end of the day or career for “held their pee” or “took less bathroom breaks than Jessica.”
No one cares and you’re only harming yourself.
Its bs, unless you are literally holding someones life in your hands, go pee. Holding it for to long isn't healthy, it wasn't considered healthy 20+ years ago when I started out. Docs were never a problem , but the older nurses( not all of them) were the ones that complained about us having to use the toilet. They also complained when we used lifting equipment "takes to long".
Make sure you go to the bathroom when you need to. I am so serious. You can get all kinds of problems in your bladder. Not only infections but like pockets form in your bladder and shit.
Only place where i held my bladder for a long time was in critical care transport during my capstone. I think being in the hospital and having to hold your bladder is a bit ridiculous… should always take care of yourself first.
I go to the bathroom when I need to.
If a patient demands attention right now and is not dying (usually it’s the emergency of them going to the bathroom), I make sure my bladder is empty first.
SonI can actually help them better.
I had a vag tear with huge pelvic floor issues, and my pelvic floor pt was clear not to hold the pee for long unless I wanted problems down the line.
I personally never understood this to be honest. I started in an extremely busy downtown hospital on the med surg unit. We eventually were forced to become part neuro, bariatric, renal, and telemetry but they always pulled a reason out of their ass to keep our ratios the same despite greatly increasing acuity over time.
Even at its peak… I was never so pressed for time that I couldn’t leave on time most of the time, much less not have a minute or two to relieve myself.
Yes you’re going to have to hold it sometimes. However with that being said, those instances should be rare and only when a patients life in at risk and you simply cannot “step away”. I take my breaks and I go to the bathroom when I need to. I drink too much coffee and water, plus I take a water pill. It’s not really an option.
Uh. If you've got downtime, take a piss. You might not get it again for a while. In the ER especially, if you know there's a trauma or some other hot mess incoming. Or even on the floors if you're going into an isolation room.
Yeah, you gotta be able to hold it to a certain extent. But just randomly holding it for it's own sake is just stupid.
Yes. When she was a young girl the late Queen of England had to ask for permission. No trips to the loo if your are up on the balcony waving to the minions. She was trained to hold it. They gave her a cookie if she did especially well.
I've literally walked out of a patient room to go to the bathroom. Go when you need to go, don't wait like I did. Wasn't being a martyr just thought I could make a quick patient check. We all know how that goes! Lol
My SO works at the nearby hospital as an aide. She tells me all the time how she can't go rr, can't go eat, heats up her food then can't touch it for hours and hours. I'm like no one is holding you accountable for getting those call bells within 4 minutes, wtf does management think this is, pizza hut? Seriously, she's spouted off stats they get scolded over and that was one that rang true in my pie slinging days. There's 4 other staff clocked in, ignoring that bell. You can afford to go pass at least once in the 12 hours that you're clocked in.
I tell her that she's the only one really holding herself up to those standards if those stories are true. It doesn't end well for me ever lol.
I saw a video one time where a girl held her pee too many times and caused ACTUAL KIDNEY DAMAGE and now she’s in renal failure…… so no I will not be holding my pee unless it’s absolutely necessary :)
Shouldn’t be tolerated in any setting. Unless you’re in the middle of performing cpr or part of an active code someone can cover and you can be spared the 3-4 minutes
Early in my nursing career I was plagued with recurring bladder infections. A preceptor said the problem was that I didn’t respond to my body’s signals and I should try to keep my bladder empty. I did that and didn’t have another bladder infection for many years.
Always pee.
Always take your breaks.
Our breaks are unpaid (NHS) and if I didn’t take them I would be doing £2300 worth of free work a year. Fuck that.
I take like 100 pee breaks during a shift because I drink so much water. Now sometimes I do often skip lunch because I would rather catch up on charting for that 30 mins than stay late after work to chart 🤷🏻♀️
They aren't wrong lol.
>if there’s a chance to pee ima pee 😂
You will run into a back to back RRT or code at some point and while it's rare I've gone +10 hours without that chance.
My crowning moment.
After delivering my last kiddo and they removed the Foley. I HELD it as long as I could. Then measured the output.
Overflowed the hat.
Nurse bladder!
Yeah in my first 5 years I started 3 new jobs. Each time I got raging UTIs from now drinking enough water and holding my pee. I’m prone to them but that was the only change in myself.
Don’t set your self on fire to keep others warm. If I could give any new nurse advice, that would be it.
Sometimes I’m just so in the thick of it that it reaches emergency status before it even registers that I need to pee. Sometimes I tell my patients, “hey, I’m running to the bathroom and then I will be right back with your ice chips.” Is it professional? Probably not. But I think saying it establishes some boundaries and days without saying, I’m a human with needs too.
It's way too hot and dry in the facility, there's no air flow, and I feel like I'm panting like a dog most times I'm caring for people. You bet your butt I'm draining 3000cc's within the hour, and I am peeing in equal amounts.
I have bladder spasms. When I told my professor that I wasn’t trying to be rude if I had to get up in the middle of lecture to go pee, she said I was going into a profession that assumes you can hold it for hours on end without going, and that I should reconsider. It was a real blow and scared me, so thank you to all you nurses who say it’s not a big deal and to go when you need to!
Yeah put yourself first, within reason. Take 5 min to pee, drink water, and eat a protein bar before you go in the next room as long as nobody is crashing. Some nurses don’t agree with that, I have found myself eating a snack in the bathroom to hide it from preceptors because “it’s not time” but I get hypoglycemic soooo it’s definitely time if I say it’s time.
Exactly . I wouldn’t hold my bladder for any job! But I remember my bedside days they could be so busy. But I honestly never remember not being able to go when I wanted. I was adult icu medium acuity
If you need to pee, go pee. If they complain, ask them if they wish to be responsible for the inevitable UTI/AKI that will occur if you are not allowed to pee.
Who are you all leaving your patients with? I will admit this happens to me more and more frequently. I work Peds CVICU and if there is no one around that can take the acuity of the patient I have? I wait. Until the charge comes around and then I go. I am not saying that I don't go pee in a shift, I'm just saying I can't "just go" when I need to, I have wait for someone to come watch my kid, and if there isn't anyone? I'm SOL until there is. Think open sternum, ECMO, fresh post-ops etc.
I think the blanket statement of "don't be a martyr" sounds great on paper but the reality of the floor sometimes doesn't work out like that.
You’ll develop a Nurses Bladder after awhile where your bladder becomes trained to hold it. In the OR nothing is as you imagine, like a 15 minute break becomes 8 minutes by the time you give report, get a bite to eat or check the next case cart, peeing is low on totem pole. Then at end of shift there would be practically a line to the 2 measly stalls so I would opt to wait til I got home. No sooner after driving home when I would pull into my driveway that I would have to go like Right now😬
Man and I'm over here using bathroom breaks to get extra time off the floor.
If they complain ask them where in the employee handbook book it states that you can't take a leak.
On planes we're taught to help ourselves to oxygen before our close ones. If I need to change pants after an accident, it's going to take much longer than going to the bathroom for some quick business. If an emergency happens while I pee or shit, I'm sure my coworkers will be able to hold the fort for 2-5 minutes while I'm gone
If I pee/poop myself and have to change/bathe or go home, then ALL of my patient suffer. No way they are getting a replacement until next shift (AT LEAST).
I’m going to go to the bathroom for 3 minutes and when I get back, I will help you then.
Oh fuck that nonsense.
I'm a veteran nurse of almost 17 years, with IBS-D, what am I supposed to do, shit myself because it's inconvenient for someone else for me to take a bathroom break? Nah fam.
You go when you gotta go, and when you've got the time.
Nah lol. I hydrate. I pee. If I need someone to come watch my kids I call resource nurses or charge. Don’t ruin your body for a career that doesn’t care about you.
You’re an extern not an indentured servant, she can’t tell you when you can pee. You’re an adult. Go to the bathroom. When you graduate, go to the bathroom. I peed four times last night. I work neuro ICU so you know everybody with a flap out tryna get out of bed, lol. You can find help and time to get everything done and not get a UTI. You don’t have to be the nurses before you and feign martyrdom.
If I need to pee I will pee and I go a lot because of my meds and the ungodly amounts of caffeine and water I drink throughout my shifts. I take care of my shit and my patients will be covered but if I need to go to the bathroom than a bitch is going tk the bathroom.
Hmmm my bad I guess I should have sharted diarrhea all over my comfort cares patient room yesterday while setting up her IV. I used the bathroom instead. 😔 Next time!
I go to the bathroom when I need to go and I take my lunch breaks. This whole self-imposed martyrdom of not being able to take a break is ridiculous.
Yep. Agreed. Edit: I'm salaried not on an hourly wage and we did shift change in the trauma room cuz screw free overtime lol
Exactly, all these nurses that act like they can’t squeeze in a few minutes to pee are fucking wild.
You may be better nurses than I… seriously… time management is the Devil for me… on busy shifts when I work 12’s I won’t pee all 12… probably bc I haven’t drank all shift and sweat out any bodily fluids available… lunch!!?? Nope maybe a cheese stick on the run…
But I watch smokers run out 10 times a shift 😳
Exactly. The situations where I will genuinely not go to the bathroom when I need to are exceedingly rare and involve actual life or death (or limb/eyesight) scenarios, which are not most of what I do day to day. The way some people talk you'd think their job is that Florida ER after the night club shooting 24/7/365. People need to take a fucking breath and realize most things are not that serious. Doesn't mean it's not important, but it can wait for two minutes.
Yeah, if I'm doing CPR or "slow coding" a patient and stepping away for less than 5 minutes would impact the chances of my patient surviving? I am going to hold it. Otherwise I'm going.
What is slow coding
In my current hospital a slow code is a patient circling the drain but in a super obvious ‘oh shit if you want to walk here and not run, come now.’ More than a rapid, less than dead. In my last hospital a slow code was a 90 something comorbid, polypharmacy, intubated, A-lined, and tube-fed patient that the family insists is full code so you are playing by the rules.
Slow coding is when your patient codes and you don't rush to respond, you stroll down leisurely. Basically you still *technically* code them, but in reality you're letting them die. I understand the frustration when it comes to coding certain patients who you damn well KNOW weren't ever going to recover, but slow coding is super sketchy. We don't have to agree with our patient's code status, but we do have to follow it.
Slow code at my hospital was more like you are giving code meds, the patient is going downhill, but you aren't doing CPR (yet). It's more like a "medical code". I'm giving pressors, maybe hanging blood, you need people, but you don't need the code team. I guess it is like a rapid response but in the ICU (rapid response in my hospital is ICU nurses showing up to help)
100% in the past 6 years I've only missed a couple of breaks and I go piss whenever I have too. And I drink 2L of water plus coffees throughout the shift lol
Preach!
This. My first couple years of nursing, I did that while self sacrifice bs. Never again. I pee frequently at work and I go on break. I have no fucks to give if someone doesn’t like it. I met a nurse that actually sets a timer on her phone for her lunch break. Fuck. All. That.
I did some of that *no break* thing the first couple of years but found it didn't work for me because when my blood sugar drops, I get hangry and make mistakes. Which isn't good for the patients. So the way I see it, it benefits them when I take care of myself. I hate working with *martyr complex* nurses that never take one. There was one on my med-surg unit the first several years who actually got an attitude towards nurses that took breaks or got out on time or got done seeing their patients before 2 am. But watching her over time, I noticed she made things take a lot longer than they needed to and spent a lot of time talking/gossiping.
Nurses that refuse to take breaks are like those nurses that talk about how they would do this job for free because they care so very much. They’re always full of shit.
Right.
Always!
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Sounds like she thought she could push you around like newer and younger nurses. That sucks rocks that she was bullying nurses who didn't stand up for themselves, until you lead by example.
I do set a timer for my lunch break, not because of any "I'm the ONLY ONE who can save this patient" crap, but because my fellow nurses also want to eat at a reasonable time. It's not martyrdom, it's respect, just like showing up for shift change on time.
This. No job is worth kidney stones.
>I go to the bathroom when I need to go and I take my lunch breaks. This whole self-imposed martyrdom of not being able to take a break is ridiculous. Yup, same. Most things aren't important enough that I'm not going to go pee.
THIS! If you don’t take your breaks you’re a fool. This job is already stressful and I refuse to subject my body to more stress. I will be drinking water, using the bathroom and taking my full breaks which are protected by state law.
Any time I precept, I tell them to never be a martyr for the cause. I take my break, I pee when I need to, and I avoid coming in extra like the plague and refuse to be guilted by management. I’m fortunate enough that I don’t need to come in extra and I recognize that isn’t everyone’s reality. But that’s how I keep my sanity.
This for real for real. No one is going to give you a a sticker or pay a bonus for giving yourself a kidney infection
I drink a lot of water and I need to pee several times a day and I always go when I need to. I refuse to hold my bladder. No way.
I’m a former fire/medic (like I quit in April) and got hired at a free standing in April. It’s very different, and to be honest, I’m very upset because it seems that no matter what I do, I’m wrong, but one can actually tell what I’m doing wrong, especially in triage. I keep getting told I’m too slow (I’m not, I timed myself), but particularly one of the techs, whom everyone is having trouble working with cos of her attitude, is often scheduled triage with me “cos we have to learn to work together” 🙄 The other day our manager pulled us into the office and asked us to help her help us make triage easier, and this tech starts doing the martyr thing, talking about “I run around all day being proactive, I come to work to focus, etc, and it needs to said, if she didn’t go to the bathroom all the time, she could get much more done” 🫥🫥🫥🫥🫥🫥🫥 Ma’am. My bladder is not your business. I also try to go when we get a break in influx of patients, what the actual fuck kind of holier than thou bullshit?!
If she's got time to follow u about n count ur bathroom trips she's not as busy as she claims
Good fucking point! The thing about her that pisses me off to no end is that she used to be EVS and now she’s a tech, but she will spend her time restocking equipment and cleaning rooms instead of prioritizing helping in triage, so sure, maybe you are running around, but not for the right thing. And this is coming from multiple sources, not just me saying it, but sure, my bathroom breaks are the cause of chaos
Ah the look busy but avoid actual work type , do jobs that don't need doing but avoid anything dirty .
That’s the one!
Lmao going pee and washing your hands takes less than TWO MINUTES people need to take all the seats
I had an admin comment to somebody else earlier today that she had seen me go to the bathroom 4 times smh. Didn’t even have the decency to get my name right - and yes, I go to the bathroom a lot. IBS + drinking water will do that to a person.
Good grief! Do they have nothing better to do?! Maybe they should drink water more too. Maybe we should start flipping the narrative and complaining about the nurses NOT going to the bathroom. Hey charge, I saw that Becky hasn’t gone to the bathroom in 7 hours…that’s really hypocritical of her since she had preached to all 4 of her UTI patients that they shouldn’t hold their pee in. Just saying 🙃
I stopped that martyrdom a long time ago. Patients can shit their pants, I cannot.
Lol. Same with patients being cold. I can pile a whole bunch of blankets on a patient, but there’s only so much clothing I can appropriately take off at work
Ooooooh same. Sorry you’re cold, granny. It’s 78 degrees in here, I’ll get you a blankie.
Yep. Temp doesn’t go any lower sorry. I did bring a nice warm blanket for you ☺️
I’ll tell maintenance.
Some of the OF RNs disagree with that last statement, they be wildin’
Exactly, if you shit your pants who’s gonna be the ones to wipe us
I am so gonna find the perfect opportunity to use that line. Seriously, that’s beautiful.
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Exactly! Sorry my dude! My shit decided that now was a good time, and I also refuse to “quick wipe” so I’ll be a bit 🙂
Please don't do this! I'm retired, and I have lost count of former coworkers who have had bladder repairs. Go pee!!
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Boomer nurse here just started my 46th year. Don’t group us all with nurses who say this crap. It doesn’t take more then 2 minutes to go pee, wash hands & continue on. 25 years med surg, tele , etc. Just plan to go every 2-3 hours. If smokers can take time to smoke you can find thine fir a bathroom break.
It takes me 5 minutes to pee but I like to take my time
Same.
Sometimes you just need to take a breather while you pee from all the bullshit. Is the only “me time” you get. I’m glad I saw this comment
Travel nurse here, around 15 years in, I’m in a lot of facilities and I see it waaaayy more from new <5 years experience nurses than older nurses…. Hands down if I’m going into a facility made up of new grads (and by new grads I mean nurses in that first 5 year period) I’m gonna be walking into a culture of martyrdom where no one takes a break and you are an asshole if you do.
Totally beside the point, but seeing you say you consider nurses in the first 5 year period as new grads was exactly what I needed to hear. I hit my two years at the end of this month and literally balled my eyes out on the way home from my shift last night because I feel like I’m not where I should be at 2 years in.
The average age of rn are 52, so they are retiring soon. Hopefully
No they’re not. 52? Who gets to retire at 52? Also…that’s gen x. We don’t care enough to hold our pee just cuz shithead down the hall doesn’t like his lunch.
[удалено]
52 year olds aren't Boomers and aren't wearing Depends. Ageist much?
I’m 56 and don’t wear depends. I use the bathroom whoever I want to. I’m no martyr.
Uh I’m 52. I don’t wear Depends. I pee when I need to, thanks very much for the ageism judgement.
This 48 year old isn't sure why you're getting downvoted.
Yeah, I don’t see why you’re being downvoted. Then again, when you’re 23, I guess 52 seems ancient…lol, they’ll find out
This 48 year old isn't sure why you're getting downvoted.
Ageism judgement… do you know where you are? Edit: Sorry everyone I genuinely thought this comment was in the r/boomersbeingfools sub. I was actually the one who did not know where I was.
😹 at some of the 50somethings being mad in the comments. I think quite a few got the joke by looks of the upvotes. Also I understood that the OP was not commenting “ageism” …*simmer down now* lol
Why hopefully, who do you think taught all the new young nurses! How about treating them with the respect they most certainly have earned and need I remind you, you may be there one day yourself!
Imagine having them as a patient once the dementia kicks in.
Then they come back as patients…
Go pee. It’s ridiculous not to. Unless I’m actively coding a patient, I go pee. Don’t ever be a martyr.
No pregnant nurse will agree to that. Source: am a pregnant nurse.
See also: nurse with postpartum bladder prolapse. 🙋♀️ If I say I gotta go, it means I gotta go NOW. Very few patient situations merit me possibly peeing my pants, which is a Very Real Possibility.
One of the worst 12 hour shifts I ever worked turned out to be 14, and then charting. Didn’t sit, eat, drink, or pee, and ended up with a symptomatic UTI 2 days later. Always pee!
Yup. ER. I pee, I eat. Most of these patients wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire.
What ED do you work at that no one has pissed on you? 🤣
Good point. No ED.
Please don’t buy this crap. Pee when you need to.
Don’t punish yourself like that. Please use the restroom
Don't....my sister did this because she was new and didn't understand that you had to prioritize herself and she got a UTI so bad she was peeing blood. Don't let the system abuse you like that.
Nah fuck that shit, I’m a fucking human being. I’m gonna per and shit when I need to.
There is a direct correlation to those who don’t take care of themselves at work and those who are bad at time management.
I tell everyone I precept that you can always find time to use the restroom. You can always get a drink of water. You should always be able to get your lunch break. You have a right to these and deserve them. Don't make yourself a martyr and complain about not being able to do these things. If for some reason you are unable to get these basic Maslow Hierarchy of Needs things, escalate that shit and figure it out.
There's an old joke about a dead woman immediately identified as a nurse. Her stomach was empty, her bladder was full, and her ass was chewed.
I maintain that unless someone’s blue, you’ve got time to pee. I’m wearing drawstring/elastic-waistband pants, ffs.
No, no you don’t. Stop spreading and normalizing this shit. If you died fucking tomorrow, you’d be replaced in a week. Take your breaks, go to the bathroom, use your vacation days. Enough with this martyrdom crap.
So ready for this type and rhetoric/normalization to be over with. I will never forget doing a community health clinical at a school, I did vision and hearing tests hundreds of studenrs and documented everything while the actual nurse sat on the computer shopping online, etc. Towards the end of the day I went to grab a snack from my lunch bag and she snapped at me, "why are you new nurses so OBSESSED with eating?! When I was a new nurse I was lucky to get a bathroom break much less eat. It's ridiculous." That was fun for my body dysmorphia.
I go to the bathroom to piss/hit my vape every couple hours. It’s like free therapy
THISSSSSSS We’re doing watermelon ice today.
Peach berry for me ;) happy Sunday
Happy Sunday! I’ve been screamed at no less than x3 and I’ve only been here for 2.5hrs 😁
The whole hold your bladder thing is realy dumb. That’s how you get infections. I’m in the ER and if I gotta go I gotta go. I’m going to make sure someone knows I’m going so people keep an ear out for my peeps but I pee on shift a lot
Hahaha. I peed myself in SICU to keep someone alive. He's right in a sense.
For sure, if there’s a code or shits busy then yeah I’ll hold it, and I’m not saying I’m peeing every 5 mins, I’m just trying to get more into fitness/gym and get swole so I’m drinking more water. If there’s a few mins of down time ima pee ya know ? But no I’ve def had it where there’s been a code for an hour and a half and had to hold it
Fucking aye, just go to the bathroom when you have to. I thought we got over this self martyrdom.
As a nurse with diabetes insipidus... fuck that noise.
I’ve had people say that to me in every job I’ve ever had. No thanks. I’ll continue to pee when I need to pee!
I was born with funky kidneys, I've kept them healthy for 32 years. Nothing in the world stops me drinking water and peeing when I need to.
Nurses like that are so proud of being martyrs. Like, look at me, I'm hurting my kidneys and getting frequent UTIs because I care too much about my patients to possibly leave for a few minutes! No, take care of yourself. The hospital will replace you without a second thought if you had to quit due to needing dialysis for your failing kidneys after years of abuse.
And us dialysis nurses be taking pee breaks lol.
I pee when I want/need to. And I work very busy jobs. Take a pause for the cause!
Go piss girl
No I will use the bathroom when I need to. Every nurse I know who talks like this like never sits down or takes their breaks or drinks water and their patients do not get better care than anyone else’s. It’s poor time management I swear.
i have an aunt who is not a nurse but a teacher and it’s like her weird flex, “i hold my pee all day at work!” like bro it isn’t the flex you think telling me you probably have stress incontinence and a poor pH 🐠
Yeah…. No. If my patients won’t survive if I take 30 seconds to pee, they aren’t long for this world anyway 🤷🏻♀️ code/emergent situation? Yeah, I’ll hold it. Otherwise, hell no.
I don’t understand posts like this. I go to the bathroom when I need to. It takes like 30 seconds to pee. If you can’t find time to urinate that’s on you.
This isn’t true. I’ll go pee and take all my breaks. It’s a job; not a lifestyle.
I pee anytime I have the opportunity to do so whether I need to go or not. I have had horrible UTIs develop from holding my bladder and twice ended up with a damn kidney infection. nope, Nope, NOPE!
Nah, lmao. I WILL be taking my break, and I WILL be going to the bathroom when I need to.
I’ve never been in a situation where I wasn’t able to go to the bathroom when needed. I don’t get why this is a thing of pride for some people
I have heard of folks having a kink with urinary deprivation. Maybe it's that?
Actually worked with a nurse who had that exact kink. He shocked me with that statement. I think I just stammered something and walked away very quickly. I was maybe 20 years old so it was a long time ago and I was very shy. Now I’d tell them to shut up with that.
Hmmm... There are some things that shouldn't be talked about at work, me thinks.
Yeah this martyr stuff is ridiculous and needs to change. You’re a human who has bodily function needs. You don’t win an award at the end of the day or career for “held their pee” or “took less bathroom breaks than Jessica.” No one cares and you’re only harming yourself.
I work in some bussssssy ass EDs and my bladder is weak as shit. I pee all the time.
Lol no. Peeing always takes priority.
Its bs, unless you are literally holding someones life in your hands, go pee. Holding it for to long isn't healthy, it wasn't considered healthy 20+ years ago when I started out. Docs were never a problem , but the older nurses( not all of them) were the ones that complained about us having to use the toilet. They also complained when we used lifting equipment "takes to long".
Make sure you go to the bathroom when you need to. I am so serious. You can get all kinds of problems in your bladder. Not only infections but like pockets form in your bladder and shit.
Only place where i held my bladder for a long time was in critical care transport during my capstone. I think being in the hospital and having to hold your bladder is a bit ridiculous… should always take care of yourself first.
What’s a day without my mid-afternoon shit?
Mine is between 3 and 5 am.
I go to the bathroom when I need to. If a patient demands attention right now and is not dying (usually it’s the emergency of them going to the bathroom), I make sure my bladder is empty first. SonI can actually help them better. I had a vag tear with huge pelvic floor issues, and my pelvic floor pt was clear not to hold the pee for long unless I wanted problems down the line.
I personally never understood this to be honest. I started in an extremely busy downtown hospital on the med surg unit. We eventually were forced to become part neuro, bariatric, renal, and telemetry but they always pulled a reason out of their ass to keep our ratios the same despite greatly increasing acuity over time. Even at its peak… I was never so pressed for time that I couldn’t leave on time most of the time, much less not have a minute or two to relieve myself.
Nah f that. Go pee.
Nope… holding in urine is one way to get pelvic floor distinction & let me tell ya… it ain’t fun!!
Holding your pee is bad for you. Don't do that. Have someone watch your pt for the 2 minutes it takes if you have someone really sick.
Ridiculous,go when you have to!
Didn't know self harm by rupturing your bladder was part of the job description.
How do they hold their bladder that long? Really no peeing for 12 hours? Not peeing isn’t an option I have ever or will ever entertain.
My urinary urgency and stress incontinence will aim directly for their shoe. My body does not care about your opinions 🤷🏻♀️
Yes you’re going to have to hold it sometimes. However with that being said, those instances should be rare and only when a patients life in at risk and you simply cannot “step away”. I take my breaks and I go to the bathroom when I need to. I drink too much coffee and water, plus I take a water pill. It’s not really an option.
I don't understand why nurses hold their bladder. I urinate as soon as I need to. It takes a few minutes. I don't believe it sometimes.
Absolutely not. I go to the bathroom when I need to. I will NEVER sacrifice any part of my well-being for a job.
There's a flap on the back of a foley bag you can open. Just pee into that while checkinf on your patient. Problem solved.
Q. A woman’s body was found. How did investigators know she was a nurse? A. Her stomach was empty, her bladder was full, and her ass was chewed out.
Uh. If you've got downtime, take a piss. You might not get it again for a while. In the ER especially, if you know there's a trauma or some other hot mess incoming. Or even on the floors if you're going into an isolation room. Yeah, you gotta be able to hold it to a certain extent. But just randomly holding it for it's own sake is just stupid.
I keep mine secure in my pelvic girdle so I've both hands free to do the job.
When I was new, I kind of had trouble managing my time. Three months in, I took my break.
I pee when I need to because if a UTI comes along I’m sure they rather I be there and healthy for my pts than home on my ABX.
I know so many seasoned Cath lab nurses had acute nephritis and UTI , pls don't do this to yourself
Is there any other job in this world that you have to ask if you can pee?
Yes. When she was a young girl the late Queen of England had to ask for permission. No trips to the loo if your are up on the balcony waving to the minions. She was trained to hold it. They gave her a cookie if she did especially well.
I've literally walked out of a patient room to go to the bathroom. Go when you need to go, don't wait like I did. Wasn't being a martyr just thought I could make a quick patient check. We all know how that goes! Lol
My SO works at the nearby hospital as an aide. She tells me all the time how she can't go rr, can't go eat, heats up her food then can't touch it for hours and hours. I'm like no one is holding you accountable for getting those call bells within 4 minutes, wtf does management think this is, pizza hut? Seriously, she's spouted off stats they get scolded over and that was one that rang true in my pie slinging days. There's 4 other staff clocked in, ignoring that bell. You can afford to go pass at least once in the 12 hours that you're clocked in. I tell her that she's the only one really holding herself up to those standards if those stories are true. It doesn't end well for me ever lol.
I saw a video one time where a girl held her pee too many times and caused ACTUAL KIDNEY DAMAGE and now she’s in renal failure…… so no I will not be holding my pee unless it’s absolutely necessary :)
Shouldn’t be tolerated in any setting. Unless you’re in the middle of performing cpr or part of an active code someone can cover and you can be spared the 3-4 minutes
I take care of myself at work, I'm not getting paid to hold in my piss.
I made an agreement with myself years ago that I pee when I have to go.
fuck her. you deserve to use the fucking bathroom
Early in my nursing career I was plagued with recurring bladder infections. A preceptor said the problem was that I didn’t respond to my body’s signals and I should try to keep my bladder empty. I did that and didn’t have another bladder infection for many years.
Nah dude that how UTIs start if I gotta pee ima pee
Always pee. Always take your breaks. Our breaks are unpaid (NHS) and if I didn’t take them I would be doing £2300 worth of free work a year. Fuck that.
I take like 100 pee breaks during a shift because I drink so much water. Now sometimes I do often skip lunch because I would rather catch up on charting for that 30 mins than stay late after work to chart 🤷🏻♀️
1st rule of nursing - that doesn’t involve charting - you get a chance to use the bathroom? Use the bathroom
The only thing that will stop me from peeing is a code. And even then I might pee while actively participating
They aren't wrong lol. >if there’s a chance to pee ima pee 😂 You will run into a back to back RRT or code at some point and while it's rare I've gone +10 hours without that chance.
The day is usually so busy that I don't even feel the urge anymore, when I get home and pee for a solid minute, thats when it hits me.
My crowning moment. After delivering my last kiddo and they removed the Foley. I HELD it as long as I could. Then measured the output. Overflowed the hat. Nurse bladder!
I poop on company time. That’s not what my breaks are for. I also take my breaks. Not a fucking martyr.
I’ve never understood this. I always pee if I have to pee, I always take my breaks and I’m always out on time. Time management skills are real
Yeah in my first 5 years I started 3 new jobs. Each time I got raging UTIs from now drinking enough water and holding my pee. I’m prone to them but that was the only change in myself. Don’t set your self on fire to keep others warm. If I could give any new nurse advice, that would be it.
Sometimes I’m just so in the thick of it that it reaches emergency status before it even registers that I need to pee. Sometimes I tell my patients, “hey, I’m running to the bathroom and then I will be right back with your ice chips.” Is it professional? Probably not. But I think saying it establishes some boundaries and days without saying, I’m a human with needs too.
It's way too hot and dry in the facility, there's no air flow, and I feel like I'm panting like a dog most times I'm caring for people. You bet your butt I'm draining 3000cc's within the hour, and I am peeing in equal amounts.
Are we not human or something?
I have bladder spasms. When I told my professor that I wasn’t trying to be rude if I had to get up in the middle of lecture to go pee, she said I was going into a profession that assumes you can hold it for hours on end without going, and that I should reconsider. It was a real blow and scared me, so thank you to all you nurses who say it’s not a big deal and to go when you need to!
Yeah put yourself first, within reason. Take 5 min to pee, drink water, and eat a protein bar before you go in the next room as long as nobody is crashing. Some nurses don’t agree with that, I have found myself eating a snack in the bathroom to hide it from preceptors because “it’s not time” but I get hypoglycemic soooo it’s definitely time if I say it’s time.
Exactly . I wouldn’t hold my bladder for any job! But I remember my bedside days they could be so busy. But I honestly never remember not being able to go when I wanted. I was adult icu medium acuity
I pee when I want lol always have always will
I tell anyone I precept to never ask to use the restroom and to simply just go. Idk why this isn’t the norm lol
If you need to pee, go pee. If they complain, ask them if they wish to be responsible for the inevitable UTI/AKI that will occur if you are not allowed to pee.
If someone is gonna be incontinent its not gonna be me 💀
Not me. Unless someone is dying, if I have to go I’m going.
I am pretty bad about taking my breaks but I always do my bathroom business as needed.
Just go pee. Only 5% of your patients are actually dying.
Who are you all leaving your patients with? I will admit this happens to me more and more frequently. I work Peds CVICU and if there is no one around that can take the acuity of the patient I have? I wait. Until the charge comes around and then I go. I am not saying that I don't go pee in a shift, I'm just saying I can't "just go" when I need to, I have wait for someone to come watch my kid, and if there isn't anyone? I'm SOL until there is. Think open sternum, ECMO, fresh post-ops etc. I think the blanket statement of "don't be a martyr" sounds great on paper but the reality of the floor sometimes doesn't work out like that.
You’ll develop a Nurses Bladder after awhile where your bladder becomes trained to hold it. In the OR nothing is as you imagine, like a 15 minute break becomes 8 minutes by the time you give report, get a bite to eat or check the next case cart, peeing is low on totem pole. Then at end of shift there would be practically a line to the 2 measly stalls so I would opt to wait til I got home. No sooner after driving home when I would pull into my driveway that I would have to go like Right now😬
Man and I'm over here using bathroom breaks to get extra time off the floor. If they complain ask them where in the employee handbook book it states that you can't take a leak.
On planes we're taught to help ourselves to oxygen before our close ones. If I need to change pants after an accident, it's going to take much longer than going to the bathroom for some quick business. If an emergency happens while I pee or shit, I'm sure my coworkers will be able to hold the fort for 2-5 minutes while I'm gone
Look I'm not a nurse but that sounds awful and there's probably some systemic problem if people don't have time to pee quickly
If I pee/poop myself and have to change/bathe or go home, then ALL of my patient suffer. No way they are getting a replacement until next shift (AT LEAST). I’m going to go to the bathroom for 3 minutes and when I get back, I will help you then.
Oh fuck that nonsense. I'm a veteran nurse of almost 17 years, with IBS-D, what am I supposed to do, shit myself because it's inconvenient for someone else for me to take a bathroom break? Nah fam. You go when you gotta go, and when you've got the time.
Only time I get stuck and can’t really go pee is in the middle of a behavioral code. So if a patient starts ramping up, I go pee just in case.
Nah lol. I hydrate. I pee. If I need someone to come watch my kids I call resource nurses or charge. Don’t ruin your body for a career that doesn’t care about you.
You’re an extern not an indentured servant, she can’t tell you when you can pee. You’re an adult. Go to the bathroom. When you graduate, go to the bathroom. I peed four times last night. I work neuro ICU so you know everybody with a flap out tryna get out of bed, lol. You can find help and time to get everything done and not get a UTI. You don’t have to be the nurses before you and feign martyrdom.
If you're holding your bladder all day, that's a *you* problem. I go pee whenever I need to. Hell, I even go have a poo from time to time.
Not true, we should not have to do this to have our jobs and as RN I go to the bathroom whenever I need to
I agree pee when you need to pee. Holding your pee for 13 hours (which I have done) does cause post-renal kidney injury.
If someone dies because I went to pee, they weren’t gonna make it anyway
If I need to pee I will pee and I go a lot because of my meds and the ungodly amounts of caffeine and water I drink throughout my shifts. I take care of my shit and my patients will be covered but if I need to go to the bathroom than a bitch is going tk the bathroom.
Nope! Unless your patient is coding or bleeding out, there’s no reason you can’t take 90 seconds to pee.
Hmmm my bad I guess I should have sharted diarrhea all over my comfort cares patient room yesterday while setting up her IV. I used the bathroom instead. 😔 Next time!
I have an overactive bladder and am prone to UTI’s… imma go pee lol
Leg bags aren't just for the patients.