Can ICU nurses eat snack / drink at nurses counter? What is your opinion please share.

Question

infection control in ICU

Answer 1

I dont think it's appropriate.   People do it all the time though.   I hate to think of all the germs on the counter, on the phones, on the charts and then touching your sandwich or fries or what ever.  Its just gross.  Doctors do it too.   Especially on the off tours (nights and eves).  

Answer 2

It would be nice if it were not done, but the reality is that no matter the policies, there are never scheduled breaks, even for lunch, so one does what one must. When you discover the supervisor "will be right down" in an average of three hours, if at all, sneaking a Snickers bar doesn't sound so bad.

Answer 3

I don't think they want to, but when you have to sit and watch a bank of monitors, and there is no one to relieve you, you eventually get hungry.  I am sure the Nurses would prefer taking their lunch to the break room and really getting a break. With the constant shortages of trained ICU Nurses, that is not always possible.  

Answer 4

What John said is certainly true and in most cases you want the staff to be immediately available to handle any emergencies that might arise. In reality about the only time staff do not eat in the nursing station is during an inspection such as JCAHO and then only during the times that you might reasonably expect an inspector.