as posted, my job consists of pushing people around from the ER to wherever unit they need to go and yes, I know I need another job or to study something to leave the healthcare system altogether, but in the meantime I have to stick with what I’ve got.
Today was a specially bad day and after working 6 hours non stop I wanted to take my 30 minute break. The charge didn’t want me to take it, arguing I’ve already taken several breaks to eat and drink and have a seat (true), he didn’t take a break or eat anything (seems to be true), that those breaks altogether count as my pause, if everyone did what I planed to do, the ER would sink (most definitely true but not my problem).
As posted, I used to work in this ER bedside and worked like that without questioning it. I don’t work like that anymore.
There is a kitchen in the ER where I leave my food, take a plate and prepare something to bite so when I’m done with a patient I can drink or eat while I wait for my next assignment. Sometimes the charge doesn’t have any assignment, so I have a seat and wait. And eat, and drink, and read something on my phone.
I believe this is what’s happening: To the ER nurses this looks like I’m on my break whereas I’m waiting for my next assignment. To me, if I cannot leave the ER, lie on the ground or take a nap, I’m not on my break.
The kitchen is full of water bottles and hospital food, sometimes not very good but warm. Theoretically this is for the patients but in practice doctors and nurses stuff themselves with it, and if they do, so do I. In this hospital there is also a cafeteria that makes tons of food they don’t get to sell and instead of throwing it away, they take it to the ER for doctors and nurses to eat. I eat it as well.
I’m not sure if I’m the asshole because over the last 2 days I didn’t even have to cook back home and I could even take food from that cafeteria home, but it seems the expectation in the ER is: you may eat that food that’s going to be discarded anyway only if you work like us, meaning not taking a 30 minute break, but several mini breaks that might sum up 30 minutes.
Being the only one that acts differently is very visible, even though if on paper I’m doing everything correctly. The expectation is that I’m not going to have a 30 minute break and I should be happy with it.
I don’t know what’s better: not eating any patient and cafeteria food, only eating during my break my own food so I enjoy a 30 minute break or becoming one of them for free food. It’s more the time I’d need to buy and cook that food than what it costs, but saving money is also something I like. The manager knows this happens and tolerates it because he doesn’t care about discarded food and if he did, there is a severe shortage of nursing staff where I live, no wonder why.
I also do things beyond my job description, but this is my fault: I shouldn’t look for patient files, search for patients (because my job is to transport them, not to find them), move empty beds to be cleaned, calm patients, bring them blankets, take them to the toilet… I do this because sometimes it gets so boring because the charge doesn’t give me any assignment, so I’m open to lend a hand, but then the charge gets a call and I get 5 assignments at the same time (and they don’t lend a hand). I don’t want this to become the new expectation.
Boundaries are harder than it looks.
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Definitely not the asshole. It’s not your problem that your job doesn’t have 100% uptime. Where I am we don’t have fantastic work protections or anything but at least we legally can’t be compelled to take our rest breaks in segments (or multiple breaks together at once). Unfortunately this sounds to not be the case where you are so do what you need to do to keep your job if you need it, but no way in hell should you feel bad. Hope you have better days soon.
Not an asshole, but on “normal” days, if you’re bending rules in your favor, it’s not unreasonable that you’d bend them the other way when there’s a crunch. ER work is fucking brutal, so there’s a ton of unofficial shit in the culture. I think you’re running into that.
Transport is supposed to be different from other positions. There should be different standards where you aren’t going to be moving your entire shift and only get a break that’s official. However, when you’re stationed in the ED, you’re going to be held to their standards, fair or not.
You have to make a choice. If you’re going to hold to the standards of your actual position, you gotta hold to them entirely and not dip into ED supplies. If you’re going to partake in ED side benefits, you gotta work to their standard unless you want to end up an outsider. Again, fair or not, that’s the situation.
Me? I would err on the most sustainable choice, the way that you can be certain your performance for patients is going to be optimal. If that means sticking to ED expectations, that’s how it goes. If it means sticking to the official standards, it sucks to lose access to the unofficial benefits, but that’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.
Tbh, that kind of unofficial, unstated rules are why I wouldn’t work hospitals back when I could still work
I shouldn’t look for patient files, search for patients
Be really careful with this. All searches are logged. If the care team is hit with a HIPAA violation or malpractice case, they’ll pull up those access records and you risk being caught up in it.
ER culture is trauma bonding. They have to set themselves apart from the rest of the hospital because it’s playing Russian roulette for 12 hours straight and any lapse in concentration risks killing someone. A decade later I don’t take breaks in a completely different field because there’s that nagging voice that says downtime leads to chaos. But it isn’t your turn to give a fuck, so you’re not tied to their culture and there shouldn’t be the same expectation. They’re the asshole in a way that can’t change without them disconnecting from the job. When they go to a new job, they’ll be seen as the asshole who’s too motivated.
You’ve got to pick a lane. Either follow the rules or don’t. You don’t get to do things differently than expectations on your whim and then get upset when held accountable. I agree with your charge that you took a bunch of breaks earlier and that is your 30. If you want to take a 30, don’t do the other stuff. If you can’t work in those bounds then maybe this isn’t the line of work for you.
I’m not saying your an asshole, but your expectations and those of your employer don’t align. The conditions you described don’t sound abusive, that’s just the world of working in a hospital. To me it sounds like you need a full career change ASAP, and if that means a pay cut, then you have to decide if your current situation is worse than making less. Anecdotally, I switched jobs and took a pay cut because that was better for me, but that might not be an option for you if funds are too tight.
If you do think that your being treated unfairly, then follow the rules to the letter to removed all doubt. If you’re not supposed to help on those other tasks, tell them no. I would say that working in your field does generally attract people that are willing to go the extra mile for patients, which can make you look worse comparitively, which is unfair, but life.
