Should This Nurse Have To Subject Herself To Secondhand Smoke

When we take a job, I think most of us are pretty much aware of the expectations of the position that we’ve accepted. There are always things that come up along the way, of course, but most of the time we’re ok with covering a few more bases, though.

What if one of those bases could be detrimental to your own health, though?

That’s the scenario this nurse confronted when she was asked to supervise a resident smoke break, something she’d never done before.

Covering a smoke break entails lighting cigarettes for residents and then sitting in the room with them to make sure nothing happens while they partake.

Hi all, I [24F] work at a nursing home as a CNA. I was asked to do smoke break which consists of sitting in a small room with about 13 residents that smoke and light all their cigarettes and watch over them as they smoke.

As a non-smoker I typically don’t do smoke break but tonight was asked.

She declined, citing her health, the fact that there was staff who smoked available, and there was even a sign on the door warning non-smokers from entering.

I declined and stated I was a non-smoker and that there were other people available that smoke that could do it. The nurse got pretty angry and said it didn’t matter and that it was still my job to do it.

I continued to refuse and said there was a sign on the door that said no non-stop smokers allowed (unsure if for staff and residents or just residents though).

The other nurse eventually dropped it and found someone else, but now OP is wondering if she should have just done it since it might be part of her job in the future.

She eventually dropped it after back and forth but I do feel bad for not doing as I was free at the moment but really don’t feel like inhaling all that second hand smoke and causing harm to myself.

I was also never told I would need to do this when I was hired and have worked here about 4 years and have never done it. AITA for refusing?

This one is a little tricky, I think – let’s hear what Reddit has to say about it!

I mean, if you want to get technical.