Let me begin by saying I have not "played cards" since I was 15 , sitting at my cousin's house in Queens eating Italian pastries and listening to adults bitch about their lives.  Yet I  am a nurse. I have held a few types of nursing/medical positions over the years since I graduated in 1994.  None of them included master poker player, or even master break taker.  A state senator that I had never heard of put her political foot in her idiotic mouth this week by stating nurses get plenty of "breaks" in their 12 hour days and probably spend a good portion of it "playing cards".  I read it, then re-read it incredulously, wondering who, if anyone, could be this blind.  Nursing school was , hands down, the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
                          Now, I have worked in three very different nursing venues over my lifetime, taking a big, long break so I could raise my children ( never had time for card playing then either). The first job I had was a supervisor in a LTC facility , 3-11PM shift.  I was 23 years old, and had two hallways full of patients to oversee, learning on the fly how to handle the dead weight of an 85 year old dementia patient, or the intricate wound care necessary for a life long diabetic. Sometimes these were the same person. I remember sitting down at 10:30 PM to chart , by hand. There were no cards in those hands as I recall. I did learn a lot and most of it was from the CNA's who made me look a little less like an idiot. (And they were never sitting down - much less playing a rousing game of Go Fish).
                          The rest of my "hands-on " nursing career was spent in home health care. Time management and independence is what nurses learn in this genre of nursing. I  spent a good part of my days listening, bandaging, teaching, advocating and then driving to the next location to do it all again. I ate lunch in my car,  stopped at convenience stores to pee , ensured my supplies were kept in two separate parts of my trunk- sterile area and non sterile area. I did this 5-7 times daily , then went home and did my progress notes , made necessary phone calls to my supervisor and called it a day. I     don't recall shouting "Gin" at any time during the work day.
                           Now I am in an administrative office, with no hands-on patient care but I still interact with them via internet or phone. My current position does not require a nursing license but it helps. A LOT. I  have learned a whole other side to medicine now ,and work with many types of people including Doctors and executives . Guess what ? THEY'RE NOT PLAYING CARDS IN THEIR DOWN TIME EITHER.
                             So, you see Senator Shit head, you know not what you speak of.  Stating that nurses do not need mandated breaks during a 12 hour shift is like saying you will never need a nurse to take care of you. It's ridiculous to assume that you know what they need, but rest assured they will know exactly what you need when you are sick and hospitalized. Just count your lucky stars I will never be your nurse because your call light would be secondary to my Poker game.