I am a rushed off my feet RN in a busy Same Day Surgery recovery room at one of the biggest and oldest hospitals in Boston. I get comments back from patients all the time that everyone here is so nice, and they feel so well cared for despite seeing how busy everyone is, especially compared to some regional/local hospital where they were last. I talk with my patients and their families and do my best to make sure they have choices and the best care I can provide, in whatever limited time I have. It is less a matter of how long, than that when you do have a minute, you give them that full minute. And I have some say in my practice, I say when they can go, it's my judgement in conversation with them that determines when they leave. Some just want to go home, so I expedite if it is safe. Some want to stay overnight, so I let them sleep an extra hour before talking them around to going home. I make them laugh, and my fellow nurses help me as I help them. It is not impossible, it is the best way to keep us medical types from burning out. I don't know why my experience is so different, but it doesn't have to be so bad. I had much the same when I was in a large hospital in Salt Lake City.