[brian]

I've been hearing of nurses getting counseled or warnings about overtime, for missing lunch breaks, late admissions, and misc other reasons... and/or hospitals requiring you to clock out on time, then you have to submit your overtime separately with documentation why you had to have overtime.

Is your facility warning staff for overtime, for missing lunch breaks or other reasons?

We'd love to hear your experiences and feedback!

Please feel free to share your experience regarding and answering the poll questions.

[earle58]

it's not happening now, but did around 5 yrs ago.
the nurses never had to punch in or out.
under new ownership, we had to start clocking our time.
if we punched out any later than 7 minutes after our off time, we'd have to fill out a separate sheet, accounting for our extra time, signed by a supervisor, then the DON.
it didn't matter that the oncoming nurse didn't show up until 3:45, when her report time was 3:00.
it didn't matter that mass interruptions prevented us from completing our day in a timely manner.
the bottom line was if you had 3 of these extra time sheets, you received a written warning.
the 3rd warning resulted in termination.
we lost many nurses that year, r/t them quitting.
we also lost our upstanding reputation when quality of care declined.

one of the owners ended up shadowing us for a couple of wks.
after that, we went back to not punching in/out and were never questioned again, about extra time we put in.
and we've been treated like gold, ever since.

leslie

[lpnnette73]

my facility a long term one has been giving grief about over time,most days you wait for relief and are unable to recieve the overtime anyway .......so i dont truley understand? the nurse who is late gets docked in the one who stays doesnt get paid? seems likethey benifit all around. not to mention getting paid only 7 hrs of the day whohas time to take 2 15 minute breaks plus a half hour lunch? any suggestions???

[joyflnoyz]

My facility moved me from one floor to the other <off medicare to LTC> The only nurse on LTC, not supposed to leave the floor. After 6 nights of no break, I put in for payment for those lunch breaks. Reason being? No relief provided.

They quickly found relief, I get off the floor nearly every night now.

[rnwaller]

If your relief has not arrived, report off to oncoming charge RN, if he/she cannot accept report then have your OT sheet in hand and let him/her know gently but firmly that you expect to be paid if you cannot report off in a timely manner.

On the flip side I worked for two years with a nurse who hardly charted anything during her shift and spent 40-90 minutes OT on a DAILY basis charting after giving report (tough to follow her as she took all the charts for the first hour of your shift). This was addressed with her on several occasions but only after she was finally told no overtime did it stop.

[vloho]

Originally Posted by lpnnette73

my facility a long term one has been giving grief about over time,most days you wait for relief and are unable to recieve the overtime anyway .......so i dont truley understand? the nurse who is late gets docked in the one who stays doesnt get paid? seems likethey benifit all around. not to mention getting paid only 7 hrs of the day whohas time to take 2 15 minute breaks plus a half hour lunch? any suggestions???

No one ever has the time for breaks .If they want us to be flexable enough to admitt at the drop of a hat , why can't they be more flexable

[lpnnette73]

i hate to say it but my charge nurse will not except the keys so i have stormed into the nursing office left the keys with the nursing supervisor all the while being threatened with abandonment? (after my shift is complete i dont have to stay unless i want to or there is a natural disaster) over time slips are put in and most time ignored its such a fight to get the money that you end up saying its not worth it in the end

[rnwaller]

You sound very stressed at your current position. I hope you can clear up these change of shift procedures or you may need to move on. Think about suggesting some solutions, get a group involved in making it better, hopefully you can gain some administrative support.

[nyapa]

This is a difficult comment. It depends on the ward. Mostly though, you are expected to get your alloted work done. However, if you leave late because of an unexpected reason, say a code blue or if the ward is really short staffed and it is taking a while for the senior to find a replacement, then it is usually recorded.

However we have time in lieu, which means you don't actually get paid for it; you can take time off work. I think I have hours of time in lieu saved over the years that I have not had the time to take! Ha! Talk about a rort on behalf of the institution...

[pedsnrs1]

This was happening all the time at a nursing home I used to work at. But the icing on the cake was when my grandmother that I was very close to passed away. I went in immediately to inform them that I was unable to work that weekend so I could attend the services. When I returned on Monday morning, I was met at the nurses station by the DON with a letter that she had typed. It was a thank you letter to the nurse that worked my weekend and also apologizing for any inconvenience I caused her for working my shifts that weekend. The DON wanted me to sign it so she could hand deliver it to the nurse that worked for me. I told her I was not signing it because I didn't do anything wrong that deserved an apology. I went to a funeral not a shopping spree with my mom. She gave me till the end of the day to have it back to her signed. I told the nurse that worked for me that weekend about the letter. She took the letter and told the DON that the letter was tacky and not necessary. I never heard any more about it. But you can guess who worked the next couple of months worth of weekends because of this. Glad I don't work there anymore.