[ragtopnurse]

I disagree with the advice to call in. We all know what it is like to work short because someone called in and ultimately it is patient care that suffers. The suggestions of prn so you can choose your schedule is a good idea. I was a single mom with 2 children for 8 yrs so I had to do what many families do, use daycare. It might not be ideal and it is expensive but there are good ones out there. You can't really expect your department to be able to work around your spouses schedule so you have to take the initiative to solve this problem without causing your coworkers and patients to suffer.

[wayunderpaid]

Originally Posted by ragtopnurse

I disagree with the advice to call in. We all know what it is like to work short because someone called in and ultimately it is patient care that suffers. The suggestions of prn so you can choose your schedule is a good idea. I was a single mom with 2 children for 8 yrs so I had to do what many families do, use daycare. It might not be ideal and it is expensive but there are good ones out there. You can't really expect your department to be able to work around your spouses schedule so you have to take the initiative to solve this problem without causing your coworkers and patients to suffer.

I don't think you read my post, b/c I was scheduled against their own unit rules, then denied the opportunity to fix my schedule. Also if you had read the thread, you would see that I pay full time daycare as well. My problem was not a ploy to get away from using daycare. It was simply discrimination for not being part of the unit staff (though a ft employee of the hospital). I would do a lot of things to avoid calling in. But in the end (I don't know if you have children), if I had tried everything and still I couldn't resolve things, I could never leave my children alone to work at the hospital. I pay full time daycare, and have a prn babysitter who is not always available. I have never called in, but I will instead of leaving kids at home alone.
Someone said that it is not their responsibility to help families. This is the same attitude that I found on this particular unit, and guess what, everybody is leaving!! Now they have all kinds of incentives to work, and they are calling me at home even though I am long gone to another unit... I am not coming to do extra hours. Can't pay me enough! It is called enabling... Let management face the fact that unless nurses are treated with dignity and respect, no one will work for them.
BTW, hospital is great and nursing support is fantastic overall. Love my job.
wayunderpaid

[ragtopnurse]

I think maybe you misunderstood what I was saying. I was actually referring more to the advice that someone had given you to "just call in". I wasn't criticizing you in any way but apparently you thought I was. And in answer to your question, yes I have two children and for the first 11 yrs of my nursing career I was a divorced parent with very little, if any, help from their dad, so yes I have paid for daycare and I also went from an LPN to my RN degree while raising my kids. I never left my kids at home alone to work either and I never would have done that. Sorry that my reply upset you so much.