DOes this happen to you....

[CANRN, MSN, RN]

I worked in a hospital full time and now do casual nursing there on all the units. This sitauation happened to me when I was full time as well. I schedule a day to work and get a call that they don't need nurses and call me off and place me "on call" Two days in a row, this used to happen no matter what my employment status so it's not the casual positioin that is making the difference. I work in ICU, Step down, Med/Surg. and ER so I am very diverse. Thank God, I work agency as well, to cover these days that I get called off. IT just gets to me, to schedule my time, and don't make appointments for my business and then get cancelled.

Does this happen at other hospitals? I have talke to several nurses in bigger cities who told me their huge hospitals have seen a rapid decline in the census.

Has managed care done that too??????

I'm anxious to hear from others.

[ecb]

I have it even worse, I work in a nursing hom that is So short staffed that they have called me at home hours before he shift asking me to give up my day off so I can have THAT day off so they can keep an agency person on the schedule who would get pissed off and maybe NOT come back if they were canceled.

it is worst for me that I am staff because i am salaried, and the can mandate me to do overtime

my staff is hourly and so they just have the right to say NO, and can have BOTH days off for less $$$ that week

This is a system problem I cannot change, no matter how wrong it is

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*** May we all have the serenity to accept what we cannot change, and the determination to change what we cannot accept. ***

[nurseyperson]

I am also casual, working mainly ICU, ER and NewbornICU. It is one of the bad things about being casual, you are the first to be called off when there is low census. It happens once in a while, sometimes more than others. At our hospital the census fluctuates so much you can't really say what the causes are. We do not have managed care in our area. You see seasonal ups and downs, notice a difference when some docs are out of town (not as many big surgeries) and sometimes there is nothing you can pinpoint. But I am used to it after being casual for many years. I schedule myself too heavy (I also work home health) and sometimes I work my butt off and sometimes i get called off and it turns out fine. You just have to accept that.

I have not heard that the general census in the country is lower...has anyone else????

Nurseyperson

[CANRN, MSN, RN]

It does not matter if I am casual status or not, I got called off at least two days a pay

period working full time. So the status has no bearing on it.

What did peak my interest was you said you DO NOT have managed care in your area???????????? And your in the US????