Frequent cancellations

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I'm in the last 2 weeks of my 12 week orientation at a surgical ICU at a level 1 trauma center. I love the job and I love the people I work with, but the amount of cancellations on this unit has me terrified. I'm the sole provider in my family and cannot live without at least a full time paycheck. The only thing that has protected me so far is being on orientation. Cancellations are so bad that they have shut the unit down and merged with MICU multiple times since I started. I'm starting to rethink my employment here. To make things worse, although my preceptor and other coworkers think I should have been taken off orientation a month ago, my manager is talking about keeping me on orientation for possibly another month. I took a full time job to work full time hours and get full time pay, but every day it seems like I've taken a full time job with part time hours and pay. I want to give it until the end of the year at least. Am I wrong for thinking/feeling this way?

Sour Lemon

5,016 Posts

Every place I've worked fluctuates between being extremely overstaffed to extremely understaffed. The fact that they're willing to extend your orientation if you're not "there" yet is a good thing.

As a side note, you shouldn't have your picture anywhere on the internet where you're discussing anything work related ...so if that's you, consider changing it in a hurry.

Good luck!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

During my nursing career, my finances have always been set up to facilitate solvency when shift cancellations occurred. In other words, a much smaller paycheck than usual has never been a problem for me. I often enjoyed being canceled.

Nonetheless, many nurses who need a full paycheck usually keep a PRN gig on the side that allows them to supplement their income when the full time job falls short on hours. Good luck to you!

mrsboots87

1,761 Posts

Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

My

new job goes through the ebb and flow of either being overstuffed with canceled shift or short and offering overtime. It is also a but seasonal as we get a lot of winter visitors in Arizona.

Because of this, I stayed on as PRN at my old job to make up if I get canceled and just for extra money when I want it.

I would suggest doing the same. The majority of nurses at both of my jobs have either a PRN and full time gig or they just have multiple PRN jobs and piece their full time hours together between multiple jobs.

NICU Guy, BSN, RN

4,161 Posts

Specializes in NICU.
As a side note, you shouldn't have your picture anywhere on the internet where you're discussing anything work related ...so if that's you, consider changing it in a hurry.

Good luck!

Either he has changed his Avatar or Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) has quit acting to become a ICU nurse.

Sour Lemon

5,016 Posts

Either he has changed his Avatar or Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) has quit acting to become a ICU nurse.

He did change it, but the thought of Keanu getting his hours cut and having his orientation extended is somewhat amusing.

I agree with the others. Get a PRN job elsewhere just in case.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

It never ceases to amaze me that hospital administrators believe nurses have magical abilities... that enable them to live on much less income than normal people. Maybe they think we can change alcohol wipes to hard currency?? Or pay for our groceries with back rubs??

I realize I'm going against the grain here, but I think OP should be looking for a more stable gig that will enable him to provide for his family. If he wanted a part-time or PRN job, he would have looked for one in the first place, right?

Sour Lemon

5,016 Posts

It never ceases to amaze me that hospital administrators believe nurses have magical abilities... that enable them to live on much less income than normal people. Maybe they think we can change alcohol wipes to hard currency?? Or pay for our groceries with back rubs??

I realize I'm going against the grain here, but I think OP should be looking for a more stable gig that will enable him to provide for his family. If he wanted a part-time or PRN job, he would have looked for one in the first place, right?

True, and yet I understand things from the hospital's perspective. It takes at least 3-4 weeks to hire a new (experienced) nurse and push them through orientation (which is often once a month). It only takes two weeks notice for a nurse to disappear- if they're nice enough to give any notice, at all. Hospitals always hire more nurses than they need because they're expecting some to take off sooner rather than later. Some nurses don't even make it past the classroom and to the floor.

Specializes in Hospital medicine; NP precepting; staff education.

When I was in the flex pool we had our home stations and mine was the critical care unit. I also worked anywhere in the hospital but it became more frequent to be cancelled, except in the ED. Eventually the ED became my home and I left flex for a permanent position.

Cross training afforded me the ability to pick up elsewhere when pickings were slim. As a critical care nurse, perhaps on days you are cancelled you can ask to orient on another unit, like the ed, increasing your knowledge base and benefitting your employer as well.

Julius Seizure

1 Article; 2,282 Posts

Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
I'm the sole provider in my family and cannot live without at least a full time paycheck. The only thing that has protected me so far is being on orientation.

To make things worse, although my preceptor and other coworkers think I should have been taken off orientation a month ago, my manager is talking about keeping me on orientation for possibly another month.

So, you are worried about losing more hours once you aren't protected by being on orientation.

And you are concerned about your manager wanting to keep you on orientation for an extra month?

Sounds like staying on orientation might work out in your favor, no? Maybe I am misunderstanding.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about extending orientation...if they want to pay you for that instead of of working on your own, hey, its their money to throw around I guess :)

Could you do per diem work to get more hours somewhere else when needed?

Qing

104 Posts

Your concern is valid and if you can secure another job that does provide full time hours, do that. But if you can hang on another month to take advantage of potential learning new skills and experience it could work in your benefit. It is very hard to control the staffing and census along with the management canceling staff. If it does turn out that after this extra month and a half you get cancelled often, then maybe consider asking to be employment prn. But in the meantime I would go search for another position that guarantees full time hours, and from there you can balance if you want to stay with this position or stay with the other job.

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