On Call Shifts

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

Hey all just wondering how much on call you are all doing?

At the hospital I work at we do 12 hour shifts, which are great, but we have to pick up 2 on call shifts per month. That in itself is not bad but we are usually called in for them.

Granted we do get 1 1/2 for coming in, but it really messes up my schedule.

we don't have on call where i work. i certainly can see how it would mess up your time off though. i think that's worse than being scheduled. at least scheduled you know ahead of time. i don't mind working overtime but i want to do it when i want to do it. janet

Specializes in LDRP; Education.

At my hospital we have to take 24 hours of call per month - and it doesn't matter if you are full or part time. And we use our call person about 80% of the time.

No on call for me either. we do have cancelling for low census, usually the Nurse techs are the first cancelled, as they are all contingent employees. Usually though, even in the event of Low census on ouir unit, another unit will need you for the shift. Everyone fusses about being pulled, but I don't mind too much.

Specializes in ER, PACU, OR.

the first three years i was in the er, we had an on call list. everybody took one day a month. then we increased staffing on nights a little bit, and they hacked the on call list for budget reasons. now........we always seem to get slammed.........instead of rarely slammed like 5 yrs ago, rarelyslow to moderate is the norm now. i figure it's only a matter of tme before they go back to that on call stuff.

Since we are a self-staffed unit we must cover our own sick calls. Full timers must sign up for 6 4-hour shifts every four weeks, and part timers sign up for 5. You can sign up for just a 4 hour shift, or sign up for 3 in a row to pull a 12 hour shift. our on call is used for sick call only, not short staffing. Plus we get regular pay only if called in.

No on call in ICU (good thing too, we all would be dead from it) Our hosp. has" on call" in O.B. & O.R. only...... imaRN

Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

To all the RNs who are subject to call, are you getting paid for the time you spend on call, whether you are called in or not? If you are being paid, how much are you paid and if not why not.

We don't get paid one cent for the time we are on call. If we are called in to work, we get paid our regular hourly rate (unless, of course, it is overtime in which case we get time and a half).:o

Specializes in LDRP; Education.

We get paid $2.00/hour for being on call. If we are called in, we get time and one half as well as a $40 call in bonus. We use our call person for sick calls, staffing, whatever. Our census fluctuates so much that we need a call person at all times. And sometimes that isn't enough and we have to mandate.

I do in-patient (in hospital) dialysis with about 13 other RN's and we each take call an average of three to four times per month. I'd say that about 60% of the time, we get called in during the night. (The unit is open and fully staffed throughout the daytime except Sundays and there are always two RN's on Sunday call) We each get 3 hours of regular pay for a 12 hour night of call and also get paid with shift diff if we get called in. (The diff is about 36%). Each Sunday call RN gets 6 hours of regular pay plus gets paid if she has to come in for however many hours she is there, sometimes that includes a shift diff as well.

Currently I am on call only if I receive "low-census" (yeah right). We get a couple of dollars/hour call pay & if called in we get time & 1/2 plus travel pay. Typically, we are only on call the first 4 hours of shift. Our hosp doesn't mandate overtime--they offer bonus incentives (usually $100.00/shift) to cover call ins or high census. when desperate enough they will pay...:)

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