staffing tried to trick/bully me in today!

jett01 · Apr 19, 2005

I get called often (but not harassed thank goodness) on my days off. I simply say no thanks and they move on. I will not run myself into the ground for an employer. Like they care. I look at it this way. There are many opportunities out there. Nursing is my career and I intend to continue with it as long as possible. My current position is only a job ... and if necessary it can be replaced.

mattsmom81 · Apr 19, 2005

Good attitude Jett01...these facilities will use and abuse us if we let them...and for those of us whose employers have held it against us and guilt trip'd us if we say no to OT...caller ID has been a lifesaver. :)

night owl · Apr 19, 2005

How do they sleep at night? :angryfire

Probably better than you and I with the big fat checks they get! I guess it doesn't matter how they make them, as long as they get them. When they have to lower themselves to this kind of game playing with their staff, I'd lose my respect for them altogether. Then they wonder why they can't retain their nurses. :madface: I wonder if they get any bonuses for using that stragedy when it works in their favor? :stone

LPN1974, LPN · Apr 19, 2005

My caller ID and answering machine has been a lifesaver to me, too.

I have thought about getting rid of my house phone, tho, and just keeping the cell phone, but I would have to give my job the cell phone number.

Then they would be able to reach me ANYwhere.

How does that work for anyone else? I noticed someone else posted that they got rid of their house phone. I would like to try that, but for some reason I'm hesitant to do that.

TNnursejane, BSN, RN · Apr 19, 2005

Caller ID!!!!! :coollook: It makes me so angry that they try to bully you or GUILT you into coming in! That's been going on since the beginning of time! It never changes!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 19, 2005

i understand it is their job to get people to come in, but lying to someone to try to make them think that they have made a mistake with their schedule is just unacceptable. grab a few annual bonus dollars out of the ceo's pocket and call an agency for a nurse, for heaven's sake!! you should only treat your staff in the manner described by the op if you no longer want to have a staff.

my husband and i both worked in the same icu when we got married. one of his former lovers was our assistant manager, the one who did the schedule. after we left town to get married, she changed the schedule and put him on a day shift the day after we got married! (he had to have a disciplinary meeting on our return about how he "failed to report to work on a scheduled day.") we had a cellphone with us as we had left our geriatric golden retrievers in the care of a friend while we were away. two days before our scheduled return to town (and four days before our scheduled return to work) the assistant manager called our friend to get my cellphone number because she was "worried about ruby since she didn't show up for work as scheduled." the friend knew something was hinky and wouldn't give out my cell phone number, but she did call me and tell me about her conversation with our boss. so instead of enjoying the last of our honeymoon, i worried about work. when i got back and actually looked at the schedule, she hadn't changed my schedule -- just wanted to yank my chain a little!

ruby

jett01 · Apr 20, 2005

Good attitude Jett01...these facilities will use and abuse us if we let them...and for those of us whose employers have held it against us and guilt trip'd us if we say no to OT...caller ID has been a lifesaver. :)

Ya wanna hear something funny? I've been asked to apply for a clinical manager position on my floor. It's a union environment too. When I say I've been asked to apply - they came to me, along with several of my coworkers. I'm trying to resist switching over to the dark side.

estrogen · Apr 20, 2005

My caller ID and answering machine has been a lifesaver to me, too.
I have thought about getting rid of my house phone, tho, and just keeping the cell phone, but I would have to give my job the cell phone number.
Then they would be able to reach me ANYwhere.
How does that work for anyone else? I noticed someone else posted that they got rid of their house phone. I would like to try that, but for some reason I'm hesitant to do that.

I got rid of the house phone. My hosp has only my cell phone number and with caller ID and voice mail it works our just fine... As I stated earlier, I never pick up when they call and let them talk to voice mail.

PicklesRN, RN · Apr 20, 2005

How bright it is to annoy, harass, write up, or fire nurses for not covering shifts when they are already short on nurses? If they already can't cover the existing shifts how stupid is it to push away the nurses they do have?

s.c. lady · Apr 20, 2005

I just finished dealing with staffing. I received a very angry call. "Where are you. You are scheduled to work today. You have to come in". I explained that my copy of my work hours says I'm off, that my hubby is in all night budget meetings and that I had two hours of sleep...could I come in from 11p-730a. "NO! Come in now. It's your responsibility to cover your shift." Decided to call my nurses station and found out that there were no changes on the schedule and I was not on for today. Also staffing tried the same thing with two day shift nurses today! Ya'll know what was really going on? This is my short week. The hospital doesn't have to pay me overtime. My theory is they decided to scare and bully me in to save a buck!:angryfire

I got caller ID. On my days off, the answering machine is off (they used to leave messages on it) and I don't answer calls from the hospital. Screw them, I'm there enough as it is, and I won't be bullied. Isn't there a labor law against this crap?

HvnSntRN · Apr 20, 2005

if you don't have caller id on your phone, get it now! that way you can screen your calls....
and a firm but polite, "sorry, i'm unable to come in" is sufficient.
yet we have to keep in mind, this is the nature of many staffers, as it is their responsibility to ensure staffing- no matter what technique they use.
but yeah, they do have a way of making you feel guilty, don't they? ugh.
leslie

wow. i'll never complain about our staffing clerks again. we've had some bumps in the road as we made the transition from looking after our own staffing (which made for excellent scheduling) to working with a staffing office, but i've never heard of them outright lying to staff to get someone to come in on our days off. i'd be writing people up over that. how do they expect the nurses to deal ethically with patients, management and co-workers, when they are being manipulated and lied to in order to get them to work extra hours? :angryfire

we use availability declaration, and encourage everyone to make copies of their schedules and availability. we still get called for extra shifts almost daily, but our clerks haven't had to stoop to that level of mischief. yet.

i usually decide in the morning whether i want to work an extra shift that same night, and i communicate regularly with staffing to let them know if i want an extra shift or need to cancel my availability.

i do screen calls though. they probably wonder why i'm always in the bathroom or doing laundry in the basement when they call. :chuckle

boulergirl, CNA · Apr 20, 2005

I'll never forget the DON from the LTC who called me into work many years ago. I had been drinking and I told her I couldn't come in because I had been drinking. She told me to "come in anyway." :angryfire

A similar situation happened at our facility a couple of years ago. My co-worker on night shift had just had surgery when she was scheduled to come in--all they wanted was a warm body to help cover the shift. So I spent the whole night doing rounds, pulling trash, etc. BY MYSELF. I was not happy. (I couldn't ask my coworker to help--she wasn't supposed to lift anything). This same co-worker was routinely scheduled to work on days when she'd had chemo, so she couldn't do her job effectively. And one night I was left to work ALONE the entire night. My boss called to let me know she was looking for a babysitter so she could be there with me, but she never showed up.

Thankfully this boss is no longer employed there. Wonder why...:icon_roll