New grad living in misery r/t nurse managers and educator

[maxdog]

i've been working my first rn job ever at a large nyc hospital for 10 weeks now, and along with the other new hires (6 of us in total, high turnover rate), am starting to dread coming to work because of the nurse manager, assistant nurse manager, and the nurse educator-- we work 8pm-8am and the nursing leadership has no problem expecting us to stay on the unit until 10am so they can hold various miscellaneous meetings after we give change-of-shift report. these meetings are usually along the lines of discussing goals for the year/ going over guidelines for the upcoming joint commission inspection, or some other sort of nurse education-- the nurse educator loves to pull us aside individually after change of shift report to discuss specific patients' nursing diagnoses, interventions, and care plans, oh- and go through every word of our nursing notes as well. (i mean, i get that this stuff is important, but at 9am? 10am?) i find myself trying to hide when 8am rolls around so the educator can't single me out...

our nursing dept is not unionized, and we don't get a single penny for anything over 12 hours, regardless of how long we stay. to add to the torture, they never give more than 12 hours advance notice on these meetings, (9 times out of 10 they just interrupt my change of shift report at 8:15 am to let me know i am expected in the nurse manager's office at 8:45). basically, i feel like my after-work schedule is completely out of my control, and completely at their disposal. is this acceptable??? from a human resources/labor law perspective??

i've talked to senior nurses on the unit and they say this is how all nurses on the unit are treated. some nurses have even told me that the manager has sent them to a ventilation or mock code class right after night shift so they're stuck in the hospital until noon!!! even worse, the managers and educator just come across as incredibly rude, and unkind, and -- not once has anyone ever apologized to me for interrupting shift report, or expressed sympathy for keeping me late. they speak to all of us new grads as if we are children, not co-workers. everything they say comes with a glare, and they are always short with us, interrupting us mid-sentence if we ever have anything to say. i have no problem with comments/criticism/education, but not when it's presented in an unprofessional manner. it's not like i've ever done anything to harm a patient that warranted being talked-down to... i know i look probably 22 years old, but i have been out of college for 5 years (i am an accelerated grad). most my time after college was spent working in an office environment... these nurse "leaders" would all be sent to hr if they ever treated another co-worker like this in the corporate world. one of the other new grads is also losing patience with the nursing leadership and we are thinking about going to the hospital's hr together to voice our concerns... anyone have a similar experience??

[redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN]

I agree you should be job hunting. What they are doing is not right -- and may be illegal. (You'd have to talk to a lawyer about that.)

Asking someone impromptu to stay over their scheduled shift isn't illegal...not paying them for it most certainly IS!!! Call the labor board, and/or a lawyer.

[cally527, RN]

US DOL website direct quote "An employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such overtime work. Employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek of at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay. The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest, unless overtime hours are worked on such days"

If you were hired as an exempt employee then you should be salaried. If you are paid hourly then your are non exempt and covered by the federal overtime laws. Report the hospital to the DOL and they will change their tune quickly, and have to pay you and all employees, (current and prior) all OT pay that is due to them

[elprup, BSN, RN]

So sad this is normal at many places. Allnurses has over 590,000 members! One would think we could incite changes!

[Lucky0220]

fyi

it seems that the op has not answered our questions as to whether he/she is hourly or salaried. in any case, since this is an important topic, i thought i would paste this info from the wage and hour division of the dept. of labor:

wage and hour division (whd)

fact sheet #17n: nurses and the part 541 exemptions under the fair labor standards act (flsa)

nurses

to qualify for the learned professional employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

the employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week;

the employee's primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment;

the advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and

the advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

registered nurses who are paid on an hourly basis should receive overtime pay. however, registered nurses who are registered by the appropriate state examining board generally meet the duties requirements for the learned professional exemption, and if paid on a salary basis of at least $455 per week, may be classified as exempt.

licensed practical nurses and other similar health care employees, however, generally do not qualify as exempt learned professionals, regardless of work experience and training, because possession of a specialized advanced academic degree is not a standard prerequisite for entry into such occupations, and are entitled to overtime pay.

hope this helps:)



[nopainNurse]

Now hang on a New York minute. As I read the OP my feeling is that these managers are trying to do right by these new hires and train them properly...........

I wish there was a "strongly disagree" option next to the "like" button!

[Lucky0220]

I wish there was a "strongly disagree" option next to the "like" button!

Do not encourage 'mindlor' by responding to his posts which are always argumentative. Read some of them...and you will see what I mean. He likes to push everyone's buttons.

[maxdog]

Hi, thanks so much for your words of encouragement, everyone... I think about leaving this job every day!! I love being a nurse and all I want to do is focus on taking care of my patient, not constantly think about my dreaded nurse manager all the time. The only problem is, this is my first RN job and I feel like it's necessary to commit a year to this position before I go elsewhere. There's actually a nurse manager on another floor who I'm friendly with who has already said she would hire me-- however Nurse Recruitment at my hospital says that all nurses have to work at least 1 year in their current position before they can transfer to another floor. So I guess I'm stuck here.

Also YES, I am salaried-- so I guess this means I have no leverage to get out of staying late ...