On call hours in Texas

Nurses Safety

Published

How many hours is a nurse allowed to work in a row in a 24 hour period in the state of Texas on call? Is there a limit where you shouldn't work over any amount of hours in a 24 hour period?

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Specializes in SNF, Home Health & Hospice, L&D, Peds.

The facility where I work in Maine it is 16 hours in a 24 hour period. So they can mandate you to pull another shift for a call out, etc but once you have done 16 they get someone else in. I am not sure if this is a state reg or company policy.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

OK - here ya go...

(from TX BON) The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) does not have authority over work-place issues, such as schedules or number of hours worked, either consecutively, in a given time period or "on-call"....... BUT, wait, there's more -- TX Health & Safety Code Basically, a lot of fuzzy language and ambiguity about nurse staffing along with a disclaimer that on-call staffing is waaay too complex and should be addressed as a separate issue.

But - our NPA has a plethora of elements that require a nurse to ensure patient safety, including refusal to accept an assignment that is beyond his capability due to competency, fatigue, etc. We also have Safe Harbor, which is designed to protect you from the consequences of an 'unsafe' assignment as long as you formally report it ahead of time. It does not indemnify you from errors that are caused by your own poor judgement or malpractice, only problems that arise due to the circumstance you reported in the Safe Harbor form.

Bottom line - your employer can ask you to do it, and can fire you if you refuse... but you are accountable for your own practice.

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