Absolutely ridiculous... You can keep your 4 hours

Nurses Relations

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What kind of hospital schedules you for a full 12 hour day shift, calls at 5am to cancel you from 7a-11a but tells you your on call from 11am on... And then decides that at 3 they will have you come in for the last 4 hours of ur scheduled shift to cover someone else's call out on a different floor? You bet I'll be the first to say no... If they felt they didn't need me for my scheduled 12 hour shift enough to call me off at 5am don't expect me to come in at 3pm for 4 hours

Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
. It's just inconsiderate when there really are other staffing alternatives to canceling until the last 4 hours of a scheduled shift, and then requiring to come in. I understand they can do whatever they want however they want, but I still don't think it's right, courteous, or necessary.

What would the alternatives be? Letting you come in and do nothing and get paid? This brings to mind the attitudes of some of my coworkers.They want over time whenever THEY want it. They get mad when they are told it's not available and then refuse to work when asked.The alternative to PRN is a full time job,that's an easy answer to the problem.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I've never worked in a hospital where it didn't work this way (all of which were unionized). It's part of working in a Hospital. If it's not something you're willing to tolerate I'd suggest finding a clinic job or something else that has less variable staffing needs, but I have to say I'm on the Hospital's side on this one.

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My hospital does the same. I work nights but if you are called off you are then on call til 3am and they can call you back. It's one reason I hardly ever accept a PTO unless they tell me I'll be the 3rd person to get called back in so I have a good chance of having the full 12 hours off.

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Specializes in Critical care.

For me, if I've committed to a scheduled shift then I'm giving my employer that 12 hours of my time. Of course, that has it's limits (floating outside of my experience, coming in for the last 2 hours of a shift, etc). 4 hours seems reasonable to me.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hospitals have been doing this even to their regular staff and if you don't have a union they can pretty much make up any rules they want. The hospital systems pools by me even make their staff float from hospital to hospital sometimes 4 hours at a time! It is crazy and ridiculous, how can you do a good job when you have to change assignments drive to another facility and your late before you begin. One of the reasons I wouldn't do pool! I don't want to be jerked around from hospital to hospital for a few hours at a time!

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Specializes in Management, Med/Surg, Clinical Trainer.
Unfortunately...the day is your scheduled day. There are no labor laws that cover this and it is becoming increasingly more common. Some states have laws that require them to pay call pay...but they can make a policy to have you at their beck and call. To refuse can be insubordination and grounds for termination. Especially in this current employment environment....they have many nurses to replace you.

I see you are local to me...several facilities have been doing it in this area for quite some time....at least since 2000.

Frankly they can do as they wish without a Union contract...Welcome to nursing.

Agree with the above.

If it is your scheduled day to work, you should have been ready to go to work for that 12 hour shift. Period. That is your responsibility.

Where I deviate is that even with a union contract you can still have this kind of treatment. If it is written into the contract it will happen.

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Specializes in Management, Med/Surg, Clinical Trainer.
I've never worked in a hospital where it didn't work this way (all of which were unionized). It's part of working in a Hospital. If it's not something you're willing to tolerate I'd suggest finding a clinic job or something else that has less variable staffing needs, but I have to say I'm on the Hospital's side on this one.

Yes agreed. I have never worked in a hospital where they could not call off staff due to low census numbers.

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That sounds crazy. My first nursing job would send nurses home at 11PM, but on call ...then they'd call them back at midnight or 1AM to work until 7AM if we got a few more admissions. Of course, they would often end up floated to a new unit with all new patients. The nurses already on staff would "give" their worst patient over in addition to the new admissions the called back nurse was saddled with.

I understand that hospitals are businesses and I don't have a problem with that. They do need to show some minimal courtesy to their staff if they hope to hold on to them, though. I was always willing to go home, but always made it clear that I would NOT return during that same shift- even if it meant loosing my job. I think that's why they never opted to send me home.

My current job will cancel nurses if they're grossly overstaffed, but they don't expect you to sit by the phone all night in case they change their mind.

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Specializes in ICU/PACU.

It may be a coincidence but they were all union hospitals where I've seen this. Most other hospitals I've worked in will put you on call for the entire 12 hr shift, or if acuity is very low will cancel you for the shift. There's a difference in that versus the 4 hour business which can be a bit more of a pain IMO.

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In 27 years of nursing the ONLY job I ever allowed me to put me on call was as a pedi nurse in a small hospital. Sometimes there would be no patients(night shift) or I would send home my patients, then Iwould go home 2 milkes away on call if they got a new pt in the ER for me. Any other job if you cancel me then it is for the whole shift or don't cancel me. I told several supervisors in the past that I would not take call. Either work me or don't. Then I flat out would refuse to answer the phone if they did try to call me. They only get away with it if you let them.

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I agree. I go through it to.

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Specializes in Nurse Scientist-Research.

You should check with your facility but in a lot a places (even non-union), you can insist on working, though you may not get to pick the department. I knew a NICU nurse who insisted on working their FTE as per their employment agreement and they sent this nurse to the adult ICU where they functioned as a glorified tech. Pretty unacceptable to most NICU staff but it preserves your paycheck & PTO.

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