Activate this forum...Anyone have to take call?

Yes, we have one flex night a week ( eight hours) or some people who do twelve hour shifts have four hour flex times one night a week. That allows perdiems to come in and sometimes works out well if you are tired. If you NEED the time, you bump the perdiem...another way the hospital saves money at your expense. If you choose to come in on your flex night and it stays quiet, you might have to float. This tactic is getting common these days, especially in units where the census isn't always predictable....

The last ICU I was on staff operated this way too and it was aggravating. Nobody really minded pitching in to help each other out, make sure there was adequate coverage, etc... but when it gets to be the way to staff OTHER units too it has gone too far, IMO.

We only did bare minimum because of the practice of floating the oncall nurse to cover another unit...and it got so we felt very resentful.

We have to take 3 12-hour shifts "on call" per 6-week schedule. This translates into mandatory overtime, because we almost always get called in. Several years ago our call days were used only to cover if there were "call-ins", people calling in sick. Now they are used just to make up for short staffing.

I am getting pretty burnt out on dealing with staffing issues. I speak from the perspective of PRN or fill in staffing. Due to low census, I am LC (low censused) that day. It is wrecking havoc with my need to be available more often...

I should not fuss though because I really feel your frustration (been there done that) with the issues being discussed here.

At the hospital I work at (L&D), we take a minimum of 3 call shifts a month. The call shifts are 12 hr shifts and most of the nurses are getting really burnt out. Many times we are getting called in to staff other units because the nurses on the other units are not required to take more than one call shift per month.