Anyone ever heard of a policy like this??

Bug Out, BSN · Jan 13, 2010

Actually sounds like a good idea to me.

I am sick and tired of having to cover for people who call out on weekends. Its funny how 90% of the call offs only seem to happen Fri-Sun.

mudd68 · Jan 13, 2010

Yes, there is a policy like this @ my facility. But it is enforced loosely. Or should I say enforced more for some than others. It's used pretty much for habitual offeneders, people who get sick EVERY saturday. Basically it is up to the unit managers discretion. And the makeup day has to be within the same 1 month schedule. They can't decide 3 months from now to throw you on an extra weekend day b/c of "that one time" you called off.

Scrubby · Jan 13, 2010

I can't say I think much about this policy. For starters, there are many people who legitimately get sick, after all we're only human. Why should they then be forced to work extra shifts? What if they have something planned for that weekend, are then they pressured to come to work when they are feeling ill? Madness!

Yes there are nurses out there who are always taking weekends off. But IMHO managers need to deal with the individuals not just make a blanket rule for everyone.

ohgoodnessgracious · Jan 13, 2010

Yes this happens at my facility also. Staff numbers are usually lower during the weekend and even one person out can be drastic if we don't get a pool nurse to help us out.

Zookeeper3 · Jan 13, 2010

To the OP, we must be working at the same hospital, only mine includes Friday as well. We can only call in three times in a year... so this doesn't deter a weekend call in.

martin738 · Jan 13, 2010

oh, ours has friday. the weekend is considered from friday to sunday. and I work at T-------. And we have a very high turnover for nurses on all floors. Our floor has kept staff pretty well because we have had a couple of great managers who can somewhat offset the administration's stupidity. i guess i should get off the soapbox. I do want to continue to work there.

309216505 · Jan 13, 2010

People have a right to call in (for whatever reason) I think that policy is total BS. If you had a union, I don't think they'd put up with it. This is just another one of those ways that management, since they can't be creative enough to come up with incentives for working weekends, tries to bully nurses. The hospital can run just fine without them (ps. how many weekends do they work?), but a hospital can't run without us.

oramar · Jan 13, 2010

I worked at a place where they tried to institute that rule. They lost 50% of their nurses in a month over it and they had to recind the practice. Maybe now with the tight job market they can get away with more.

rngolfer53 · Jan 13, 2010

Unfortunately, these policies come about b/c of the abuse of calling out on weekends/holidays, leaving others to cover.

Ideally, management would track the abusers and take a chunk out of their hide, but the legal climate can make that pretty risky.

So, the safer course is to adopt a policy that applies to everyone, but that shafts the good employee who has the bad luck to get sick/injured on a scheduled work weekend.

Larry77, RN · Jan 13, 2010

And the labor board is ok with this practice? What if you use earned time to cover your day off? I have called in sick an average of once a year for the past 10 years, but I work with some nurses that start calling in when they are still in orientation and continue the practice almost weekly...grrr.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Jan 13, 2010

We have that policy too. It sucks when someone calls off on your weekend, so you have to work short, and then the following weekend gets to enjoy an extra person.