Arriving early and not clocking in

Nurses General Nursing

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On the unit at the hospital where I work, it is the culure of my unit to come to work 15-30 mins before your shift to begin your pt research and prepare for the start of your day. If nurses decide to do this, however, they are NOT allowed to clock in until the actual time they are scheduled for bc otherwise, the hospital would have to pay overtime. So we have nurses working before their shifts, and then someone comes around and reminds people to go clock in when it's actually time. Some nurses feel strongly that everyone should be doing this, and then there are others that show up about 5 mins before their shift.

Is this the culture or expectation in any other facilities?

Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.

I really don't mind if people come in early but most of my co-workers who do just get in the way and waste time. We had one nurse who would come in an hour early and cruise the internet until we got a new nurse manager who put her foot down and said do not come into the work area until you're clocked in. It looked terrible to see sometimes 3-4 nurses sitting around at the nurses station at 0630. Family members would walk by and ask them for assistance because they they didn't know any better and the nurses had to say "no, I'll get your nurse". I'm sure visitors thought that was helpful.

A few months ago I was in with my dying patient and the code team @ 0645 and I look up at the observation window and there's 5 day shift faces watching! Grrr.

So for the nurses who come in quietly to write down your assignment or even just chill in the breakroom I have no complaint.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Yes, I agree the nurses' station can get REALLY loud at 6:45.

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.
When I'm not clocked in, I'm not in patient care areas. I'm at the nurses' station.

But for argument's sake, that can happen to ANYONE, unless they put a time clock out in the parking lot. Everyone who walks into the building, goes up the elevator, and walks into their unit is not yet clocked in, regardless if it's 1830 or 1855.

Well we do have many time clocks scattered throughout the hospital and there is one very close to a parking garage and it justs frosts my cake when I see a fellow co-worker clock in knowing they won't reach the unit for at least another 5 minutes. A lot could happen in that 5 minutes to make it not worth it.

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It is the culture and it is wrong. There is no other profession that you are an hourly employee and you don't get paid for your hours. DO NOT let the facility bully you into performing work hours for free. 30 minutes per day time 5 days per week is 2.5 hours a week "FREE" they are getting from each employee. I don't know why we think this is acceptable and don't all stand up and holler. I know you feel threatened for your job but they need us more than we need them. If we continue to challenge this behavior we will change it. What is wrong with this picture~~~ There is no way anyone else in any other culture would put up with this yet we think its fine to do. I get so angry at our nursing profession for putting up with being treated so poorly.

sharon:D:nurse:

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No way!! We don't even know our assignments until the end of the group shift report meeting, so we couldn't do that even if we wanted to. I work hard enough as it is . . . I don't need to add extra work time. (and, no, you cannot assume that you will have the same patients as the previous day)

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I can't speak for other states, but I do HR in my current job and we are located in NC. In NC if you are doing your job then you are covered work comp-wise. Whether or not you are clocked in is irrelevant. You are discharging duties on behalf of your employer which you were hired to do, ergo you are covered. I can't speak for other states, and since worker's compensation is a state-governed set of regulations things could very well be different in other states besides NC.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
I get so angry at our nursing profession for putting up with being treated so poorly.

sharon:D:nurse:

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the scenario in the OP.

In no way is it mandated, expected, or encouraged by administration or the hospital. *I* choose to get a 5-10 minute jumpstart because it helps ME and makes my shift and my job easier to organize. Nobody is treating me poorly, and I'm not putting up with anything. I'm voluntarily doing this because it helps me to have that extra 10 minutes before the shift.

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In my area it is practically forbidden to do anything off of the clock. You are not even allowed on the floor without being clocked in. If you get hurt off of the clock you got a problem as far as WC so maybe that's why. And to echo some previous posters, I don't work for free. Only nurses...

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I think that it is different for each person. Some of the nurses where I work come in 45 minutes early to orient themselves to the pt's. Some breeze in and clock in on time or a couple of minutes late. Either way, the pt care is about the same from all...lol. I just think it is a personal preference. I don't come in early because I'm not going to work extra without being paid for it. I don't think we need to encourage a culture where nurses work without pay. Having said that, if a certain nurse wants to come in early and it makes them feel better, and they aren't actually working on the floor...why stop them? Just don't expect it from everyone.

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That's my point you shouldn't think its ok to come in early to make your job easier and not get paid for it!!! The system should make our job easier and they don't. That culture comes from our environment and although you "think" you are not being treated poorly, I can tell you that you are nothing more than a number and if you rub them the wrong way you will be dismissed without guilt by anyone in administration. We have evolved into an environment that is driven by costs and nothing more. Its no longer about the patient or the employee its about the numbers, length of stay and outcomes, outcomes I might add that are generated and reported by the source. Truly toxic.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
That's my point you shouldn't think its ok to come in early to make your job easier and not get paid for it!!! The system should make our job easier and they don't. That culture comes from our environment and although you "think" you are not being treated poorly, I can tell you that you are nothing more than a number and if you rub them the wrong way you will be dismissed without guilt by anyone in administration. We have evolved into an environment that is driven by costs and nothing more. Its no longer about the patient or the employee its about the numbers, length of stay and outcomes, outcomes I might add that are generated and reported by the source. Truly toxic.

I don't even know how to respond to this. Suffice it to say that we have a difference of opinion, and I imagine, never the 'twain shall meet.

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Nope. Not allowed at our unit, not encouraged, either.

Our nurses station is too small to have nurses who aren't actually working hanging out there. Administration often makes staffing changes late in the previous shift, and the charge nurses often review staffing together prior to it going out for everyone else to see, so it would do no good to get to our unit early...you wouldn't know your assignment anyway.

If you get there early, get a soda from the cafeteria, and hang out in the staff lounge, it's not a big deal at all. On my floor, if you're out on the floor or in the nurses station, you need to be on the clock. If you can't get your information appropriately in a timely manner, that needs to be addressed. Either it is a personal issue of time management, focus, and prioritization, or it is a systemic manner (computer/kardex not available, considering another form of report, etc) that your entire unit needs to address.

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