on call policies

vaughanmk · Sep 24, 2003

I do know that our hospital on call policy has a major flaw...if you unit has you on call, then technically you are then on call for the entire hospital. House supervisor can call you in to work on any floor. Because of this no one here wnats to be on call, or at least it doesn't get put into the books because of it.

zambezi, BSN, RN · Sep 24, 2003

We can ask to be placed on standby. If we don't get called in we get paid 2 (or four??) dollars and hour regardless. If we get called in it is time and a half. But it does not count towards overtime. If we are really really short we can be offered Critical Need Incentive which is $11 more and hour (and time and a half if you are on standby). I work in critical care, on standby we can get called in for either our ICU or CCU. They try to put you in your "home unit" first. We can pick the hours we are on call. The system has its flaws but mostly it works out okay.

POPRN · Sep 25, 2003

Where I work in the OR, there is a call schedule. Call is rotated, everyone except occasionals take call. It is about one weekend out of 7. Call pay is a whopping $2.50/hour. and you are on call for the entire weekend. Unless you are lucky enough to give all or part of it away. No nurses on the floor takes call where I work. the only depts. that have call are the OR, Cath lab, X-Ray and OB. we are in the beginning of union negotiations to increase our call pay. it has been the same pay for over 12 years!!!

KKERRN · Oct 9, 2003

I work in ER and we must take on call 8hrs for our 6 week work schedule. We are given 4 hr slots to sign up our choice. We are paid $3/hr for being on call and paid premium pay if we are called in to work.

Farkinott, RN · Oct 9, 2003

I work as a renal dialysis nurse in a large provincial hospital in Queensland Australia. There is the possibility I may get called in to dialyse someone in ICU or in my own unit late at night once IO have finished work for the day. I get one night's on call about once a fortnight and a whole weekend about once ever 2 months.

I get paid about $12Aus for one ovenight call and $25 for a weekend. After tax, the restriction on my lifestyle is hardly worth it but unfortunately it comes with the job. At least I am not on call to be deployed wherever a nurse is needed at the time. I am on call for one role only. It seems that the on call rates are crap allover! Does anyone have any ideas or had any success in changing on call rates for nurses?

purplemania, BSN, RN · Oct 9, 2003

Our policy states that when census is low and it is necessary to reduce number of nurses working, one will remain on-call at $1/hr for that shift only. If called in, the pay is time and a half. Basically you can carry a beeper or cell phone and do what you please, as long as you can get to hospital when called. If you are on-call you may be asked to work another unit, but only within your service line (Maternal-child, critical care, etc). If staffing can use you elsewhere you have the OPTION of going outside your service line, if you want. IF you are cut off for the shift, and not the one who is on-call, you just lost 12 hrs pay, unless you call staffing and agree to work another unit. Also, on another shift (other than one you are scheduled) you may work outside service line for extra $100 over and above what you would earn (including overtime if appropriate). Hope this helps.

wiseRN · Oct 10, 2003

The best incentive is "MONEY" I felt i had it good and was paid right when I worked in Reno Nv. as a traveller and was paid by thier rules which was Half of my hourly wage to take call. I NEVER MINDED CALL THEN. Just increase the call pay to the level in which people fight over the money and you will never have a call problem.

StrongRN · Nov 8, 2003

UKRN88

On my unit we take call in 4 hour increments @ $1/hour and should we be called in we are paid time and a half plus the $1/hour . And we are guaranteed 2hour of call back back even if we stay only 30 minutes. We participate in this in order to be a closed unit and are therefore not pulled housewide.

:angryfire

wildwood · Nov 9, 2003

In the OR where I work, we get $40.00 per day for weekday call, and $50.00 per day for Sat. and Sun.

We are guaranteed 40 hrs. per week, so we get to leave early a lot. The 8 hr. and 10 hr. staff that do not take call finish up the schedule for us.