on call

Babs0512 · Jul 10, 2008

I work PACU, I take call one eve/night per week and every 6th weekend. I hate it!!

I'm one of those people who have insomnia, and I need meds to help me sleep - I can't take meds when I'm on call, so I toss and turn all night, always waiting for the phone to go off. The weekends are the worst. Call starts about 1600 Friday until 0700 Monday. I'm reallllllly tired come Monday.

I also work endoscopy, but I don't have to yet take call for them - most of our emergency cases are patients in the ER and the nurses down there can do concious sedation so all that needs to be called in for the emergency endoscopy / gastroscopy is the tech.

Good luck to you. If I didn't have to pay my mortgage, I would quit in an instant! I hate to be so negative, but honestly, that is how I feel.

There are others who think call is great, love the extra pay. They are the ones, to quote them "can fall asleep anywhere" - so being unable to sleep isn't a problem for them.

Good luck, God bless

Trauma Columnist · Jul 10, 2008

I take call in my job and in various other jobs too. I am fortunately able to fall asleep easy. (Sorry Babs!) However, on occasion, I too stay awake "waiting". It is not easy but if it is a requirement for the job and you don't think you can do, maybe look for something else?

Babs0512 · Jul 11, 2008

Trauma Rus: It's not a matter of "I can't do it", it's more a matter of "I don't want to do it." I've been doing it going on 3 years now. I feel that I often work in unsafe conditions. One recovery nurse at 0200 for one sometimes 2 patients. We have no 2nd call, except on the weekends, our bosses attitude is "use the circulating nurse as your second call if you need her." Well, I got news for you. The OR staff clean up and are out of there within 15 to 30 min, while I still have my patient(s) in recovery. Myself and my patient are the only two people in an entire wing of the hospital.

I'm a darn good nurse, after 16 years, 11 of which is critical care. But there are times patients go bad, and when your all alone, it really stinks. It's this stress that causes anxiety, which leads to me being unable to relax the entire time I'm on call.

The OR has a 1st, 2nd and 3rd call - we only have ourselves.

The second call nurse on the weekend, often will not come in. AND NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT IT. We have a terrible manager, whose out the door by 1500 (or earlier if a Friday) - I've called her at home on the weekend with issues a couple of times, the answer was "call the supervisor" I said, "well that's funny, I already did, and she told me to call you!"

I would like to find something else. But because our hospital is "the only game in town" turnover is slow. I don't want to travel 1.5hrs a day for another job in another city - especially with gas prices the way they are now. So, I'm kind of stuck.

But thanks for your input.