Canceled! Jerks!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Early one morning recently, I was on the way to my PRN job on a behavioral health unit. I was literally in my car, and it was 30 min before the shift was to start. I got a text telling me I'd been canceled. Not even the courtesy of a phone call. At this facility, if an RN calls in, it can't be any later than 0430 for dayshift or 1630 for night shift. If I'd have called in with a half hour's notice, I'd have been written up, or worse. I was livid. This comes on the heels of asking to work just Sats and Suns and being told ''we don't allow nurses to do that,'' when our unit had TWO nurses with that exact schedule. I complained to HR but they weren't helpful at all. So I found a job at another hospital in town, but stayed on PRN at the other place...until they canceled me with 30 min notice. I felt that was rude and inconsiderate and told them so, and I also said it was the culmination of months of frustration with their shoddy way of doing things. I am 58 and while I realize no perfect job exists anywhere, I also refuse to be treated with a glaring double standard and total disregard for courtesy.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatrics, Wound Care.

I got cancelled last night with my 2 hours. But, yeah, 30 mins is pretty short. I got cancelled 1 hour early one day - I was walking into the train station (but didn't get to the turnstiles). 30 minutes, I'd be halfway to work. I think the staffing is generally better during the holidays since regular workers will pull more shifts for extra money.

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Hear ya... I was canceled after I arrived. Normally, I don't mind some time off but I drove 30 minutes to get there.

I hope you didn't actually say those things... or were more diplomatic about it. With organizations conglomerating left and right I am very cautious about burning bridges.

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several years ago a place tried cancelling me. I was in the car doing my usual 70 or so, and told my agency " I am less than 2 miles away, that is out of a 30 mile trip, we are going to pretend you did not reach me". I arrived, they sent staff home because they would have to pay for me for 4 hours.....

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Where I work the hospital is required to cancel at least 2 hrs before the shift starts, if they fail to do so you are guaranteed 4 hrs. The staffing office sometimes tries to get away with giving less notice than that, but will quickly recant when they are reminded of the policy.

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Hear ya... I was canceled after I arrived. Normally, I don't mind some time off but I drove 30 minutes to get there.

I hope you didn't actually say those things... or were more diplomatic about it. With organizations conglomerating left and right I am very cautious about burning bridges.

I understand what you're saying, but facilities can also burn bridges. For example, in my city, there's a large clinic which has a bad reputation for firing nurses right and left. It is so bad that the two large local nursing schools here do NOT post openings for that clinic anymore. I told a person in the clinic's HR department of this, and she was horrified that her employer has such a bad reputation. So it cuts both ways. I am very assertive, whether it's for my patients or myself, but I am never disrespectful.

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Yes at my hospital, if they cancel me late - they still have to pay me for two hours.

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Where I work the hospital is required to cancel at least 2 hrs before the shift starts, if they fail to do so you are guaranteed 4 hrs. The staffing office sometimes tries to get away with giving less notice than that, but will quickly recant when they are reminded of the policy.

Mine too. Seems fair enough since we're required to give two hours notice when calling off.

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Hear ya... I was canceled after I arrived. Normally, I don't mind some time off but I drove 30 minutes to get there.

I hope you didn't actually say those things... or were more diplomatic about it. With organizations conglomerating left and right I am very cautious about burning bridges.

I was once cancelled after arrival. I was really aggravated because I'd washed a uniform, packed a lunch, taken the kids to the sitter, and driven 24 miles for nothing. I told them that, too. The secretary admitted she had made a mistake. I asked to DON to be paid 2 hours for show-up time. She refused.

They had another nurse follow me around the next time I worked. She claimed I didn't know how to evaluate and treat a pt with c/o SOB. They fired me.

So, while we may be used and abused, we must often swallow a lot of @*!^ and are not allowed to c/o when maltreated. We, at least, must be very polite about it.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Hear ya... I was canceled after I arrived. Normally, I don't mind some time off but I drove 30 minutes to get there.

I hope you didn't actually say those things... or were more diplomatic about it. With organizations conglomerating left and right I am very cautious about burning bridges.

Check the labour laws in your state. They may owe you 4 hours of pay if they sent you home after you'd already arrived.

For everyone else cancelled on short notice: check your employment contract. It should specify not only how much notice you need to give them for calling out, but how much notice they need to give you for a cancellation.

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Early one morning recently, I was on the way to my PRN job on a behavioral health unit. I was literally in my car, and it was 30 min before the shift was to start.[...]

And to think you could've had 4 hours' pay if only you didn't address text messages while driving (so what if your phone can read them to you - some people don't know that). ;)

I say if the car's moving or you're already on the train etc., etc. = too late.

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Specializes in Addictions, psych, corrections, transfers.

Wow! That is unacceptable. You're right to stand up for yourself. Just like a couple other commenters, at multiple hospitals I've worked, if we didn't give them 2 hours notice then they were guaranteed to work 4 hours, unless they were fine with being called off. This was standard practice. Sorry you to go through that. I wish employers would give the same respect they expect from their employees.

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