Covering unexpected on-call shifts

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I'm looking for how other hospitals cover unexpected open call shifts. I work in Interventional Radiology. We rotate call for evenings and weekends. I would like to know what others do when someone is sick or unable to keep their call shift. What does your department do to cover the shift? Are people mandated? How is it determined?

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

I'm OR, but we have the same scenarios. We first look for volunteers by posting it on our huddle board. If no one volunteers, then yes, someone is mandated. There is a rotating list for who is mandated. However, 9 times out of 10, there is a volunteer.

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Sounds reasonable. Here's my situation: we don't have a rotating list. we have a "who has picked up the most list" whoever has picked up the least is mandated. I started in Feb so I was placed at the level of the person with the least pick ups. There are 8 of us nurses. Then next lowest is 17 pickups ahead of us. and the rest have many many pick ups. (pages and pages going back to 2012). The person I was paired with (the lowest) only works 2 days a week, has a special needs child and is presently on a leave. So basically if no-one volunteers I'm most likely going to be mandated 9/10 times. Please tell me if you agree this isn't fair!

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Specializes in PACU.

I work a small PACU with limited staff, we take call about once a week. If someone is sick they send out a group text to see who can cover.. one of two things happen, either someone picks it up with the condition of swapping their next day out, or it's the yes, put you'll owe me one. Since we are so small... you know you'll need the favor some day too, so its best to be flexible. We don't have a mandatory list, have never needed one.

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Sounds reasonable. Here's my situation: we don't have a rotating list. we have a "who has picked up the most list" whoever has picked up the least is mandated. I started in Feb so I was placed at the level of the person with the least pick ups. There are 8 of us nurses. Then next lowest is 17 pickups ahead of us. and the rest have many many pick ups. (pages and pages going back to 2012). The person I was paired with (the lowest) only works 2 days a week, has a special needs child and is presently on a leave. So basically if no-one volunteers I'm most likely going to be mandated 9/10 times. Please tell me if you agree this isn't fair!

It does not sound sensible. Has it always been done this way? In theory, you could have to take call every single night or at least several times per week. Sleep deprivation could make you a zombie. How often does a nurse have to cover? I assume you can take call from home, at least.

I don't think a part-timer should have to pick up as often as a full-timer. She probably works part-time because of the situation with her child. I know we all have our troubles, but I guess she's always had this arrangement with the boss because she, realistically, can't leave the child. Fair? I don't know how to judge that. If they try to force her to take call more often, she might have to resign. I'm just not sure.

The ones who have picked up so many - how recent are their pick-up's?

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It has always been done that way. So when I question it I'm basically told by everyone "I was mandated a lot when I started". So basically I need to wait until someday when a new person starts so they can be dumped on and not me. Not a fair system. We all take one overnight per week and every fourth weekend. Fortunately, there are not many open shifts to cover. But that also means I'll be at the bottom forever. Last week they changed it so if the entire weekend is open and no one picks it up, the low man takes it all even if they aren't working on Friday. Otherwise, during the week its the low man that is there that day that has to take it. Everyone is upset now and that is why I'm looking for a better system. Hoping it could all be changed to something more just.

Some people have fairly recent pick-ups, some not.

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Specializes in PACU.
Sounds reasonable. Here's my situation: we don't have a rotating list. we have a "who has picked up the most list" whoever has picked up the least is mandated. I started in Feb so I was placed at the level of the person with the least pick ups. There are 8 of us nurses. Then next lowest is 17 pickups ahead of us. and the rest have many many pick ups. (pages and pages going back to 2012). The person I was paired with (the lowest) only works 2 days a week, has a special needs child and is presently on a leave. So basically if no-one volunteers I'm most likely going to be mandated 9/10 times. Please tell me if you agree this isn't fair!

No this is not fair. The list would be fair if it reset to zero every quarter/year (depending on how many pick ups there are). That way each person would have to do the same amount of pickups each year.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Sounds reasonable. Here's my situation: we don't have a rotating list. we have a "who has picked up the most list" whoever has picked up the least is mandated. I started in Feb so I was placed at the level of the person with the least pick ups. There are 8 of us nurses. Then next lowest is 17 pickups ahead of us. and the rest have many many pick ups. (pages and pages going back to 2012). The person I was paired with (the lowest) only works 2 days a week, has a special needs child and is presently on a leave. So basically if no-one volunteers I'm most likely going to be mandated 9/10 times. Please tell me if you agree this isn't fair!

It doesn't sound like a desirable position for the newest employees, but it isn't unfair as long as the rule is applied equally to everyone.

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Sounds reasonable. Here's my situation: we don't have a rotating list. we have a "who has picked up the most list" whoever has picked up the least is mandated. I started in Feb so I was placed at the level of the person with the least pick ups. There are 8 of us nurses. Then next lowest is 17 pickups ahead of us. and the rest have many many pick ups. (pages and pages going back to 2012). The person I was paired with (the lowest) only works 2 days a week, has a special needs child and is presently on a leave. So basically if no-one volunteers I'm most likely going to be mandated 9/10 times. Please tell me if you agree this isn't fair!

This is complete BS. Looking at who has picked up most is very fair but only if you use a fair time frame. A few months would be the absolute maximum. When I read this post in conjunction with your post about holiday leave/ seniority it seems to me that you have transferred into a nightmare unit with a very ugly culture that unfairly discriminates against it new and "junior staff".

I think you should quietly resume job hunting. I'm thinking a unit like PACU, OR or Step, which are always looking to recruit staff with ER back grounds may be willing to recognize your years of service (seniority) and may be more fairly managed. Best of luck!

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