days off- a rant

[Fruit Sucker]

My employer constantly calls me in on my days off, and it's making me want to lose it. I don't mean that they just call and say "can you come in" and I have to say no. I mean, they keep on calling and harassing me and texting and telling me how much they NEED me to come in. It's every freaking time I have a day off, and I'm sick of it. I end up working overtime that I don't want week after week.

Today, inevitably, I called in sick because I am EXHAUSTED and my body can't take this (I'm no spring chicken). Well, my supervisor got a big attitude with me and continued to text me during the day and tell me that she needs me to come in. I finally put my foot down, and she catches an attitude and tells me that I need a doctor's excuse. Unbelievable! The favors I do for these people, and this is how they act.

When I called in sick, I called in with more than enough time for the charge nurse to find a replacement, and guess what she did...she decided that the next shift would "just get by" and she didn't call anyone in. I've seen it happen before on my own shift, and the attitude appalls me.

Our "self scheduling" is a joke, because they change everything that you put in anyway. They don't schedule enough nurses, and then when our patient census goes up by two or three, we're already maxed out on patient assignments and have to call someone in. God forbid they should assign anyone less than a huge patient load.

I love my patients, but this crapola is making me dread going to work.

[NGYSUN, BSN, MSN, RN]

You know, I wrote almost same post a few months back and now I'm as relaxed as ever to simply type my sweet two letter words "NO!"...with an exclamation mark too.... lol...

And when a call comes, oh..., it feels soooo gooooood to shut it up, by a single button pushed.... or, just enjoy my ringtone while the call lasts.... I love my ringtone, by the way ;-)

So, relax. .. administrators CARE ABOUT THE JOB and not you.... but you should CARE FOR YOURSELF and not them....

Patients in the hospital will ALWAYS have someone to care for them...

Just my 2cents. ..

[Twinmom06, ASN, APN]

my former floor used to do this too - they always had a staffing hole from 3p-7p because we worked 12's but if someone was picking up an OT shift they would just pick up an 8. I finally told them to stop texting me there was NO way I could come in at 3 because of my kids schedule. And when the texts kept coming, I just started ignoring.

[wanderlustnurse88, RN]

I was suppose to do an orientation shift today on a different floor at OT today but I switched it to another day, with approval from management. Otherwise I had 6 12 hour shifts in one week. This am they called looking where I was. Now I look like I was a no show. I did call back to explain but still looks bad on me

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

This is on the Top Ten List of complaints for nurses.....probably the top THREE if I were to give it more thought.

Newer nurses are the biggest targets: they are new and therefore want to prove they are team players.

They are new and therefore want to score some points with the bosses (little do they know it NEVER works that way).

They are new and therefore expect future considerations be given to them in exchange for their extra efforts (wrong here, too!).

They are new and therefore want to earn extra money as well as gain valuable time on the floor....but don't realize they are just speeding up the burnout process.

And none of that makes them foolish, it makes them TARGETS for those who are more than happy to take advantage of the situation, the New Nurse Ideology.

The solution becomes incredibly simple if you really think about it (or, more accurately, STOP thinking about it): you do not answer calls that have your unit/facility/boss's number on the caller ID. If a message is left, you do not return the call.

When you are told (and you WILL be told when you next go to work) that they were trying to reach you, it's just a matter of saying "oh, I had my phone off, I had a lot going on Wednesday". And then do it again. And when they ask you again, why you didn't call them back? "Sorry, didn't get the message. Never check my machine on my days off...."

They will be annoyed, but at some point, it is also likely to slow down. Probably won't ever STOP, and that's ok; you might decide at some point you DO want to pick up that extra shift. But YOU will decide when to answer the phone, when to return the call, and what deal is worthwhile to make

I know it's a little late for the OP, but any facility I've worked has never had my cell phone number, only my home phone (coworkers, sure, in case THEY wanted my help to cover or switch). But staffing? NEVER.

[beeker]

Stop responding at all. Eventually they will get the pciture. Ignore ignore ignore. They will move on to someone else to harass.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Apparently, you ARE a sucker.You've let them manipulate you into coming in. They won't stop until YOU do.

[lsvgsdawn]

They have called me twice in the last week. First time was at 730 am so they must have been desperate. I didn't even listen to the message till 11am after I had my coffee. And I did not call back. Sure enough the nurse manager got me the next day I worked and said" why didn't you call me back?" She is intimidating. When I told her I was asleep and had all my five children that day while my husband was working and wouldn't be able to come in she was a little more understanding. Sure enough three shifts later on my next day off the night supervisor rang my phone at 5 am to see if I could call in and left a message " please call back either way" which I did and told her no I could not come in. Unfortunately I was now awake at 5 am!!! It is super annoying. I guess if I say no enough they may wait to call me last lol...

[wanttonurse7]

Newer nurses are the biggest targets: they are new and therefore want to prove they are team players.

They are new and therefore want to score some points with the bosses (little do they know it NEVER works that way).

They are new and therefore expect future considerations be given to them in exchange for their extra efforts (wrong here, too!).

They are new and therefore want to earn extra money as well as gain valuable time on the floor....but don't realize they are just speeding up the burnout process.

And none of that makes them foolish, it makes them TARGETS for those who are more than happy to take advantage of the situation, the New Nurse Ideology.

this is exactly how i feel/felt... and i just got off orientation. i already dread going to work because of the staffing issues. my work environment sucks, also. there is so much BS that happens here, i don't even know where to start. i would show up IF my manager took better care of me. this lady will light you on fire if it saved her a dollar or 2. F that... i am friends with some people that resigned from this place. they tell me to get that year in and get out of that place.

[THELIVINGWORST, ASN, RN]

Btw my clinical supervisors know to not waste their time calling me to come in. I only do OT if I sign up because I want extra money.

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

They have called me twice in the last week. First time was at 730 am so they must have been desperate. I didn't even listen to the message till 11am after I had my coffee. And I did not call back. Sure enough the nurse manager got me the next day I worked and said" why didn't you call me back?" She is intimidating. When I told her I was asleep and had all my five children that day while my husband was working and wouldn't be able to come in she was a little more understanding. Sure enough three shifts later on my next day off the night supervisor rang my phone at 5 am to see if I could call in and left a message " please call back either way" which I did and told her no I could not come in. Unfortunately I was now awake at 5 am!!! It is super annoying. I guess if I say no enough they may wait to call me last lol...

Like others hear have said just don't answer your phone and don't give justification for why you don't answer/text back. The facility I work at is critically short staffed. So I frequently get calls and texts to come to work when I am off. If I want to work or if it's a real emergency I'll say yes but need to be paid double time so when HR calls me back I'll be right in (i live 10 minutes from facility). If they are truely desperate I get my double time and if they aren't they stop bugging me. One night the Night RN called off and they called me in to hang an IV. I got paid for four hours to do 30 minutes of work.

You can olny be intimidated if you allow others to treat you that way.

Hppy

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

You can also go to your work number in your contacts and set the ringtone to silent. That way the calls won't wake you up, and you can hear the message later (just in case they actually called for a different reason.)

As for the attitude, you need to stand up for yourself. "I just said I am sick. I am using the sick time afforded to me by my benefits package, with sufficient notice as defined by hospital policy." When you decline shifts, simply say no, and if they say anything besides, "allright, have a good one!" you decline to discuss it further. However you choose to word it: "I said no," "was I breaking up just now? It sounds like you didn't hear me, but I declined the shift," "you might want to move on with the call list now," "this conversation is over," whatever.

Do not worry about supplying a reason for your "no." You don't owe any explanation.

[wanderlustnurse88, RN]

At my work, they have to call everyone on order of seniority to offer a shift at, even at overtime. If they don't call, you can grieve the shift. But they should only be calling once. As well, I've had to do call-ins to look for a day shift. The latest we can call is 2300 and the earlier is 0500. I always start calling at 0500 since I need to give people time to come in. I only time I call that early is if it is the next shift (starting at 0700).