Dealing with de-staffing

[slave_diverRN]

Wondering how others spend their day doing when de-staffed.....aside from enjoying a 'bonus' day off, is there an opportunity to earn some money (in nursing) on such short notice?

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

My nurse manager talked to a nurse manager on another floor that took care of patients I was familiar with (at the time I worked peds, and in the summer literally 1/3 of my hours were cut d/t low census). I called her, left messages, etc.... no return call.... but it's an idea - see if another area of the hospital will work with you- just be sure they know you're not transferring to the float pool :)

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

Are you in ICU or outpatient? I've heard there can be high rates of low census. In the rest of the hospital system people float to other floors so the low census rate is less.

I would recommend you sign up with an agency and then see if you can get last minute shifts thru them.

When you're working in an unpredictable situation you have to buckle down and save extra money for the down time and cut your expenses to the bone, at least till you have a good savings built up to pad you through the rough times.

This is a good strategy that we all should strive for to reduce debt, build savings, and cut expenses. Get a good disability policy when your young as nursing has a high injury rate! Make sure you have a life insurance policy if your student loans are cosigned to protect them if anything should happen to you.

Anything can happen just look around and you see tornados, hurricanes, fires, layoffs, etc so it really is a good idea to make savings a priority. Start with $500-1000 till you get your debt paid down then really get serious about saving, it will protect you and give you the financial flexibility we need in todays world.

[Orange Tree]

Being trained in different specialties, and flexible about where you're willing to work, would be helpful at a large hospital. If your unit doesn't need you, there's a good chance that another unit might. You should also let staffing and your co-workers know that you prefer not to be called off. I love getting called off, and I often volunteer to get called off in place of someone who I know wants to go to work.

If I wanted to make more money, I would let staffing know to call me first when they needed someone last minute. I could easily make up days that way if I were not so lazy....um, relaxed :)

[Mandychelle79, ASN, RN]

I cant really do anything, because typically we are on call if we do get staffed down. Over the winter I was getting staffed down enough I was also collecting partial unemployment.

[danh3190]

We're only downsized by hours. e.g., we don't need you now, call back in 4 hours. So can't do anything with your day except roll over in bed and go back to sleep.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

From coworkers I know low census can be a problem in ICU. Also heard it happens a lot in outpatient and PACU if the census is down as more surgeries are moving to independent outpatient centers.

At my hospital either we are busy, and even when we're not it seems were always too short staffed; so low census is not a problem for the general floor nurses. Heck I would welcome the day off as its so difficult to get vacations and time off where I work!

If you are getting low-censused that much and even getting unemployment to compensate, maybe its time to look into another job. It's good you're at least getting unemployment in those situations, but of course that is no where near your nursing pay.

[ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN]

I transferred to ER, no call offs, and since I'm cross trained for med/surg and ICU, I stand a better chance of call in on high census days during peak season

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I frequently get called off due to low census because I work in acute rehab, which is a specialty that depends on a certain number of patients with elective procedures (total knee replacements, laminectomies, etc.) to keep census up.

Therefore, I keep a PRN/per diem job at a local skilled nursing facility if I want to replace any shifts that have been cancelled at the rehab hospital.

[rn/writer, RN]

If we're over on our postpartum unit, we can be floated to work as RNs in antepartum or NICU. Or we can be floated to work as CNAs or sitters (at our full pay) on other floors--med/surg, ED, ICU, etc. The advantage of this is that your overage dovetails immediately with another unit's deficit.

Is that an option?

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I would love to be called off. In two years it has only happened one time...and when it did, two hours later I received a call asking me to come in because I was needed after all.

Be flexible about where you will work. Some nurses run screaming when they have to float...but get known as a nurse who doesn't mind floating and you may find yourself with less call-offs.