DOC Guilt-Tripping Me To Accept Call-Ins

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I work night shifts full-time at a LTC and every single time I get called in, it is not the scheduling clerk who calls me but the DRC who guilt trips me into saying yes to the shift. I get called into work every other weekend, asking if I can work an evening shift before my scheduled night shift. She repeatedly says that "she's in dire need of an RN and how she really needs my help this week". But she says this every other weekend as my LTC works on a 2 week schedule. Am I wrong to feel guilty that I say no this week? 

Amanda, my advice is the same that everyone else has given. Don't take the calls, try not to feel guilty because it's not your problem. Your responsibility is to show up for your shifts and give good care while you are there. That's it.

My place does the same thing. Constantly short-staffed, constantly calling the same staff over and over. Unfortunately, many staff say yes out of guilt/inability to say no. Then they talk any how exhausted they are and how the supervisors really put one the pressure until they say yes. I tell them that is exactly why they keep getting called and why our place doesn't hire more staff. Being perpetually short works for them because they have supervisors who are willing to continually harass staff on their time off, and staff that fall for it. They have sometimes text me since I never pick up the phone and I either ignore them or say the same thing suggested here- I have plans. I've had moments when almost give in because I'm feeling helpful but I just wait a few moments and the feeling passes ?.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
1 hour ago, SeeThruFaded said:

...... Being perpetually short works for them because they have supervisors who are willing to continually harass staff on their time off, and staff that fall for it.

PLEASE! I'm going to play devil's advocate here. As supervisor on NOCs, it was part of my job to start calling staff to make coverage when the callouts came in. (Same expectation for the staffing coordinator; just part of the job.) I actually had to record whom I called and the responses. Most of the time = 'left msg" or 'said no'. I never left details and I never tried to pressure or 'guilty' anyone. I never wanted to harass staff.

But I will say, I did notice the callouts seemed esp heavy on days when the orig starting sched would seem to have GOOD staffing. Like the caller-outer might have checked the sched earlier and figured it was OK to call out. And so did 3 other staff that day.

Sorry to say this, but sometimes staff were their own worst enemies. And yes, things would have been better off if more staff were routinely avail - it would better guarantee consistent safe staffing. Admin doesn't see this as all it sees is that it would have to pay out benes. But this has been a LONG TIME problem - not anything new.

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Specializes in NICU/Mother-Baby/Peds/Mgmt.
On 12/5/2020 at 2:06 PM, amoLucia said:

PLEASE! I'm going to play devil's advocate here. As supervisor on NOCs, it was part of my job to start calling staff to make coverage when the callouts came in. (Same expectation for the staffing coordinator; just part of the job.) I actually had to record whom I called and the responses. Most of the time = 'left msg" or 'said no'. I never left details and I never tried to pressure or 'guilty' anyone. I never wanted to harass staff.

But I will say, I did notice the callouts seemed esp heavy on days when the orig starting sched would seem to have GOOD staffing. Like the caller-outer might have checked the sched earlier and figured it was OK to call out. And so did 3 other staff that day.

Sorry to say this, but sometimes staff were their own worst enemies. And yes, things would have been better off if more staff were routinely avail - it would better guarantee consistent safe staffing. Admin doesn't see this as all it sees is that it would have to pay out benes. But this has been a LONG TIME problem - not anything new.

I totally agree with this but.... When I worked in a big city hospital I sometimes got 3 texts over the course of a day to either come in or come in at 3pm instead of 7 (this along me to work 16 hours).  So you might not have made anyone feel guilty but many others do.... But yeah, calling people to come in early is a thankless task....

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Specializes in Peds ED.
On 12/5/2020 at 2:06 PM, amoLucia said:

PLEASE! I'm going to play devil's advocate here. As supervisor on NOCs, it was part of my job to start calling staff to make coverage when the callouts came in. (Same expectation for the staffing coordinator; just part of the job.) I actually had to record whom I called and the responses. Most of the time = 'left msg" or 'said no'. I never left details and I never tried to pressure or 'guilty' anyone. I never wanted to harass staff.

But I will say, I did notice the callouts seemed esp heavy on days when the orig starting sched would seem to have GOOD staffing. Like the caller-outer might have checked the sched earlier and figured it was OK to call out. And so did 3 other staff that day.

Sorry to say this, but sometimes staff were their own worst enemies. And yes, things would have been better off if more staff were routinely avail - it would better guarantee consistent safe staffing. Admin doesn't see this as all it sees is that it would have to pay out benes. But this has been a LONG TIME problem - not anything new.

I think it’s all in the way the asking is done- I’ve had guilt trippy requests and requests that were not. And not having a set plan in place other than “call folks not working to see who can come in” is just a bad practice. No on call shifts available for sign up? No float staff? Staffing on the assumption that no one or only one staff person will be sick at the same time?

And if staff were looking for “safe call off days” that makes me wonder how easy it was there to use personal and vacation time. Maybe a bunch of slackers happened to work there but ime people game the system when following the rules is penalized.

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Quote

 

PLEASE! I'm going to play devil's advocate here. As supervisor on NOCs, it was part of my job to start calling staff to make coverage when the callouts came in. (Same expectation for the staffing coordinator; just part of the job.) I actually had to record whom I called and the responses. Most of the time = 'left msg" or 'said no'. I never left details and I never tried to pressure or 'guilty' anyone. I never wanted to harass staff. 

 

AmoLucia, yeah the word "harass" wasn't a good choice of words- sounded harsher than I meant it to. I didn't mean to imply that any supervisor that calls staff to ask them to work is wrong to do so or that it's somehow optional for them. And of course many supervisors are very professional in the way they ask. I know it's part of the job and I wouldn't want to have to do it! Usually, both supervisors and staff/nurses are working under the constraints and budget of the administration. I think some places would like to have more staff but simply can't get or hold onto them. The other day when I replied happened to be a day when I had gotten asked a few days in a row to cover shifts although I said I'm not able to pick up extra shifts at this point in my life. It gets frustrating. 

I think that staff that call out because they see that there is adequate coverage are kinda ruining it for everyone. Although I do see how that could happen if it's impossible to plan time off- I guess ppl just take opportunities as they see them. That's not something I could do- I may not cover shortages but at least I don't create them. 

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