Does staffing call YOU every night???

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Aug 7, 2006

You perceive that you have obligations and that makes you feel guilty.

Trust me on this: management does not view themselves as holding the SAME obligations to you. Just wait until census is low for awhile and SEE.

They BEG you to work when it's an inconvenience for THEM but show no remorse when 'calling you off' is inconvenient to YOU.

Personally, I believe that learning to say 'no' to such requests should be taught in school.

I'm not afraid to answer my phone because I'm not afraid to say, "no, thanks."

You are entitled to your life. And you are entitled to your concerns about how 'guilt-forced' OT affects your learning curve.

IF your co-workers must work short, that is not a problem of YOUR making and the solution to that problem is rightly not your responsibility.

Look at it like this: nothing will burn you out faster than working more than your sanity allows.

Learn to say "No, thanks." In fact, learn to say it with an inner smile. It's quite empowering, really.

And, your career thanks you.

And you are right: taking the responsibility by guilt to make up for management shortcomings DOES allow them the room to not address chronic problems.

~faith,

Timothy.

piper_for_hire · Aug 7, 2006

I get called every single night that I'm off - usually two or three times a night.

I think it's highly unlikely that if you go in your unit will change much. That kind of change needs to happen from the top up and not the bottom down.

Also consider why they want you to work - it's because you're cheaper than hiring agency nurses. If they really cared about you - they would make it a priority to known their nurses and what they need - and they wouldn't be calling you at all.

I say work when you want to work or when you need to work.

-S

I am a new nurse, graduated in March, NCLEX in April and started work end of May. Having been on my own only a few weeks at night. Anyway, I work on a med surg floor. Every night with only one or two exceptions, my phone rings anywhere from 830pm to 1045 pm from staffing asking me if I can cover tonight.
My dilemma is two fold. My guilt is overpowering. ONE: I am not experienced and have a lot of stress as it is. I work only two, three or four days a week because I work 12 hour shifts, 60 hour pay periods. Its enough money for now and I like the fewer hours. I signed up for 60. Am I wrong to say no cause I dont NEED to go in and dont feel qualified to be working so much?? TWO: If I say yes more often, our unit which is apparently VERY short handed and has a reputation of no one WANTING to work there, wont get better will it???
However, I also dont want to work short if someone is needed to work and no one will come in. My NTL's tell me to JUST SAY NO till I am comfortable. I cant even say yes to taking seven patients yet at night. Six stresses me out enough. Am I slow, selfish and stoopid, or really taking care of myself and my other patients??? This is not only a problem for me, others have complained too. Whats a girl to do??

Retired R.N. · Aug 7, 2006

I am a new nurse, graduated in March, NCLEX in April and started work end of May. Having been on my own only a few weeks at night. Anyway, I work on a med surg floor. Every night with only one or two exceptions, my phone rings anywhere from 830pm to 1045 pm from staffing asking me if I can cover tonight.
My dilemma is two fold. My guilt is overpowering. ONE: I am not experienced and have a lot of stress as it is. I work only two, three or four days a week because I work 12 hour shifts, 60 hour pay periods. Its enough money for now and I like the fewer hours. I signed up for 60. Am I wrong to say no cause I dont NEED to go in and dont feel qualified to be working so much?? TWO: If I say yes more often, our unit which is apparently VERY short handed and has a reputation of no one WANTING to work there, wont get better will it???
However, I also dont want to work short if someone is needed to work and no one will come in. My NTL's tell me to JUST SAY NO till I am comfortable. I cant even say yes to taking seven patients yet at night. Six stresses me out enough. Am I slow, selfish and stoopid, or really taking care of myself and my other patients??? This is not only a problem for me, others have complained too. Whats a girl to do??

Until you learn how to say "NO," without having to make any excuses, the best answer I can recommend is an answering machine for your telephone. Let the machine answer ALL calls, and you only return the ones from people you want to talk with. Your manager's failure to plan is not your emergency!

If you go in whenever you are called, they will never get around to hiring any additional help.

CyndieRN2007 · Aug 7, 2006

You perceive that you have obligations and that makes you feel guilty.
Trust me on this: management does not view themselves as holding the SAME obligations to you. Just wait until census is low for awhile and SEE.
They BEG you to work when it's an inconvenience for THEM but show no remorse when 'calling you off' is inconvenient to YOU.
Personally, I believe that learning to say 'no' to such requests should be taught in school.
I'm not afraid to answer my phone because I'm not afraid to say, "no, thanks."
You are entitled to your life. And you are entitled to your concerns about how 'guilt-forced' OT affects your learning curve.
IF your co-workers must work short, that is not a problem of YOUR making and the solution to that problem is rightly not your responsibility.
Look at it like this: nothing will burn you out faster than working more than your sanity allows.
Learn to say "No, thanks." In fact, learn to say it with an inner smile. It's quite empowering, really.
And, your career thanks you.
And you are right: taking the responsibility by guilt to make up for management shortcomings DOES allow them the room to not address chronic problems.
~faith,
Timothy.

Heck yeah, great post.

MiaLyse, APRN · Aug 7, 2006

I'm not afraid to answer my phone because I'm not afraid to say, "no, thanks.">>

Same here. However, it does dampen a day off to hear from work on every day off (even seeing the # on caller ID).

grentea · Aug 7, 2006

I get a call from my staffing many nights that I have off. A few weeks ago our census was very high and I was getting calls almost every day I had off. I went on vacation and I had a call from the staffing office asking if I would come back early from vacation! Funny thing is I was in the middle of nowhere so I never I never got the calls on my cell until two days later. I do think that my staffing office needs to come up with a better plan than asking me to come home from vacation early especially when I made plans a long time ago and they knew this was going to happen at least one month prior. Sometimes agreeing to come in does not improve the nurse to patient ratio because my staffing office will use my coming in as an opportunity to pull an LPN off of our floor. So now, I ask lots of questions before even considering coming in on my time off and if it sounds like a dire staffing situation, I call up my co-workers on the floor to confirm it. I have no problems with preserving my sanity, enjoying my days off, and saying "no" to coming in to work when I'm off. I must admit that it took me a while to get over the guilt trip of it all but I've realized that my days off are very important. Having a scheduled day off for yourself isn't selfish, it's necessary.

barbyann · Aug 7, 2006

The phone rang as I was reading this thread......guess who? LMAO...to answer your question, YES..they call almost daily and sometimes more than once a day.

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 7, 2006

I agree with the other posters that you should "just say 'no'" to most of these phone calls. Burning yourself out will not help the situation.

I would add though, that you should think through the situation and plan ahead for dealing with the problems of working on a chronically understaffed unit. For example, you might decide that you will work 1 extra shift per month ... or 2 ... or none at all. You might decide to work extra only on certain days of the week or under certain conditions, etc. -- whatever is appropriate for your situation.

Once you have thought it through, then develop a plan for communicating with your boss about it. I wouldn't recommend being confrontational or unpleasant about it, but you might say something like, "I am able to work 1 or 2 shifts per month beyond my regular committment, but I am getting calls almost every day. I wanted you to know that even though I do say "no" most of the time, I am able to pick up X amount -- particularly if it is arranged in advance." You want to show your boss that you are willing to pitch in and help a little, but at the same time, not committ more time than you want to.

Finally, practice saying "no" to the phone calls in a polite way. Keep it short and sweet. Don't hassle the poor person stuck with the unpleasant task of doing the calling. Just tell her "no," wish her luck, and say "good night."

Good luck,

llg

RN2B07 · Aug 7, 2006

Yes..sometimes 2-3 times a day. They have called me at 7am...before my shift even ends. I usually let the machine answer it. They called me every day while on vacation. Every message was them. I feel like I am being stalked!! I feel that I am still new and dont feel 100% comfortable yet, and when I do I will do extras. I dont want to totally stress out at this point. Good post:lol2:

Fairlythere, ASN, RN · Aug 7, 2006

Wow, thanks for all your replies. I guess it is a universal problem. One thing I do not understand, how can they expect me to say yes when they call so late? If I have not slept all day, I cant work all night, with maybe a one time only exception. Im not a young chicky!!!

jannrn · Aug 7, 2006

Another thought is that if you step in regularly, that lessens the pressure on the hospital to hire more nurses, or improve conditions or morale on the unit that is leading to not being able to hire more help.

I agree with all the posts on burning out. I have found that when I work too much, I lose much of what I am a a nurse for... I lose alot of empathy. I am alot better nurse when I keep my hours more manageable and my life more balanced.

Also, when staffing needs help, they don't know your situation, they are just looking for help and they try you and other regular staff first. It is like they are going down a list, just say no and they will go on to the next person, don't take it personally. When I worked charge, that is what I would do, go down the list, if there was a N/A next to the person's name I would not call. Maybe there is a way to put your preferences next to your name on the list such as, "does not work extra shifts" or "do not call after 9pm".

Does your facility pay extra for shifts beyond your scheduled ones? My hosp. paid incentive pay which was time and a half for those. some nurses wanted those shifts so that took the pressure off those who didn't.