Emergency Nursing Mandatory Overtime, On Call

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 30, 2013

What are your thoughts on Mandatory Overtime in Nursing in General and ECC in Particular?? How about if it's called something else such as On Call to disguise the fact that it's Mandatory Overtime. Where you are on call for twelve hours. Losing a day off that you have earned and deserve. Get paid less than $15.00 for call if not called in. When called in you are working types and unsafe. Both you and the patients are getting cheated.
How do you fight this practice?? How do you stop this?? What organization is the best at standing up against this?? I feel Administration does not care about staying levels or patient safety. Many in Nurse Management these days are so far removed from hands on nursing they are clueless to what is happening out there in the real world and worst they don't care to know.
I have nothing against The ENA or The ANA but it seems to me they are just to passive for the most part. Who else is our there and what is their track record.

I have not experienced call with the ED. I am not surprised about it....I was wondering when ADMIN would look at ED peak times and try to cut other times when there is a lull in the chaos.

Since they are paying you call time. It is legal. Call pay is usually much lower than regular pay. Surgery and cath labs do this ALL the time. Are they paying time and a half if you are over 40 hours? Is this mandatory call in addition to your regular hours? It is legal as long as they treat everyone equally.....they are just instilling a "new policy".

Depending on your state...there may be mandatory OT laws but those usually consist of hours worked in a row and mandating OT at the end of a shift. I am sure the ENA has not a real position as this is probably anew trend. You could e-mail them and ask their thoughts for I find they are good advocated for ED nurses.

Ask your surgery department or cath lab, if you have one, how their call is handled.

The best organization to stand up for this would be a union.

Triage24 · Nov 30, 2013

We work three 12 hours shifts. Then are on call 2 times a month. We are paid time and a half if called in. I see it as a slick way to impose mandatory overtime that most nurses, including this one does not want and its unsafe to staff with tired nurses.

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 30, 2013

This isn't really anything new. When I was a new grad 8 years ago interviewing in the ER in the facility where I now work OR, call was a requirement- 4 hour blocks, usually most people signed up to cover blocks after their shifts because it would be easier for them to just stay late than come in on a day off. In my OR job, I take 2-3 call shifts lasting 16 hours per week, plus every 4th weekend, and get paid $2/hr for it. Quite honestly, that whopping 2 days per month is pretty much nothing. Call is legal, and while it's not much, you are being reimbursed for that time where you are tied to your phone/pager and being paid time and a half when called in. You can try making suggestions such as breaking up the call shifts into smaller blocks, allowing people to select their own call shifts rather than be assigned if that's how it's done now, or if you're really unhappy, look for another job. Now, the only way I can see this being an issue is if people on call are always working for the full shift and never just waiting for a call. That speaks of needing more staff; however, if that were the case I would expect more than just 2 days per month. Agree with Esme, check with other departments that require call. I would not be surprised if compared to them, you've actually got it pretty good. I know our cath lab is structured differently- they take call for a week straight whereas the main OR takes 8 hour blocks and my team, cardiac surgery, takes from end of shift to beginning of next shift.

Triage24 · Nov 30, 2013

We are scheduled 12 hour blocks. Day is ruined if not called in and worse if called in. Many times we are called in not because of a true need but due to patient satisfaction, and scores. Also keeps Management away from the bedside if staff weren't on call. Not like the old days when Management wasn't just a nurse in name only. Still some of those out there but more and more they are the exception to the rule.

amoLucia · Nov 30, 2013

We work three 12 hours shifts. Then are on call 2 times a month. We are paid time and a half if called in. I see it as a slick way to impose mandatory overtime that most nurses, including this one does not want and its unsafe to staff with tired nurses.

Question - were you aware of this staffing policy when you were hired? Even if this were NOT the case, the facility has the ultimate RIGHT to make policy on how they feel is best to staff the dept as nec. If seems like they are correctly compensating you all. The only issue I can possibly see is that they are rotating call EQUALLY among all staff. That is to say, CALL is being shared (not necessarily having to actually come in while on call).

There' s no way to gauge if on-call will need to be utilized; that's just luck of the draw (unless you start to see a sneaky pattern emerge). Think about it - if you're on the regular schedule and extra staff is needed, the on-call person has to come in. Else YOU would be working short and I'm sure you'd be upset about that.

As ESME12 points, a union would have something to say, but otherwise, the administration HAS TO STAFF your ER.

RN&mom · Nov 30, 2013

I work in a LTC/SNF facility so it's a different setting for sure. But all RN's, including the DON, take call. We are on call for a week at a time and currently there are 6 of us it rotates through, so it's not too bad. We get $80 call pay for the week even if nothing happens. Any phone call we get we get an hour of pay. If we get called in we get time and a half (as long as it's over 40hrs & it always is), plus call in pay which is $3 hr I think... I really don't get called in much and we can say no you must mandate or that is not an acceptable reason to go home... We went through a situation where there were about 8 shifts a week needing to be filled and the LPN's who don't have to take call didn't get why those of us on call were not going to fill 8 shifts... We all work at least 40 hrs a wk already! Please don't attract me for my statement about LPN's we are all nurses, but that really did happen... I'm sure if they took call they would understand. I don't mind call, the extra money is nice, sometimes the calls at 3am are silly and I feel like saying "REALLY" but it's not too bad...

Altra, BSN, RN · Dec 1, 2013

I live in a state which prohibits mandated OT for nurses except in disaster-type situations. Summary of state by state approaches here:

Mandatory Overtime: Summary of State Approaches

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Dec 1, 2013

We are scheduled 12 hour blocks. Day is ruined if not called in and worse if called in. Many times we are called in not because of a true need but due to patient satisfaction, and scores. Also keeps Management away from the bedside if staff weren't on call. Not like the old days when Management wasn't just a nurse in name only. Still some of those out there but more and more they are the exception to the rule.

I hear what you are saying...call stinks but f they feel this is being cost effective and they aren't mandating someone at the end of their shift it's actually better. Are you supplied with a beeper or will they use your cell. If it is scheduled call plan your calendar accordingly...you don't have much recourse. It is fair compensation.

When I took call for cath lab I went where I wanted within the response time and I just couldn't drink if it was a party. We were on call for week straight. But there was only 3 of us so we were on call all the time.

Pudnluv, ASN, RN · Dec 1, 2013

I think call time in the ED is a good idea. At least it would be a good idea in my ED. There are times when we are short and having an on call person would be wonderful. You only have to be on call for 2-3 days a month and you get time and a half for coming in. It could be worse. Being mandated at the end of a 12 hour shift is much worse.

I live in a state that also makes it illegal to mandate nurses to overtime. The NYSNA really rallied together to push the legislation through the state legislature. Maybe you can try contacting your state nurse's association and see what they are doing to stop mandatory overtime in your state.

godbless-yute · Dec 2, 2013

At the ED where I work, we are required 4hours of call per pay period. since 36 hours is full time, if you do get called in it would not be OT.Our schedules run fo a whole month,so we have the option of picking up the call shifts 4hrs each payperiod or for 8hr on one day to cover the whole month's requirement. call pay is $4/hr and if call back is time and a half. Its not that bad, it's just that we've only been doing this for the past 6 months, so being on call still feels like house arrest

ParalyticAgent · Dec 2, 2013

I have to say that I am all in favor of my ED having on-call nurses. Census is tough to predict and when things get crazy, it would be nice to make a call and have help in 30 minutes.