Feeling Forced to Stay Late?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was re-reading a shift from last May about calling off for lack of sleep and was just amazed by how many posters feel obligated to work late when their relief nurse calls off.

I have never felt this way and have pretty much done it only when mandated a couple or 3 times per year.

I don't believe it's my duty to do staffing and I pretty much have worked OT or come in extra only when I want to.

The purpose of saying this is to just observe that so many of you seem to feel it's your responsibility to cover call-off's, but it is really the facility's fault to have adequate staff - unless it's a natural disaster or huge accident with lots of casualties and sick patients that couldn't really be foreseen or totally planned for. But routine daily staffing? It's just not the staff nurse's problem.

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

I get what you're saying, but in facilities such as mine if the next shift doesn't come in for whatever reason, there often times isn't anyone to cover, especially if its at the last minute.

So, we have to stay until someone comes in to relieve us. The one time it happened to me I was working 11-7 and the day shift nurse didn't show up. The unit only has two nurses, and I couldn't leave one nurse in charge of the entire unit.

It sucks, but sometimes you get stuck.

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.
Perhaps that is true in your state. Perhaps the previous poster was correct about the law in her state. I'd want to know for sure about MY state before I feel free to leave once I've notified the supervisor that there's no coverage for my patients.

Not only that, but I'd feel awful If I knew the patients I just spent 9 hours caring for and making comfortable with medications, good patient care etc. with no one to assume their care. I'd certainly get on the phone and start calling folks to come in to relieve me, etc. but I'm not just going to leave. I can't imagine.

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Specializes in Care Coordination, Care Management.

I am SO glad I am not in the position where I must wait on relief to show up before I am able to leave. You can keep your higher paying, higher stress hospital jobs...or even your comparable pay, higher stress SNF jobs.

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

I have a very hard time believing that a board of nursing would ever not punish a nurse for leaving at the end of a shift without having another nurse take over. And to just leave a paper report sounds ridiculous. I work in a hospital and a LTC. While leaving would be more feasible at my hospital job as there are many other nurses around, it is not the same at my LTC job.

You ate basically saying that I can write a paper report to some unknown nurse that is hopefully coming after telling my supervisor. I then have to hope that another nurse comes to watch over the patients I just ditched and hope none of them crump before the next nurse arrives. And then if one of those patients does have an adverse event, I wouldn't be reaponsible in any way and it would not effect my license. And even if it somehow didn't effect my license, while it is not my job to properly staff a unit, I feel it is a moral obligation to not leave a vulnerable population in attended because I want to go home. I'm also pretty sure a family could still sue me for whatever happened to their loved after leaving g due to them no longer having a nurse caring for them.

I could go on, but in my state none of that matters because not reporting off to a physically present nurse is patient abandonment and can effect a nursing license.

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

I actually just pulled up my practice act to ensure I was not incorrect. For the state of Arizona a nurse cannot abandon a patient who needs nursing care without ensuring continuation of nursing care. Also, a nurse has to follow employer rules that are made to ensure patient safety. I know the vast majority of employers will have a blip in the P&P about mandated overtime for short staffing or late staff or whatever. Basically, if I leave without reporting off my license can probably go in the garbage.

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I have a very hard time believing that a board of nursing would ever not punish a nurse for leaving at the end of a shift without having another nurse take over. And to just leave a paper report sounds ridiculous. I work in a hospital and a LTC. While leaving would be more feasible at my hospital job as there are many other nurses around, it is not the same at my LTC job.

You ate basically saying that I can write a paper report to some unknown nurse that is hopefully coming after telling my supervisor. I then have to hope that another nurse comes to watch over the patients I just ditched and hope none of them crump before the next nurse arrives. And then if one of those patients does have an adverse event, I wouldn't be reaponsible in any way and it would not effect my license. And even if it somehow didn't effect my license, while it is not my job to properly staff a unit, I feel it is a moral obligation to not leave a vulnerable population in attended because I want to go home. I'm also pretty sure a family could still sue me for whatever happened to their loved after leaving g due to them no longer having a nurse caring for them.

I could go on, but in my state none of that matters because not reporting off to a physically present nurse is patient abandonment and can effect a nursing license.

What about suing a nurse that is supposed to report (and, therefore, care for the patient), but did not come due to whatever reason?

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So, I am not a nurse yet, and, therefore, may not understand much of anything on here. However, the common sense I am versed in. So, let's say I have just worked a 7 pm - 7 am shift and ready to clock out. My relief nurse did not show up. Ok, I stay for another hour just in case he/she is running late (it happens, I get it!). However, if he/she never comes, am I expected to work yet another 12 hour shift? If so, this is nuts! Please, correct me if I am wrong, but, be nice doing so. Like I said, I may not know much..yet.

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Specializes in ICU.
You ate basically saying that I can write a paper report to some unknown nurse that is hopefully coming after telling my supervisor. I then have to hope that another nurse comes to watch over the patients I just ditched and hope none of them crump before the next nurse arrives. And then if one of those patients does have an adverse event, I wouldn't be reaponsible in any way and it would not effect my license. And even if it somehow didn't effect my license, while it is not my job to properly staff a unit, I feel it is a moral obligation to not leave a vulnerable population in attended because I want to go home. I'm also pretty sure a family could still sue me for whatever happened to their loved after leaving g due to them no longer having a nurse caring for them.

The report's not for some unknown nurse - it's for your supervisor. Your supervisor would be accepting responsibility for the patients' care. Yes, it's inconvenient for them because they would actually have to do things like get out of the office/back hall/whatever and do actual patient care, which they may not have done in years, but if something happened to the patient after you left, it would be on your supervisor's nursing license because you gave your supervisor report before you left. Not your responsibility. Once you've reported off to another nurse - in this case, your supervisor - you're in the clear.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
So, I am not a nurse yet, and, therefore, may not understand much of anything on here. However, the common sense I am versed in. So, let's say I have just worked a 7 pm - 7 am shift and ready to clock out. My relief nurse did not show up. Ok, I stay for another hour just in case he/she is running late (it happens, I get it!). However, if he/she never comes, am I expected to work yet another 12 hour shift? If so, this is nuts! Please, correct me if I am wrong, but, be nice doing so. Like I said, I may not know much..yet.

So at my jobs we were expected to stay although could only work a maximum of 16 hours in a row if I recall correctly. As others have noted their idea, philosophy or work place might have different arrangements but that was my experience. IMO nursing isn't always a clock in and clock out type gig.

FWIW regarding the "be nice in doing so" thing. I'd consider increasing your discomfort threshold especially on an open online forum. Who gives a rip if some stranger in cyber space gets snarky? Especially when there are almost always good, supportive answers as well. Life isn't all "nice" so being prepared to either ignore or address the not so nice is a worthwhile skill. :)

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
What about suing a nurse that is supposed to report (and, therefore, care for the patient), but did not come due to whatever reason?

There is no law against not coming in to work. The employer won't be happy, but the BON or the law has no jurisdiction.

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You ate basically saying that I can write a paper report to some unknown nurse that is hopefully coming after telling my supervisor. I then have to hope that another nurse comes to watch over the patients I just ditched and hope none of them crump before the next nurse arrives.

No, this is not it. You don't just stick it up on the med room door with a piece of tape and walk away. You hand the paper report to the supervisor, who is a nurse. Believe me, once supervisors have to start working floor shifts to cover, administration will start looking into hiring.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
What about suing a nurse that is supposed to report (and, therefore, care for the patient), but did not come due to whatever reason?

If you haven't taken report, you're not responsible for the patients. The nurse who didn't come in hasn't taken report.

There are a lot of reasons that a nurse might not show up for work: overslept, forgot, copied the schedule down wrong, resigned but wasn't taken off the schedule, called in sick but the supervisor who took the call forgot to notify the floor, got into an accident on the way to work, was arrested on the way to work or died unexpectedly at home, on the way to work or in the employee bathroom before signing in to work. I've had the police do welfare checks on the nurse who was supposed to relieve me but didn't, and I've worked a 20 hour shift, but I have never left the patients in my care without handing them off to someone who was physically present.

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