Am I in the wrong?

Sour Lemon · Oct 18, 2018

So I was hired back in January to work 1st shift at our LTC unit and our Dementia unit. As soon as my training was up my boss said I will be staying in the LTC unit and working 2nd shift. I decided that would be fine yet was upset that it was changed AFTER hiring me.
I have been working 2nd shift in the LTC unit since January. We have been extremely short staffed so I always am willing to pick up and even work 80 hours a week occasionally. I even offer to work 3rd shift at times of need. My boss approached me about going to the dementia unit to pick up another nurses hours that are leaving. I would only be working in the dementia unit once every 3 weeks to cover their weekend. The nurse that currently works there said she struggles with not being there for 3 weeks and then coming back to tons of changes. I'm worried this will be stressful with only being over there once every 3 weeks and it will put me at higher risk for a med error. I explained this to my boss and she didn't understand. It just seems silly for me to train just to work over there once every 3 weeks.
My boss realizes I have accommodated to their needs a lot since I've stsrted and that I have picked up a lot of shifts for them. More than others. I feel that with as much as I've helped them out I wish they would hear my concerns and take them seriously. Instead of saying "these are just the hours we have to offer". I'm still a new nurse and still very young. I'm not sure how to handle this situation. When I told my boss how I felt she thought I was crazy. I don't know any of the residents in the dementia unit or their meds and to only go once every 3 weeks seems hard.

It does come off as a little dramatic. You'll have access to the patients' MARs, right? You won't be expected to give medications by memory to people you see only every three weeks, will you?

I've never been crazy about floating to other units, but it's a pretty typical requirement. You being "very young" doesn't really have anything to do with it. That sort of reminds me of that nursery rhyme where the girl can do things like bake a cherry pie, but is too young to leave her mother.

cleback · Oct 18, 2018

I'm going to agree with you. Floating to a new wing/unit in LTC is tough. With a high number of residents, familiarity with the residents means a lot. Can you ask for a training day on the unit before being by yourself? Could you also be assigned there for more than one day in three weeks?

Also, are they asking you to work an extra weekend day in addition to your regular weekend shift? If that's the case, I would say heck no.

I think you have been more than accomodating and they can make a few reasonable requests to make you feel more confident covering.

JKL33 · Oct 18, 2018

They don't want you to work over there once every 3 weeks - they want you to be trained over there because it increases your usefulness and they can already see that you are willing to be exceedingly useful to them.

This behavior was evident the moment they hired you for day shift and immediately told you oops we meant 2nd shift where we actually have massive needs. Get it? They have lied to you essentially from their first interaction with you.

Even though you could work 80h/wk right where you are, they want you to train over in the dementia unit so you can work uncovered weekends and more. You can see why they responded to your concern the way they did - - none of this is about you. :)

So, make it about business (which is actually the case). Can you put yourself at a financial advantage by continuing to work for liars who don't care about you? Can you do so relatively safely?

If you haven't had too many safety issues so far, I say milk it while it's good and leave when it isn't. Build up your nest egg. Put yourself in a financial position to be choosy in the future.

Best of luck ~

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Oct 18, 2018

You are already being taken advantage of on the LTC unit. If you train to the dementia unit, you WILL be pulled there on a regular basis.

It's up to you to decide if you want that responsibility.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Oct 18, 2018

I wouldn't believe a thing your manager tells you. They pulled a bait and switch on you from the get go. They are just testing you out to see just how far you will bend.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 18, 2018

So I was hired back in January to work 1st shift at our LTC unit and our Dementia unit. As soon as my training was up my boss said I will be staying in the LTC unit and working 2nd shift. I decided that would be fine yet was upset that it was changed AFTER hiring me.
I have been working 2nd shift in the LTC unit since January. We have been extremely short staffed so I always am willing to pick up and even work 80 hours a week occasionally. I even offer to work 3rd shift at times of need. My boss approached me about going to the dementia unit to pick up another nurses hours that are leaving. I would only be working in the dementia unit once every 3 weeks to cover their weekend. The nurse that currently works there said she struggles with not being there for 3 weeks and then coming back to tons of changes. I'm worried this will be stressful with only being over there once every 3 weeks and it will put me at higher risk for a med error. I explained this to my boss and she didn't understand. It just seems silly for me to train just to work over there once every 3 weeks.
My boss realizes I have accommodated to their needs a lot since I've stsrted and that I have picked up a lot of shifts for them. More than others. I feel that with as much as I've helped them out I wish they would hear my concerns and take them seriously. Instead of saying "these are just the hours we have to offer". I'm still a new nurse and still very young. I'm not sure how to handle this situation. When I told my boss how I felt she thought I was crazy. I don't know any of the residents in the dementia unit or their meds and to only go once every 3 weeks seems hard.

When you were hired, did you have it in writing that the job was to be first shift? Or did your offer letter say, as most do, that you were hired for "first shift, or additional shifts as needed to meet the needs of the unit"?

You've been a good employee so far, and that is to your credit. You're so close to a year, I hope you continue to be a good employee. Hopefully your employer is willing to train you to the dementia unit. If you do float -- and floating is pretty normal, too -- you may find that you like the dementia unit. Or not.

If you feel, upon reflection, that your employer is taking advantage of you, you will have a year of experience in just a few months. Do what is asked of you, and when you've had the year of experience, you can start looking around for a new opportunity. Or maybe you'll have proven yourself so valuable to your employer that they're willing to change your hours to keep you.

hjamie0415 · Oct 20, 2018

I'm sorry for what you had to go through. I had been on a similar place. I suggest that you set a professional boundary. Sometimes you have to tell others a stern "NO" no matter what the circumstances are. Your company needs to seek for a solution by hiring more nurses, rather than turning to you for an answer.

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Oct 20, 2018

I'm sorry but your concerns over making a med error just because you don't know the residents on that unit are completely unfounded. You can and do read a MAR before giving meds, right? Not knowing the day to day routine of those residents might slow you down some if you are only there one weekend in three but not knowing the residents well should have no increase in risk of med errors at all. If you think it does you are clearly cutting some corners that shouldn't be cut.

Now if you just don't want to work on that unit, maybe because you feel you are not cut out for working with that particular resident population that's another matter. Be honest about it and decline the offer of those scheduled shifts if you really don't want them but at least come up with a better reason than a fear of making a med error as that just makes you look bad.

Chrispy11, ASN, RN · Oct 21, 2018

Ah the LTC dance. Did it as a CNA. There is always a shortage since most pay very low. This is what all you're doing means to them. You prove yourself with everything they throw at you and you become the one who gets the job when something better opens up because you've played ball. If it doesn't you take all your experience and work somewhere else and have a lot more to pad the resume and get a better salary.

Good luck!

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2018

Please take this under advisement:

STOP working so much OT. It's bad for your health, your work and your life/work balance. Also, don't expect appreciation from your employer. If they cared, they wouldn't ask you to work so much; they'd be working on getting more staff.

RNNPICU, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2018

I think they want you to work more hours. You have already shown how much you are willing to give them. If you agree, you will be floating there a lot. Also, they will now be asking you to pick up overtime there as well. Since you have shown that you want to work 80 hours in one week, they will expect the same at this other unit. There is nothing wrong with floating, many settings have units or areas that you float to, but they want you to pick up the extra hours.

You are going to burn out if you keep up the 80 hours a week. You do have a life outside of work, you need balance or you will make a mistake for being tired, exhausted, and just worn out.