Flex shifts, getting pulled to other units, ect

martymoose, BSN, RN · Feb 17, 2016

I am a nurse on the East Coast and wanted to find out what other hospitals do with regards to the following issues/situations. My state does NOT have unions for nurses. We have no union either.
Thank you for any information you can provide.
1) Are you required to do FLEX shifts (an extra shift above your FTE), if so how are you compensated? How many are you required to do per 6 week schedule? Also, if you get put "on call", how does that work, do you get compensated to be "on call"? If you get called in to work, what type of pay do you receive?No, not in my area, but some areas like cath lab and have weekly on call . Usually not a problem because the money hungry nurses like to take call.
2) Do you get pulled to other units? If so, how does your pull work? How are you compensatedVery rarely.If we do , we have a list of who floated last. usually by seniority on that given day.
3) Does your hospital have someone who represents the nurses when a problem arises? Nope, you are on your own. AKA thrown under the bus.
4) When new nurses straight out of nursing school get hired, is their starting hourly rate higher than any existing nurses?No.as far as I know, it has been much less, as in 8-10 dollars /hr less, and now they require them to have bsn too.
Thank you for any information you can provide.

) hope this helps

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Feb 19, 2016

I am a nurse on the East Coast and wanted to find out what other hospitals do with regards to the following issues/situations. My state does NOT have unions for nurses. No union here either.
Thank you for any information you can provide.
1) Are you required to do FLEX shifts (an extra shift above your FTE), if so how are you compensated? How many are you required to do per 6 week schedule? Also, if you get put "on call", how does that work, do you get compensated to be "on call"? If you get called in to work, what type of pay do you receive? We get scheduled extra days, but if you don't want them, you complain to the NM and they go away. We're not required to work any extra. On call goes by turn. We're paid less than $2 an hour for on with no call back premium. Straight time. Call goes by turn.
2) Do you get pulled to other units? If so, how does your pull work? How are you compensated?
It used to be we were pulled by turn. Now it's whoever is most qualified. New hires are rarely pulled to other units, understandably. That means senior people will always be pulled first. There is no increased compensation for working a more "expensive" unit.
3) Does your hospital have someone who represents the nurses when a problem arises?
Are you kidding?:) The boss is king and queen where I work.
4) When new nurses straight out of nursing school get hired, is their starting hourly rate higher than any existing nurses? My pay is still more than the new hires, but I was disappointed to learn I only make $2-3 more than the nurse fresh out of school. In the interest of full disclosure, that's a new nurse who takes the higher pay instead of benefits.
Thank you for any information you can provide.

You're welcome. All areas pay, treat, hire nurses differently. It's an eye opening experience to read about pay scales and working conditions in other areas of the country.

Sometimes it's better and sometimes it's worse.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2016

I am union.

1) a) Oh heck no. 0.9=0.9. My 0.5=0.5. If I was willing to work more, we'd increase our FTE. (I don't think that's in our union contract, just what's considered common sense. No mandatory OT is in our contract.) b) sometimes we are put on call if staffing is such that they're not comfortable cancelling our shift. Most of the charge RNs ask if we're ok being on call, or if we'd prefer to work and they ask the next in line. Usually someone is willing to stay home. We're paid $8/hr, with minimum 4 hrs regular wage if we're called in. So if we work 2 hrs, get paid for 4. 3 hrs, paid for 4. 5 hrs, paid for 5 etc.

2) Yes. SICU RNs (me)/MICU float to other adult ICUs or stepdowns. Sometimes they will say PICU, but we can refuse that. Only MICU RNs float to SICU/vice versa...Burn doesn't for some reason. I'm not sure what peds/NICU/mother baby/psych etc do. The floors float to other floors. We take turns, but if one works there >20 (25?) yrs, they are exempt from floating.

3) Our elected union reps

4) I don't think so... they have a starting rate (differentials for BSN/BAN, MSN etc) with the rest calculated by hours of nursing experience. I had to fill out a worksheet with start/end dates of previous nursing jobs, and my FTE -- that was how they calculated hours of exp.

siegolindoRN · Jun 28, 2016

1a)Full Time Equivalent (FTE) is equal to 1950 hours per year, some places work out complex algorithms so nurse's work 12 or 13 shifts in a month (11.5 flex). How you are scheduled can depend upon the payroll solutions the nursing department uses (ex, some places force nurses to work 3 shifts/week, others will allow more shifts in the week, policy may also drive this action as well)

1b)On call is paid at a specific rate and changes upon activation of nurse (usually increases)

2a) Floating is a hot topic, any credible facility will ensure any floating that occurs happens with similar units to avoid patient harm. I worked at a facility that floated ED Rns :uhoh3: , didn't stay there long. lol

2b) no compensation for floating

3a) In a non union environment a nurse can reach out to HR and file a formal complaint if they feel a violation of code of conduct has occurred. (quick way to place a target on your back, unfortunately)

4a) new grads will be paid the starting salary for the position, experienced nurses (NYS) get "experience pay" on top of the starting pay. This is one of many contributing factors reflecting the range of salaries in the profession.

I often counsel nurses on the benefits of looking at an overall package rather than focusing on salary only. ex, NYU Medical centers pays a 7% differential for float nurses and offers 6% employer contribution in 403(highest in nyc) and Lenox Hill has a program for weekend only nurses who are paid full salary and only work Saturday and Sundays and some smaller hospitals offer experience pay up to 30 years of service.