Floating?

ive only floated once, and it was the best day Ive had yet on my assignment. but I do m/s and was floated to ONC, dont know about L/D. I wouldnt let the chance of maybe having to float keep you from traveling. And Ive never heard of an L/D nurse being floated to a M/S floor. But honestly, they should be very civil to floaters and helpful to you when you do.

I'm a long time travel nurse. In my experience, being called off is not much of an issue. My contracts have "guaranteed hours". This means if I am called off due to low census more than "x" number of hours and those hours are not made up during the course of my contract (by being offered extra shifts) then I get paid for those hours at the end of the contract. This varies from one contract to the next - for instance, at this contract the hospital is allowed to call me off 1 shift per 2 weeks.

As for floating, I work OB and make it clear right from my interview with the hospital that I am willing to float to task only - I will not take a patient assignment off my area. Most hospitals agree to this. If not, I don't take that contract. I have run into a couple of hospitals that tried this after I got there - I refuse, citing patient safety, but always point out what I am willing to do and how that would help ease the load on the nurses on that unit. Sometimes this works, other times they are p.o.'d, but too bad.

I have been traveling for over 2.5 years. In that time, I have only floated 4 times. (I guess I have been lucky!) I do ICU, IMC, and ER. In the ER positions, I never floated.

Some travelers actually have a "No floating" clause put in their contract. I have never done this. In my contract (and I confirm it with the manager in my interview) I have that I will float only to "like areas": ex - SICU to MICU. If they want to float me somewhere else, then I do as a resource person, a fancy way of saying I float to task.

At some facilities, travelers float first (usually in turn). At others I have been at, you were in rotation with the rest of the staff. You just need to find out the facilities policy in your interview.

I have never been called off (though, once, I did volunteer to go home. Of course, I was not paid for those hours). I also have guaranteed hours. So, if I am called off, they have to pay me anyway (so, consequently, I don't get called off!):roll

Thanks for your replies.

Floating and being called off depend on the contract and the hospitals policy. I have been a traveler for three years. In Phoenix at St. Joes the traveler floated all the time. I'm ICU and would be floated to the step-down unit because this unit was hard to fill. They would float in regular staff from another ICU and make a traveler go to the hated step-down. I was never called off because the contract was guarranteed hours. St. John's in Oxnard CA the traveler floats first. Some staff have not floated in a year, while I would float the entire week. I was also called off for a total of 36 hours. Travelers would be called off if staff did not want the time off. Staff from another unit that was low on census would take travelers positions and travelers would have to stay home. You would have four hour incriments that you were called off for, shortly before the four hours were up they would call you off for the next four hours. This policy making it impossible to do anything with your day because you had to be available but, unable to receive on-call pay because you are called off. May sure you pay attention to your contract. Anything can happen, and the longer I am in this business I find it will happen.