forced to come in on days off?

[nursebag]

I have seen several threads about this, but my situation seems to be a little different. I am a unit manager in a nursing facility, and I work Monday through Friday.

In the past several months, the med nurses/ floor nurses have begun to call out more and more due to the fact that they know their shift will be covered by myself or another reliable nurse that is a unit manager. It has come down to where the nurses that are on call are refusing to come in, so they never have to fulfill their on-call duties.

I don't mind covering every now and then except for the fact that I have been called in so much lately that I am falling behind in my actual job duties. And I am not doing it for the money because for every shift that I work, I have to take that much time off later in the week to avoid making overtime.

If I was being called and ASKED if I could come in, I would not be so concerned. But I recieve calls/messages that say, "We need a shift covered. Everyone I have called has said no, so you have to cover it."

Really? I HAVE to? Why did everyone else that was contacted not HAVE to cover the shift?

I'm basically not being given a choice of whether or not I cover these shifts. And when I have had a legitimate reason for not being able to work, I've been put on a guilt trip by my supervisors. I need time off and a personal life, but that excuse is not going to be accepted.

I'm feeling taken advantage of, and I guess my question is...if you were in my place, what would you say next time you got a call such as this? I'm just tired of being the only person being told that they HAVE to come in, yet none of the other nurses who are contacted are being held accountable.

[Anona-mouse]

You can always do what I have done in the past when told I "have to" come in on a day off. Tell them that you are about half way through a bottle of Cuervo Especial and it is against policy to come to work inebriated.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

Former manager here.

1. If the on call people are not coming in, start disciplining and fire people. They are not fulfilling their schedule.

2. Yes, you do have to answer the calls, part of management is this, but you do NOT have to go in unless it is absolutely crucial, and believe me, if I found out that the on call peeps refused to call in they would be on the chopping block and up in the director's office with me.

3. If it is people canceling time, you may have to set more stringent guidelines. In my unit, if you cancel less than 24 hours before it is considered a call off and is treated as so. Habitual cancel people are no longer allowed to sign up for extra/ot for 6 months.

Time to put on your iron suit, big girl panties and dig in. Let them know they are all expendable and there are 20 people waiting for their positions.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Are you a unit manager.....or a doormat? Hard to tell from this angle, as you are being stepped on all over the place.

"Someone" must take responsibility, this is true, but the "someones" I'm thinking of are the call-off abusers. Why are they NOT held accountable? Why are they not in your office/director's office facing consequences? What IS the consequence for this repeated offensive behavior? Nothing...??! Bingo. Then it becomes YOUR fault this is happening. YOU are the manager....aren't you?

There's a nursing SURPLUS, my friend, and if your staff believes they are irreplaceable, perhaps it's time to start setting up interviews and beefing up staffing....so they are QUITE aware that they are anything BUT irreplaceable!

Time to do some housecleaning, I think.

[MatrixRn]

"In the past several months, the med nurses/ floor nurses have begun to call out more and more due to the fact that they know their shift will be covered by myself or another reliable nurse that is a unit manager."

Okay let's start here. There is so much wrong with that sentence. "in the past several MONTHS....call out." Why did this start several months ago. A change in leadership? What happened to make them feel it was okay to call out. And why are these nurses still employed.

"shift will be covered by myself or another reliable nurse that is a unit manager." Interesting choice of words. If the staff is not reliable...they should be released.

[MatrixRn]

"And I am not doing it for the money because for every shift that I work, I have to take that much time off later in the week to avoid making overtime."

Where did this directive come from? If you are coming in on your day off then you should be compensated with OT.

[MatrixRn]

"Really? I HAVE to? Why did everyone else that was contacted not HAVE to cover the shift?"

Take this question, add a whole bunch of attitude and take it to upper leadership. You are being used and abused. That floor is rotten to the core. Management is not doing their job...and someone up high needs to know.

[generalRN2008]

If it is nurses on the floor you manage calling out , use the facility attendance policy for write ups. As far others refusing to come in on the assigned on call day, it is assigned not an option. Either learn to be firm or find a floor nurse position at another facility.

[generalRN2008]

Former manager here.

1. If the on call people are not coming in, start disciplining and fire people. They are not fulfilling their schedule.

2. Yes, you do have to answer the calls, part of management is this, but you do NOT have to go in unless it is absolutely crucial, and believe me, if I found out that the on call peeps refused to call in they would be on the chopping block and up in the director's office with me.

3. If it is people canceling time, you may have to set more stringent guidelines. In my unit, if you cancel less than 24 hours before it is considered a call off and is treated as so. Habitual cancel people are no longer allowed to sign up for extra/ot for 6 months.

Time to put on your iron suit, big girl panties and dig in. Let them know they are all expendable and there are 20 people waiting for their positions.

Exactly. You are the unit manager. Other unit managers take turns on call. You also should do weekly staff meetings on your unit and set the rules. It sounds like the role is new to you. Firm up or go back to floor nursing.

[generalRN2008]

"And I am not doing it for the money because for every shift that I work, I have to take that much time off later in the week to avoid making overtime."

Where did this directive come from? If you are coming in on your day off then you should be compensated with OT.

This is every SNF or LTC with hourly paid unit managers. I did it six months and any shift that I had to cover a night supervisor, was removed from day shift hours to never go over 40. If it is a salary spot, most facilities do not care if you work 40 or 70 hours as there is no OT.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

This is every SNF or LTC with hourly paid unit managers. I did it six months and any shift that I had to cover a night supervisor, was removed from day shift hours to never go over 40.

Are SNF manager jobs so hard to come by that you are willing to be abused like that?

I am so happy I work for a union hospital.

[chrisrn24]

Next time I would not answer the phone after checking caller ID. When questioned I would state that I was busy and missed the call.[/quote']

Yep this.

More penalizations need to be put into place for people who abuse the call in excuse.

[generalRN2008]

Are SNF manager jobs so hard to come by that you are willing to be abused like that?

I am so happy I work for a union hospital.

Not really. I did it six months and moved to another state. I work in acute care now and do not miss it. I think op is new to the role and maybe not trained enough to the role. Experience in being firm yet fair comes with time. But you have to manage and write people up and not give perfect reviews