Frequent cancellations

[firemedic12, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

I'm in the last 2 weeks of my 12 week orientation at a surgical ICU at a level 1 trauma center. I love the job and I love the people I work with, but the amount of cancellations on this unit has me terrified. I'm the sole provider in my family and cannot live without at least a full time paycheck. The only thing that has protected me so far is being on orientation. Cancellations are so bad that they have shut the unit down and merged with MICU multiple times since I started. I'm starting to rethink my employment here. To make things worse, although my preceptor and other coworkers think I should have been taken off orientation a month ago, my manager is talking about keeping me on orientation for possibly another month. I took a full time job to work full time hours and get full time pay, but every day it seems like I've taken a full time job with part time hours and pay. I want to give it until the end of the year at least. Am I wrong for thinking/feeling this way?

[Sour Lemon]

Every place I've worked fluctuates between being extremely overstaffed to extremely understaffed. The fact that they're willing to extend your orientation if you're not "there" yet is a good thing.

As a side note, you shouldn't have your picture anywhere on the internet where you're discussing anything work related ...so if that's you, consider changing it in a hurry.

Good luck!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

During my nursing career, my finances have always been set up to facilitate solvency when shift cancellations occurred. In other words, a much smaller paycheck than usual has never been a problem for me. I often enjoyed being canceled.

Nonetheless, many nurses who need a full paycheck usually keep a PRN gig on the side that allows them to supplement their income when the full time job falls short on hours. Good luck to you!

[mrsboots87]

My

new job goes through the ebb and flow of either being overstuffed with canceled shift or short and offering overtime. It is also a but seasonal as we get a lot of winter visitors in Arizona.

Because of this, I stayed on as PRN at my old job to make up if I get canceled and just for extra money when I want it.

I would suggest doing the same. The majority of nurses at both of my jobs have either a PRN and full time gig or they just have multiple PRN jobs and piece their full time hours together between multiple jobs.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

As a side note, you shouldn't have your picture anywhere on the internet where you're discussing anything work related ...so if that's you, consider changing it in a hurry.

Good luck!

Either he has changed his Avatar or Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) has quit acting to become a ICU nurse.

[Sour Lemon]

Either he has changed his Avatar or Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) has quit acting to become a ICU nurse.

He did change it, but the thought of Keanu getting his hours cut and having his orientation extended is somewhat amusing.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

I agree with the others. Get a PRN job elsewhere just in case.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

It never ceases to amaze me that hospital administrators believe nurses have magical abilities... that enable them to live on much less income than normal people. Maybe they think we can change alcohol wipes to hard currency?? Or pay for our groceries with back rubs??

I realize I'm going against the grain here, but I think OP should be looking for a more stable gig that will enable him to provide for his family. If he wanted a part-time or PRN job, he would have looked for one in the first place, right?

[Sour Lemon]

It never ceases to amaze me that hospital administrators believe nurses have magical abilities... that enable them to live on much less income than normal people. Maybe they think we can change alcohol wipes to hard currency?? Or pay for our groceries with back rubs??

I realize I'm going against the grain here, but I think OP should be looking for a more stable gig that will enable him to provide for his family. If he wanted a part-time or PRN job, he would have looked for one in the first place, right?

True, and yet I understand things from the hospital's perspective. It takes at least 3-4 weeks to hire a new (experienced) nurse and push them through orientation (which is often once a month). It only takes two weeks notice for a nurse to disappear- if they're nice enough to give any notice, at all. Hospitals always hire more nurses than they need because they're expecting some to take off sooner rather than later. Some nurses don't even make it past the classroom and to the floor.

[Julius Seizure]

I'm the sole provider in my family and cannot live without at least a full time paycheck. The only thing that has protected me so far is being on orientation.

To make things worse, although my preceptor and other coworkers think I should have been taken off orientation a month ago, my manager is talking about keeping me on orientation for possibly another month.

So, you are worried about losing more hours once you aren't protected by being on orientation.

And you are concerned about your manager wanting to keep you on orientation for an extra month?

Sounds like staying on orientation might work out in your favor, no? Maybe I am misunderstanding.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about extending orientation...if they want to pay you for that instead of of working on your own, hey, its their money to throw around I guess :)

Could you do per diem work to get more hours somewhere else when needed?

[Qing]

Your concern is valid and if you can secure another job that does provide full time hours, do that. But if you can hang on another month to take advantage of potential learning new skills and experience it could work in your benefit. It is very hard to control the staffing and census along with the management canceling staff. If it does turn out that after this extra month and a half you get cancelled often, then maybe consider asking to be employment prn. But in the meantime I would go search for another position that guarantees full time hours, and from there you can balance if you want to stay with this position or stay with the other job.

[MikeyT-c-IV]

I was in a similar situation when I first started nursing and unfortunately that scenario is not uncommon. I volunteered for short staffed days and sometimes part of the evenings. I asked to orient and float to other units. Eventually, as several others suggested, I found PRN work. It can be a little tricky to make the schedules work together... it can be done.

Also I have found that census can be cyclical depending on the season. Where I work the census explodes during the fall and winter months. I don't know which part of the country you live but winter is coming.

In regard to orientation: I would be happy to stay on orientation because you will still get paid. I don't know how your facility works the finances and orientation but the manager and staff may find benefit to having an extra pair of hands available on the unit. Where I work, orientation counts against our productivity so it's to the managers benefit to release a nurse from orientation as soon as reasonably possible.

Finally, since you are a FT employee and probably earning PTO... once you get your bank built up... having an extra day off with PTO pay isn't so bad. :)