Frequent cancellations

[firemedic12]

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?

[firemedic12, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

OP, I completely understand where you're coming from. Many, many people (in nursing and elsewhere) cannot afford to be cancelled when we are depending on a steady, regular, CONSISTENT income. There's nothing wrong with that. I truly admire the poster(s) who're able to maintain his/her finances so that a missed paycheck here and there isn't such a big deal (absolutely no sarcasm here. I really do admire that, and am always working to get there myself), but unfortunately, many of us aren't there yet, for whatever reason.

If I were in your shoes, I'd be panicking too. I would stay on orientation for another month, and while I'd hope for the best with that job, I'd definitely be out looking for something more stable as much a possible. After all, when your shifts keep getting cancelled and you cannot feed your family, your manager sure isn't going to be offering you financial support, no matter what they may promise in the meantime (promises about FT hours once off orientation, despite more senior staff being canceled, unit closed, etc).

Hope for the best, Prepare for the worst.

And I really hope for the best for you at your new job.

This times a million! I'm going to give it a few months before moving on. Our unit is a 16 bed SICU with 8 nurses scheduled per shift. Since I started we have yet to maintain a census of more than 6 patients and have merged with the MICU on more than 1 occasion due to such a low census (at a level 1 trauma center too). I've only been a nurse for a grand total of 3 months now and have been venting to my wife "I applied for and accepted a full time job so I have every right to expect a full time paycheck. If the hours aren't there and it's costing me money to be employed by the hospital then I'm seeking other employment". I have a bit saved up but it won't last very long. Next week should be my last week on orientation and I won't complain if I'm kept there since it's guaranteed hours (my preceptor isn't too worried about my ability to work independently and spends the whole shift on YouTube and walking around the hospital). January is my 6 month mark and I'll probably look for new employment.