Does your medical facility have mandatory overtime for nurses?

Nurses General Nursing

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Here is this month's survey question:

Does your medical facility have mandatory overtime for nurses?

Currently Nurses are striking over this very issue at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts. For more info, visit the MNA strike page: http://www.allnurses.com/jump.cgi?ID=1717

We encourage your comments and discussion on this question. To post your comments, just click on the "Post Reply" button.

[This message has been edited by bshort (edited May 15, 2000).]

Specializes in CCU, Geriatrics, Critical Care, Tele.

I just thought I would share the results from last months survey with 1722 participants:

Q: Does your medical facility have mandatory overtime for nurses?

A: Yes 37.90%

No 62.10%

Whoa-CYBERNURSE2000, you have some fire in your blood re: this issue! Support to Nancy1-there are a few good ones out there. I recently took a position at community hospital. The factor that swayed me into taking the position? The day of my interview, the asst director was a little late, BECAUSE SHE WAS IN THE COUNT, TAKING PATIENTS RIGHT ALONG WITH HER STAFF NURSES! I thought, this is the place I want to work! And she's been in the count many times since, often even staying until 7 or so at night? I haven't seen many managers doing that! The director of the last place I worked-if needed (badly needed, I might add), would take the team leader pager if anything to help out. But catch her at the bedside? No-we'd likely have to close to transfers long before that would ever happen! And she wondered why several nurses were quitting as fast as she'd hire one!

Hello from Nancy 1,

I am not a dinosaur, although my children like to tease me about playing with them as a child. I decided to be a nurse at the age of 40. I am now 50. I have to say I have taken my management approach from some of the head nurses I had while a CNA. I will admit, I don't know how to run the bath tubs we have on the unit, but I still know how to do a bed bath.

I can't ask someone to do something I would not do. Nurses always talk about teamwork, and if it doesn't come from the top, it won't come at all.

I thank you for the kind words, and I will continue because I do not want to lose my staff because I am too obstinate to help out.NA smile.gif

The facility that I work at now you work one week 36 hours and the second 48 hours. There are people on the unit that want to do more. I feel that if the more hours that you work in one facility the more burned out you can become. These people also work their days off at other facilities. My feeling is that overtime, if required should be limited and that facilities that are that short and require overtime HIRE more.

I just started working at a place that has MO. I've been told I may be called at 9pm to come in for night shift after I worked the day shift! No one seems concerned with the potential safety issues r/t lack of sleep. Hospitals seem to forget that this job is not my life; I have other obilgations and expectations. I plan to leave this position in August for anywhere else - the whole hospital is a nightmare!!!!

Originally posted by CYBERNURSE2000:

In reply to the 20yr vet. Your words are very admirable,however,your management and your 2cents is what it's worth. I mean no disrespect,please don't misunderstand.

cybernurese2000!

In reply to Cybernurse 2000: No disrespect taken. This is a forum for open expression of opinions etc. The reason I've not replied before today 5/18 is because I've been working nights in my ICU for the past 2 weeks because we needed the staff.

I wish you all the best in dealing with management where you work. I would also like to say "Check out Iowa". We're not just corn and hogs! We've only been in the nursing shortage for a year or so, so things maybe aren't as bad as where you're at. Ever think about relocating? I'm not trying to be snide. That's a sincere thought. I do admit I'm a little [okay more than a little] biased towards thinking Iowa is great [born, raised and moved back here after going elsewhere] but it is one of the best kept secrets in the midwest. I'd say that about any part of the state.

Okay, enough of that. The best to you in whatever you chose to do. I admire your spirit and "fire". It will take you far.

No mandetory OT at the facility I work at, But (isn't there always a "but")if there is a disaster we are required to come in or stay after providing the hospital can get in touch with us. If we refuse to come in we can be fired. The hospital does not misuse this disaster plan and I have worked there for 4 years and never been called in for a disaster. I think the last time they used it was during a tornado five or six years ago.

Our unit(ED) has MO and it works like this. We do our schedule in 6 week blocks. When the schedule comes out, the MO list also comes out. Everyone can choose what they want to sign up for. Sometimes, all the slots are not taken(they are all 4 hour slots by the way). In that case, we go to the 'alphabet game' to cover those slots. All staff's names are listed in alphabetical order. If a slot needs covered, the staffing people start at the beginnning of the alphabet and go down the list. Whoever's name starts with 'a' gets called and told they have to work that unfilled slot. You can work it yourself or find someone to work it for you, but YOU become responsible for it. Your name is skipped if you are already working 12 hours that day and it is also skipped if you are on vacation and/or specifically requested that day off. Once you have been forced to work an extra shift, your name is crossed off the list. For each shift that needs covered, the staffing people go back to the top of the list and continue the process. In a way I think this is a good way to do it although I was very opposed to it at first. It makes each staff member ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE for a particular 4 hour slot rather than the staffing people. But, the problem is, we also have mandatory on-call. We must do 24 hours of call every 6 weeks. If some of those call slots go uncovered, the alphabet game is played in the opposite direction.....they start at the bottom of the alphabet and work up. The potential exists for you to get slammed with a MO slot and a mandatory call slot in the same 6 week schedule. One good thing that happened recently though.....our nurse manager decided that we would get paid time and 1/2 for all MO, no matter if you are fulltime or parttime. Previously, you only got paid OT if you worked more than 40 hours in a week.

My husband works at a facility that demands MO.He had a note from the Dr. saying he could only work 8hr/4day week because of a bad knee.(he is 54)The facility gave him a note on a Fri. and said he had to have a note stating"no restrictions" by the following Wed. or he would be terminated.I have been trying to find out if MO is even legal but I guess it is...according to all I have read.I am an RN myself(>20 yrs) and I have never heard of MO. I called the head of his company and just asked"Who is responsible if an employee does not feel he/she cannot safely work that many hrs. and a patient is injured or recieves the wrong med etc"Of course I never got an answer.Does he have the right to refuse to work 16 hrs. if he feels he cannot do it safely?Just curious.Thanks

After reading all these postings I know I made the right decision. I am the President of my local group of our state nursing association. The first meeting I have planned the guest speaker to be from the licensing board so we can try to get some of the answers. I hear all the questions and have no answers. I am hoping this representative from the board will be able to clear some of the smoke that I feel certain administrations are blowing.

I have to say certain, because I am fortunate to be employed in a facility without MO, we may plead and get on our knees at times, but we do not mandate.

And we have met as a management team and decided not to use the patient abandonment issue that I know I posted earlier. I know that all the management team do not want to have to work the floor, sometimes we joke that we are not safe (LOL) but there are areas we are comfortable covering. NA

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