Low census. . .no work. . .

[thesundowner]

My floor has had extremely low census for over a month now. To the point where most of us RNs are only getting 1-2 shifts a week if lucky and the CNAs are in the same boat. We are floated out occasionally (which has been awful) but usually are just flexed. We are using up PTO fast. The nurses who have worked there for many years say this is the worst it has ever been.

Moral is low, my bank acct is even lower.

Who else is dealing with this right now?

[Nursetastic]

You are not alone. We are fighting to keep our hours. And we just had an influx of new grads hired so once they are off orientation it's going to be even worse. Though, I'd rather use PTO than float; unfortunately, they count us as a call in if we refuse to float. Thank goodness I have earned plenty of PTO because I work my butt off during the winter season.

[caliotter3]

In home health, with no PTO, when the patient is in the hospital, the nurse doesn't work when the agency doesn't provide fill in work. That is when being on the books with a second or third agency, may keep the rent paid, or not.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

Pretty standard in places like Florida, and part of the reason that I left there.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I have worked only three 12-hour shifts during the last two-week pay period at my place of employment because three of my shifts had been cancelled due to low census.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

Not as bad but we are short staffed so that helps in this aspect but people have been cancelled a couple of times the last few months.

[Bec7074]

I've been experiencing this sporadically over the past month. I do trauma/surgical ICU and at first we thought it was because trauma season hadn't really started yet and flu/respiratory/rotoprone season was ending. Then everyone started saying its because a competitor hospital was advertising their new Trauma 2 status (although we are the only Trauma 1) and that the EMTs have a poor relationship with our ER staff so any non Level 1's were getting taken elsewhere. Now I'm not really sure. At first I liked being on-call but now I'm over it. I feel ya.

[NayRN]

We've had the same problem-I didn't realize it was more widespread than just my hospital-I thought it might be the new group of ED docs. Our 40 bed med/surg unit has been slightly over half full for a few weeks now. Evan though my PTO is dwindling, I don't mind the days off here and there...

[ukjenn231]

Yeah, I am contracted in Florida and I haven't been on my floor in 5 or 6 weeks. Thankfully the hospital I work for is part of a 11-hospital system, so I don't get cancelled often. I do get floated everywhere in a 30 miles radius, though. Oh well.

[PennyWise]

Im in PA, no such problems here. I've been working four 12s/week for since early May.

I do hear a lot about low census from people I know at other hospitals though, so I've been building up the PTO and putting some money away into savings.

Not sure what Id do if cancellations started happening. I've always wanted to be a pizza cook.

We all float down here.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

No problem with that here. Called to see if I would work extra three times in the last two weeks and we are always full.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

For most of my nursing career I never had any vacation. I always ended up using it for all the hours I was LC'ed. I am very greatful I now have a job in a non-Magnet, union hospital and am never called off due to low cencus. I do have to float at times but I don't mind.