How does an on call lvn work?

Fiona59 · Apr 1, 2011

Are you hired as a "casual" on call or in a position "on call"?

If you are a casual (or I think in the US you are called prn) you can be called the night before for a shift or the morning of a sick call from a staff member. There are no guaranteed hours, you take what is offered. Some places will let you prebook to cover vacation schedules.

If you are in a position that requires "oncall hours" then you are assigned a pager and one weekend or nights to cover. The OR techs at my hospital are on calls one weekend in four and three nights a month.

allnurses Guide · Apr 1, 2011

It would depend on what type of facility/company your are hired to work for. So we'd probably need a little more info to answer that question. I would be interested to know because new grads are having such a hard time finding jobs these days!

xpedrox · Apr 2, 2011

It would depend on what type of facility/company your are hired to work for. So we'd probably need a little more info to answer that question. I would be interested to know because new grads are having such a hard time finding jobs these days!

the position is Internal medicine out patient care. i currently work at 2 other facilities but because of my work history (none) i get low hours and low pay. i understand im not gonna land a perfect job right out of school, but i didnt think itd be this difficult.

allnurses Guide · Apr 2, 2011

the position is Internal medicine out patient care. i currently work at 2 other facilities but because of my work history (none) i get low hours and low pay. i understand im not gonna land a perfect job right out of school, but i didnt think itd be this difficult.

That sounds like a good job for a new grad when you consider the insanity that is going on now! (no jobs for anybody). I would be concerned it it was sending you out to LTC, or something where the pace would cripple somebody with no orientation, and I know there are unscrupulous agencies who will do that to people. If it's outpatient then I suppose you can assume it will be dayshift hours and covering for call-outs, etc.

I think you should probably get these details from your new employer, though! Best Wishes!! :up:

SquishyRN, BSN, RN · Apr 4, 2011

That sounds like a good job for a new grad when you consider the insanity that is going on now! (no jobs for anybody). I would be concerned it it was sending you out to LTC, or something where the pace would cripple somebody with no orientation, and I know there are unscrupulous agencies who will do that to people. If it's outpatient then I suppose you can assume it will be dayshift hours and covering for call-outs, etc.
I think you should probably get these details from your new employer, though! Best Wishes!!

I'm an on call lvn for 2 SNFs (not agency but for the actual facilities) and I feel very crippled For both places I only had 2 days orientation. I'm really starting to wonder where these ltcs are at the give weeks of orientation that I've sometimes heard about on these forums... I feel like I should know more than I feel I know after 3 months, but it makes it especially harder than I'm on call since I work different facilities, different shifts, different stations, and have long periods of time btwn work sometimes -- it's hard to get a feel for things as a new grad with no routine whatsoever :-/

Anyway, to the OP, my schedule is very random. Some weeks I'll work 5 or more days a week, pretty much f/t, other times I won't work at a facility for weeks. Which is why I'm working at 2, I didnt work for an entire month at one facility but got some shifts at the other. Sometimes I'll have a set schedule, like they'll let me know ahead of time what days I'll be working bc someones scheduled for leave. Most of the time though I'll get last minute phone calls asking if I can come in the next day or at that moment bc someone called in sick. On call sucks bc there's no steady paycheck, but I'm toughing it out until I have my "one year experience" Or until someone quits at either facility and I can take their shift