This is an issue that is new to us. We normally staff with just two nurses, so no one is ever told to stay home or on call because of low census.
In the past few months, days that statistically are busier than other days have been staffed with three nurses. This is great when we are actually busy, but often we are not.
Management announced that on shifts where there are three nurses, one nurse will be told to stay home because of low census. They will not be on call. The person who will be told to stay home will be determined by "the needs and situation of the individual employee." I asked what this means and was told that nurses with another source of income will be put on low census first. There are two nurses on my shift that don't have another full-time or part-time job. I am one of them. It was explained to me that since I am married and my husband has a good job, that I will be the first to be called off. The other nurse who doesn't have another job was told the same thing.
Really? Because I only have one job, it is assumed that I can take the missing hours easier than someone else?
Every other place I have worked that did low census made everyone take turns. I sort of feel like I am expected to follow different rules because I am married and don't have two jobs.
I find this discussion fascinating. I work in a public trauma hospital in Australia. Our problem is the very opposite, too many patients for too few beds. I have unfunded beds on my ward - ratios must be adhered to and I am staffed for 16 beds. Most days I am at 24. So we are asking our part timers to pick up shifts and a lot of float staff.
I just got called off last night for the first time in 6 years. It wasn't due to low census but to over staffing. Usually they bring everyone in and float someone but there were no other needs. I think they offered to me first because I've always been vocal about being okay with being called off. Most people actually don't want to be called off on a Saturday night because you lose some substantial differential pay!
That's crazy. By that rationale, you should be put on call last b/c the people w/ two jobs would theoretically be making more money than you.
Where I used to work, they had a very fair system. In order of first to last to be put o/c:
Agency
OT
Staffing Pool
Per Diem
Part Time
Full Time
Where I work now, it's rotated by date of who was called off the longest amount of time ago. Works o.k. if you keep tabs on it and make sure the record keeping is accurate. That being said, night shift doesn't get called off much.
Someone either in OT or scheduled for OT goes home first at my facility.
Anyone who has "picked up" for OT in that pay period will be first on the list. After that there is an order that goes something like casual staff, part time staff, full time. In practice, however, if there is no one "on" OT (they always go home first), we ask if there are any volunteers for who wants to go home...we usually get some. If there is more than one, we pick out of hat. If no one wants to go (which has never happened), then we would have to go the official policy on who goes home first.
I recently relocated to another state. My former employer put the people on call who volunteered for available call first, then by a rotation. Those willing to float were given that opportunity if available and you could chose to cross train up to 3 shifts in every department. You would not be placed on mandatory call more than 2 shifts a pay, and their goal was 1. I never had more than 1. My new hospital, I have been on call up to 3 shifts a pay period, and no less than 1 since I started 3 months ago. I am frustrated! I could see once in a while...a nurse told me she always counts on at least 1 per pay. Why hire so many if there aren't hours to support them?
Your state department of hours and wages (whatever they call it) will have the definitive answer for you. Sounds like crap to me.
Personally, if I was in your institution, I'd say that people with second jobs could "afford" to be canceled better than someone with one, :: insert massive sarcasm eyeroll here ::
That almost sounds like it could be construed as a form of discriminatory practice. would they do that if you were a man and were married? where i work now in three years i have been there no one has ever been called off because when there is a low census there is a plethora of people volunteering to be called off. but at my previous job we all took turns. when you date was up you were called off ...sometimes it happened as often as every two weeks. really stunk.
Rnis, BSN, DNP, APRN, NP
343 Posts
People ALWAYS volunteer to be called off......but it's done by last call off date. (we have a policy but it literally hasn't been done in 5 years)