How long do you generally have to stay past the end of your shift?

[jenik1978]

I am an RN at a LTC and 80% of the time we all end up staying 2+ hours past the end of our shifts to get all of the charting, etc done (and usually they still end up finding something I missed)... wondering if this is common or uncommon.

If there is a fall 10 minutes before our shift is done we are still expected to stay and do all of the paperwork and calls before we leave for the day, etc... is this the norm? Do other places have more support staff to help?

I am getting VERY frustrated with my job.. I am a new nurse (passed the board in February and have been working at current job since mid-march). I feel like no matter what I do, there is still something they find that I missed.

An example: The other day I had 2 DQIs (actually had to send a resident out because he ate building material on the Alzheimer's unit) on top of doing med pass for 25+ patients and handling orders, family calls, etc... was scheduled until 2 and walked out of work at 5:15. The next day I got attitude from my Assistant nursing director because I missed that someone had a weight loss and didn't do the hydration/SBAR (in reality, I thought we needed to do a re-weigh)... Sorry for the rant.

[DeLana_RN, BSN, RN]

It really depend on a lot of things, including acuity and ratio depending on census (I may have 3-6 patients, but usually 5 or 6); how many admissions; team (some charge nurses help, some don't; same for colleagues).

On a very good day (very rare), I can leave on time.

On a good day, about 30 minutes over.

Most days, 30-60 min over.

Bad days, 60-90 min over.

Very bad days, 2 hours...

the worst days, > 2 hours.

I do get paid by the hour, and rarely get "real" OT (over 40 hours), but it does get old and wears you out!

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

15 minutes max. When I worked in the ER we'd always have to wait 15-520 minutes to clock out because we'd get through report much more quickly but weren't allowed to clock out until our shift officially ended.

[gswifty]

Start looking for another job. LTC, as it's currently practiced, is an untenable delivery system that's sure to burn-out and embitter. You can only go so fast before you hit max efficiency. Next will be the push for you to cut back on your OT but still get all the work done. As soon as you're expected to be in 2 places at once the expectations are unrealistic.

[kathyshonk66]

I used to be a Unit Manager at a LTC, most nurses would wind up staying past the end of their shift to complete their work, however it really depended on the day, did an incident happen?, did you have to send someone out? How many of your residents required charting. You know your medication pass is typically three hours long for about 25 residents and that is only one medication pass, don't be too hard on yourself, you will get faster as time goes by. My best suggestion is not to count on that overtime to complete your work, while you may need that time the reality is the upper echelon is watching the time clock and that will eventually catch up to you and count against you. Good Luck.

[riverwoman74]

I usually have 28 residents when I work the LTC unit. Sometimes I get out on time. But when I work the Skilled unit it can be 3-4 hours, late if I have to chart on everyone (meaning the other nurse called off and I have all 20-26 rsdts to do meds, tx and charting to do) We have e charting and it takes a minimum of 15 minutes per resident just for routine charting, and EVERYONE must be charted on. We work 12 hour shifts. No one offers to help.

[Katie71275]

For the most part, 30mins, sometimes an hour. BUT where I work when we work at 7, we clock in AT 7(not the typical 645 for shift report) and then we work until 730. But I've had to stay late an hour to an hour and a half a couple times, but it's not common. I work in the hosp on the Labor Unit.

[jalyc RN]

We used to tape record our reports about half an hour before change of shift, so nurses could listen to them while we charted, etc. It also stopped all the chitchat about other stuff so they were out of report sooner. If they had questions, they could ask the nurse after listening, and we could give a 2 minute update on anything new since recording.

Worked great as far as we were concerned, since we were usually only 30 minutes or less overtime at other jobs to do the charting. CNA's got report from the CNA's with their nurses updating them PRN.

[blueiwahine]

We were urged to get out on time, due to not paying us for extreme excess time over. I worked nights so it was a little easier to get paperwork done. Everyone told me before I went to work at the nursing home that the work was excessive. It's impossible for one person to get everything done that is expected in one shift on a good day...don't let a fall happen.