How are things normally handled when census is low?

[Mia_2011]

I have been working at my current facility as an LPN since the beginning of the year, but i recently received my RN license and was offered a position working the rehabilitation side of the facility at night. I received a call tuesday that census was low and to not come in which was not a big deal to me. I understand census changes. However, I received a call this morning to not come in tonight or tomorrow and if things change they will call me tomorrow ( I spoke with ADON today and she said that most likely wont happen). I am currently scheduled to work 4-5 days a week, and I work along side another nurse. Are they supposed to rotate who they call off? I feel as though even though I am a part/full time employee they are only using me as PRN. Am I looking at this from the wrong point of view?

[JB2007, ASN, RN]

Where I work they rotate who they call off. They always call off the PRN and then they go by the longest downstaffed date of the full and part time employees. The employees can request to be put on the list to be called 1st if they want the day off and many people do that this time of year.

If they are only down staffing you then I would have to agree that yes they are treating you as PRN. I would have a talk with the manager and ask them about their down staffing policies.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Where I used to work, they kept a list of dates, and the oldest date would get called off. If that person didn't want it, they were responsible for finding someone who would take it in their place.

Where I work now, we have a clipboard with the dailies, and if a person wants first call off, they can write that next to their name. If census is low, the charge nurse will call the people who asked for call off. If nobody asks for it, they just go down the list and offer it to people. It almost never has to go to mandatory call off, because there is always someone who wants or will take it.

Flex/PRN people are supposed to take it first, but if they don't want it and someone else does, the other person can take it (but aren't allowed to take PTO).

[miss81, BSN, RN]

Where I work they can't "call us off." They either float us to another unit to help or offer vacation leave to people who want it, so they are still paid. Otherwise, we work with an extra nurse on the unit if we are not needed anywhere else or if nobody wants the night off. I'd be worried that I'd be loosing so much money being called off all the time!

[MomRN0913]

there is a call-off rotation, however, per diems will always be cancelled before a full-time even if it's not their "turn" I kept a log and when it was per diems to be called-off, I rotated them. IF there were no per-diems, I rotated the full-timers unless they requested otherwise.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

If another unit needs a nurse you are floated. IF no unit( where you are able to work/have an assignemnt- ex not floating a LD nurse to the ER....) you are cancelled. very very rare as we are short staffed usually!

[Mia_2011]

Thank you everyone. I guess I am finding myself getting a little frustrated because I want to be at the bedside taking care of patients. I really enjoy what I do, and just recently getting my RN license I would love to gain experience working in that role but without hours I don't see how this is possible.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Is it optional to take the night off? Where I work it rotates who gets offered the night off, starting at highest seniority and going down. It's always optional to take it, though. Usually people jump on the opportunity because it happens so rarely.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

I wish ours called off PRN first, but it goes by the a list of call offs. The later dates get called of first and so on and so forth.

We also have a low census fund we won at our last contract negotiations. We get 600 hrs a year (each unit) and you can come in and do gopher work and be paid for it, or you can stay home and not get paid. This time of year, people like to be called off and they use PTO. Others can't afford to take the hit and come in and do audits, etc..

I actually took the Charge position so I wouldn't get called off. It was getting rather spendy.

[JPowell]

In my work place, we have a nursing union. We cannot be called off. There are days I have shown up for work and there were 5 patients in the unit and 9 nurses. We were either pulled to work in another unit, stayed on our home unit with 1 or no patients or used vacation time and went home.

[himilayaneyes]

Each job is different. My job has a set system. Overtime is canceled first. Then the per-diems. After that the part-timers and lastly the full-timers. They also rotate who gets cancelled. However, when we get cancelled on a regularly scheduled day, we get paid out of our pto. You should ask your facility's policy.

[IdrilRN, BSN, RN]

Our perdiems are called off first. Then by a rotation, but the option is given to work on another unit. We don't get called off on nights on our unit.