I feel guilty in canceling my extra shift...

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Jan 29, 2011

The hospital is super busy and I requested to work extra ONLY on my floor tonight if they needed me. I just contacted the charge nurse on my floor (ortho) and with all the discharges and no surgeries, there will only be 5-6 patients and there are 3 RNs working tonight. So, I contacted the House Supervisor to cancel my extra shift and let's just say she didn't take it too well, but she did cancel it. If I didn't cancel my shift, I would end up working tonight on my floor and two of the RNs scheduled to work tonight would float to the most undesirable, worst place in the whole hospital (its med/onc)- everyone hates floating there due to all the bad staffing, the attitudes of RNs that work there, and the way the charge RNs split the assignment (you either get the front, middle, or back of the unit... the charge RNs do not split the assignment to where the floats get patients they can feel comfortable handling).
I mean, I shouldn't feel guilty right? Its the facility's fault for not having adequate staffing due to the hiring freeze we're experiencing, right? I already worked an extra shift last week and in the middle of my 3-day off the house sup calls me in the middle of my sleep asking me if I can work extra and I am like "umm, uhh" and ended up signing on again for an extra shift because I feel bad if I say "no".
Sorry if my post is too long... Just sharing some feelings.

I probably would have kept myself "on call" just to the charge nurse on my unit, so that the House Supervisor would never have to be involved. That way, your charge nurse could have just not called you in due to low census vs. having to officially cancel you. Is that a possibility for you in the future? When I worked prn for my unit, it was only for my unit's needs-no one ever thought to call me in anyway and then float a regularly scheduled nurse somewhere else. Sounds like your House Supervisor thinks more outside the box than mine did.

Also, I never answered the phone when the caller ID said it was my hospital calling. You listen to the message, then it gives you time to think things through and have a good response rather than being caught flat footed.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 29, 2011

Let's put it this way . . . Does management feel one morsel of remorse or guilt when they cancel our shifts due to low census?

Ayeloflo · Jan 29, 2011

Let's put it this way . . . Does management feel one morsel of remorse or guilt when they cancel our shifts due to low census?

My thoughts EXACTLY!

Ayeloflo · Jan 29, 2011

In fact you are giving them an opportunity to label you as unreliable. If they have to telephone many nurses on the list, next time, and are not able to find a replacement for your cancellation, they'd have to call registry. Expensive. That means you are screwing with their budget, and if I were your boss, I'd fire you. Your boss's goal is to stay within the budget in order to get a bonus and promotion. Sorry, but I'm telling you the truth :)

ckh23, BSN, RN · Jan 29, 2011

In fact you are giving them an opportunity to label you as unreliable. If they have to telephone many nurses on the list, next time, and are not able to find a replacement for your cancellation, they'd have to call registry. Expensive. That means you are screwing with their budget, and if I were your boss, I'd fire you. Your boss's goal is to stay within the budget in order to get a bonus and promotion. Sorry, but I'm telling you the truth :)

Well let us hope you are never anyone's boss because you wouldn't have any staff working for you. There is nothing wrong with canceling a shift. As far a budget goes, hospitals have budgets setup for overtime staff and agency workers. When extra help comes in it does not come out of the unit budget, and if it does there would already be extra money set aside for it. Another thing is the Nursing Supervisor is not the "boss". They are in charge of bed flow and staffing of the shift. Sure the NS could report the OP to the Nurse Manager, but it would be the Nurse Manager's decision to enforce any kind of discipline.

To the OP never feel bad about it. Like other posters said, they would feel bad about canceling you after you have rearranged your schedule around work. I think we are in an age where employers truly care about their employees are far and few between.

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Jan 29, 2011

Look at it this way, you saved at least one of the nurses you worked with a horrible night.

Nurseinprocess · Jan 29, 2011

In fact you are giving them an opportunity to label you as unreliable. If they have to telephone many nurses on the list, next time, and are not able to find a replacement for your cancellation, they'd have to call registry. Expensive. That means you are screwing with their budget, and if I were your boss, I'd fire you. Your boss's goal is to stay within the budget in order to get a bonus and promotion. Sorry, but I'm telling you the truth :)

How would she be labeled as unreliable because she asked the supervisor to cancel her extra shift? They are already overstaffed in the first place (which I really don't understand why she would be expected to come in since she told them she only wanted to work if needed, which she clearly isn't :confused: ).

tntrn, ASN, RN · Jan 29, 2011

Look at it this way, you saved at least one of the nurses you worked with a horrible night.

Agreed. I agreed once to come in extra (that made it OT pay), but when I found out that they were going to float someone else (who was scheduled to work a regular shift) I refused on principle. I am not going to screw my co-worker, not even for regular pay and certainly not for OT pay.

If was an extra shift for you, maybe you saved them money by cancelling, AND your two co-workers got to stay where they are supposed to be.

I say :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: to you.

CCL RN, RN · Jan 29, 2011

In fact you are giving them an opportunity to label you as unreliable. If they have to telephone many nurses on the list, next time, and are not able to find a replacement for your cancellation, they'd have to call registry. Expensive. That means you are screwing with their budget, and if I were your boss, I'd fire you. Your boss's goal is to stay within the budget in order to get a bonus and promotion. Sorry, but I'm telling you the truth :)

lol. Fire her for what exactly ?

Find a replacement for her cancellation...did you read? Her unit census dropped. No coverage needed for HER unit.

Staffing a hospital is up to the hospital, not individual nurses. And the quality of our work is very important, especially when working EXTRA shifts.

When I am doing the hospital a FAVOR by doing extra shifts, I have the power to choose how and why.

It is ludicrous to state that she should be fired!

cherryblossom88 · Jan 29, 2011

I never answer the phone when my work calls, they ALWAYS leave a voicemail. Then, if I decide to go in , I will call them back. :)

Mulan · Jan 29, 2011

Next time, if there is a next time, you need to specify that you will work only on your unit and only if no one on your unit is floated because of it. If that type of thing doesn't fly, just let whoever is in charge of your unit know that they can call you if they need to.