I feel guilty in canceling my extra shift...

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 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.

Hmmm. IDK what state you are in, might have different rules there. I'm in PA, and with the hospitals around here, they'd be going after your license.

A very large hospital I used to work at had a group of RNs who would keep people at home informed of their census. If it was full/short staffed, all of a sudden people who wanted OT were calling in and volunteering. If it was low, no one answered their phones except those "outside the loop". They didn't want to come in and float.

The hospital caught on, I believe a supervisor walked in on the charge nurse telling someone census was low and not to come in, to call off (much like you did). BIG INVESTIGATION followed, total of 9 nurses fired and word was the hospital turned them in, went after thier licenses for "jeopardizing pt. safety". IDK what became of it.

At my hospital, once you sign up for an extra shift, its a regular scheduled shift. There is no "calling out", and if you do its the same as missing a reg. scheduled day.

I wouldn't make a habit of signing up for extra time then changing your mind. No good can come of it. Better to just leave it to lady luck. If you want OT and get the call, say yes. If you don't, great, you didn't sign up for it anyway. Thats how I handle it.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 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?

IDK, maybe its just me but here is how I deal with it all:

The need for more/less nurses on any unit has its unpredictable ups and downs. I imagine at the end of the year, if you count all the calls you get saying "don't come in, low census" and the calls for help/to come in, they'd be about equal.

If I can, I come in when I'm called. There are times I do about 20hrs OT a pay for a long while. But, when they call me off, I take it, no pay. I'm ahead enough in my bills (from the OT) to handle a couple "no pay" days. So, yes, in the end, I am submitting to their desires of when to have me and when not to. Is that a bad thing? :confused:

Regardless of what other defaults that are pointed out about me at the time of evaluation, attendence and willingness to help are not on the list. I always walk away from my evaluations with max raise. Even if they are not completely thrilled with me for whatever reason, they can't do without my flexibility. I bend and bob with their desires/needs and my efforts do grant me some rewards.

Nursing is not a M-F, 9 to 5 stable working hours environment. Well.....unless you are very special or in management anyway.