Please stop calling me in the middle of the day on my days off begging me to come in.....
Its called a schedule for a reason. I am new and already overwhelmed just working my scheduled time. I need my down time. I need to reacquaint myself with the friends and family that I ignored while I was in school.
I get that we are a for profit organization. However, it is not my fault that we have too many LPN and not enough RN so that we can save a few dollars here and there.
You are going to have to hire more RNs and staff up. You run around worrying about patient satisfaction and Press Gainey and yet the company lets accountants control the floor.
You are smart boss, you know what you need to do and you certainly dont need to hear it from a newb like me.
I hate telling you no, but I am going to continue to do so. If I do not, my health will suffer and my patients will be at serious risk secondary to my exhaustion.
I will be there when I am scheduled. It will be a cold day in Hades when I call off. I promise that.
But more than my three 12's which are actually more like 18's when you factor in travel time and charting and meetings......???
I've always tried to be accomadating when it came to coming in or staying over, but some people just do not need to be making schedules!
When our administrator decided to take over making schedules, everything went crazy. Schedules were constantly being remade due to mistakes (such as scheduling someone for consecutive double shifts, meaning they would be there for 32 hours in a row) and people were often mandated to stay over not because of call offs but because she had scheduled us to be short staffed. When I went to activities I was constantly covering RA shifts because she didn't schedule enough people, which often meant working extra hours. But hey over time right? Nope! I would come in the next day to work activities and be told I can only work for 4 hours because they cant pay me over time, even though state regs require memory units to have organized activities all day long. Then guess ho would get chewed out because they weren't in compliance?
Ha it will never change. Ive only been a nurse for 7 years, but it doesnt seem to matter how much they are trying to save money, it seems they are always trying to get you to come in for OT. Same story in every hospital ive worked at. But quite frankly im not going to complain about the calls because it means theres the opportunity for overtime so I can make extra. If you downright do not want to work overtime, tell them to quit calling.
I pick up when I can. Hate to see the others work short, and the extra money is nice. Balance is the key. We have some that will never, ever pick up, and they work half time or less.
That was kind of my philosophy too. I hated working short...but it's not always possible or safe to come in extra. When I worked the floor I had a 75 minute drive to get to work and home from work... We had a lot of people who were not 0.9 or 1.0 FTE who could NEVER be bothered to help at all. Those people made me more mad than anything. I get that they weren't into overtime - but at the same time they were often the loudest complainers about not being well staffed.
I once refused to be mandated. The charge that was trying to mandate me had not been mandated themself for months. The rest of us had picked up overtime and/or been mandated multiple times in the previous three weeks. The days charge that came in agreed with me and insisted the nights charge take their turn. She did but she made a stink and went to our assistant manager about it. Assistant manager says something to me, but I calmly and politely explain, had it ACTUALLY been my turn I would have gladly stayed (okay I still might have been a little sour but I would have done and with a smile where the patients were concerned, it if it were my turn). I asked her to get the mandation/overtime book...she looked at it and said - 'You're right.'.
I guess I refused mandation twice but I'd stayed over the week before that occasion because two people (the RN assigned to follow my assignment and the charge RN) on day shift decided they couldn't be bothered to relieve me of care of one of my patients. No, that's fine. The unit will pay time and a half for me to care for ONE patient while I'm here for 3 extra hours while the doctors decide where to place this patient...just because neither of you want to 'take report to give report'. I told the one to remember that the next time she has a difficult discharge waiting on EMS transport to a nursing home - that if I'm following her, I'll refuse it. I never did and wouldn't actually do it, but boy was I upset. This was even during the two extra weeks I agreed to work after my two week notice was over. My manager had asked me to stay because of staffing and I could (did agree to) because my start date for my new position had been delayed two weeks.
My boss called me one day asking if I could come in to work that night. Had I not been at my parents house 400 miles away I would have considered it. She knew I was going to my parents house over those 6 days scheduled off work. I just want to say, it's a bad idea to call me at 1500 when to be at work on time I leave by 1700... But even then, if I had been up all day (like I had) it would not have been super safe - take a 90 minute nap and then work a darn 12? With over an hour's worth of driving on both ends? No but thanks. I do not feel like that is safe and I will quit on the spot rather than jeopardize my safety and my patient's safety. I understand that this day was short - but you approved the schedule and released it 4.5 weeks before the day in question. Had you asked me sooner I would have probably come in to help (or if I'd been home but you called at 7a...I would have done it).
Like other posters said, start screening your calls. I sometimes get excited when work calls and immediately answer the phone only to be asked to come in on a day off. I just can't say no! The staffing people always sound so nice If it goes to message I could always say I didn't get the message or I didn't check my messages until it was too late.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
As a manager...I don't discriminate.....I call and beg everyone. I exhaust every avenue before I have to mandate someone to stay. YOu are a good egg mindlor.
I am never offended in the least at the no's....I get.
Shortly after I finished orientation at my first job, we were so short staffed that almost everyone had to stay late on most days because there was nobody to relieve them. It was funny though, it was always the same people who never got asked or forced into it. After going through this for a year or so, I just couldn't do it anymore. Once staffing improved and it was a lot easier to find enough people to stay late since it wasn't so many, I never stayed late. Coming in on my days off is not something I'll ever do either unless I'm really hurting for money. I get tired of management doing a poor job and causing everyone to quit, while the people still there have to pick up the slack and don't even get thanked for it. If anyone with power showed any appreciation at all, it might be different, but they don't care.
I'll never forget the day that I was at home sleeping, when I got a call asking me to come in and work a shift. The reason I was at home was because I was recovering from surgery, and I still had a couple weeks before getting cleared by my doctor. I tell the girl that and 10 minutes later, I get a call asking when I will be back. This was something I had discussed with my supervisor two days before. I finally left that place a couple months ago, and I sure won't miss it.
I once refused to be mandated. The charge that was trying to mandate me had not been mandated themself for months. The rest of us had picked up overtime and/or been mandated multiple times in the previous three weeks. The days charge that came in agreed with me and insisted the nights charge take their turn. She did but she made a stink and went to our assistant manager about it. Assistant manager says something to me, but I calmly and politely explain, had it ACTUALLY been my turn I would have gladly stayed (okay I still might have been a little sour but I would have done and with a smile where the patients were concerned, it if it were my turn). I asked her to get the mandation/overtime book...she looked at it and said - 'You're right.'.
That is actually a huge pet peeve of mine (also probably the only pet peeve I have that is somewhat understandable). If company policy states you have to take "turns" then take turns! I understand sometimes you might not be sure who's turn it is but if you never stay over don't try to demand that the person who stayed yesterday stays!
Sometimes I've volunteered to stay when it wasn't my turn to help out a coworker. It's great if coworkers can agree on who will stay over so no one is mandated, but unless you are sure they have come to an agreement, managers, please mandate someone so that it's fair. One time both of the other aids clocked out before anyone was officially mandated, leaving me to cover next shift, even though it should have been one of their turns as neither had stayed over for some time and I had stayed over the day before.
Specializes in Oncology, Med/Surg, Hospice, Case Mgmt..
Shortly after I finished orientation at my first job, we were so short staffed that almost everyone had to stay late on most days because there was nobody to relieve them. It was funny though, it was always the same people who never got asked or forced into it. After going through this for a year or so, I just couldn't do it anymore. Once staffing improved and it was a lot easier to find enough people to stay late since it wasn't so many, I never stayed late. Coming in on my days off is not something I'll ever do either unless I'm really hurting for money. I get tired of management doing a poor job and causing everyone to quit, while the people still there have to pick up the slack and don't even get thanked for it. If anyone with power showed any appreciation at all, it might be different, but they don't care.
I'll never forget the day that I was at home sleeping, when I got a call asking me to come in and work a shift. The reason I was at home was because I was recovering from surgery, and I still had a couple weeks before getting cleared by my doctor. I tell the girl that and 10 minutes later, I get a call asking when I will be back. This was something I had discussed with my supervisor two days before. I finally left that place a couple months ago, and I sure won't miss it.
Ahh... the fond memories...(not!)....Hahahaha!! My favorite experience was when I requested some vacation time, for about a week after Christmas, the year my father passed away in October. My family begged to go away to NY City the day after Christmas to just get away because we were all so sad. I asked for the time off and it was approved. I went into work on Christmas Day and flew to NY early the next morning. No problems. My last day in NY I awoke in my hotel room to find multiple early morning voicemail messages on my cell phone. Sure enough, it was someone from work calling to ask why I wasn't at work and when I was coming in. I called them back and said, "uh....sorry...I'm in a hotel room in Manhattan. Don't think I'm gonna make it there today. Check with my manager and the vacation request that was approved for this a month ago".
I also was a big fan of the screen. Never liked to say no, so I just wouldn't answer. Eventually, they knew it was a lost cause on my days off. I worked full time and just couldn't handle more than that except on rare occasions. Sometimes they would catch me and I would cave, but that was not often.
I also hated that very little appreciation was ever shown to those who repeatedly came in and worked extra when they were short.
I pick up when I can. Hate to see the others work short, and the extra money is nice. Balance is the key. We have some that will never, ever pick up, and they work half time or less.
There are reasons some of us work parttime; and it isn't so I can make life miserable for the full timers.
My hospital forced a change in our working conditions. There is no daily overtime, and there is no overtime until over 40 hours in the week. As we work 3 12 hour shifts, nobody gets it. Pick up a shift, the first four hours are straight time. Stay over to help, straight time (and for the nightshifter, it means no further differential). I used to be willing to pick up more hours at inconvenience to me when I was getting compensated for it.
making a nurse stay past his / her scheduled shift . up to 16.5 hours. happens frequently where i work althought it is illegal ( employer doesnt care and the employees are too afraid ti speak out as it is the biggest / practically only employer in over a 100mile radius. have worked 7 am/pm to 1130 am/pm many times
If it goes to message I could always say I didn't get the message or I didn't check my messages until it was too late.
VictoriaGayle
139 Posts
I've always tried to be accomadating when it came to coming in or staying over, but some people just do not need to be making schedules!
When our administrator decided to take over making schedules, everything went crazy. Schedules were constantly being remade due to mistakes (such as scheduling someone for consecutive double shifts, meaning they would be there for 32 hours in a row) and people were often mandated to stay over not because of call offs but because she had scheduled us to be short staffed. When I went to activities I was constantly covering RA shifts because she didn't schedule enough people, which often meant working extra hours. But hey over time right? Nope! I would come in the next day to work activities and be told I can only work for 4 hours because they cant pay me over time, even though state regs require memory units to have organized activities all day long. Then guess ho would get chewed out because they weren't in compliance?