Is your facility warning staff for overtime, for missing lunch breaks or other?

[Brian]

I've been hearing of nurses getting counseled or warnings about overtime, for missing lunch breaks, late admissions, and misc other reasons... and/or hospitals requiring you to clock out on time, then you have to submit your overtime separately with documentation why you had to have overtime.

Is your facility warning staff for overtime, for missing lunch breaks or other reasons?

We'd love to hear your experiences and feedback!

Please feel free to share your experience regarding and answering the poll questions.

[Yosemite, RN, ASN, EMT-I]

Yes, we're under pressure for no overtime, to always punch out for lunches -and have all lunched finished prior to 5 hours into the shift; missing punches is a write-up. It would seem the lowest priority is patient care... at least the non-critical patient care.

Leave stuff for the next shift? You can likely expect the same to happen to you if this occurs. Unless it is, obviously, a VERY late admit and you don't finish, you're "not using time management."

I usually punch out for lunch, keep working if no one notices, skip breaks and work like a manic fiend. When, on the RARE occasion, there is a lull in the action and I've made rounds, etc., I kick back in the nursing station and woe be it to the one that gives me crap about it!

[RN1982]

I got talked to once because I would almost fill out the time exemption log because I wouldn't be able to take a break and it just so happened to occur most of the time I worked. I told them as long as they keep short staffing our unit and making me care for four unstable patients (I was on ICU stepdown), they could pay me for my break. All we ever heard was "we need to keep the budget under control".

[Karynica, RN]

yep, administrator presenting himself and stated I needed to start taking my lunch breaks because it made the facility look bad in the eyes of the state that I wasn't allowed one. HA! I didn't have time and told him so. He stated that with two nurses working (120 residents) there should be plenty of time. Yeah, right loser...

Soon after a group of us nurses went to speak to the DON and the company straightened it out so that we didn't have to clock out for lunch anymore. We still weren't paid for a half an hour, so we still lost out. Wish that administrator could have spent just a day with me on the floor and see when we had time to eat.

[End Game RN, RN]

Long time, no time. working 24/7.Missed you!!! Read some postings as a guest.

Yes..to everything. Do this, go here, do that, be quicker, threats to address problems of staff members poor time management. "What do you mean you didn't have a break..lets talk about it.." "Why do you spend so much time with families?" "You let that family manipulate you, its your responsibility to control your patients and familie..." "be more compassionate..take time to communicate with your patients" "We provide a service, and we must always think in terms of providing excellent care"

We have a policy of scripting, you must.."and then we are "educated" on how to introduce ourselves to our clients. When finished providing our "service" we are encouraged to ask the patient or who ever if there is anything else we can do and we hope we provided excellent service....

I wanted to resign Saturday, June 7!! I am over all of this b...s...! I have had it. Considering how much I Love my ICU, my "people" representing every aspect of a large hospital, I feel as if we are simply cogs in the wheels of a large health care facility. We are not people, we are tools. It is amazing how those who don't work in the trenches, so to speak, have no idea what it is we, the people, actually do.

Hour long staff meetings where no one wants to say anything :zzzzz since this inevitably leads to another 30 minute lecture. Then some wonder why we are behind. Physicians who can't find and RN because we are sitting somewhere, often times like dummies, glassy eyed, mind numbed, wondering when this unscheduled staff meeting will ever end. Lately I just walk away, I have stopped caring, not about my people or my patients and families..oh no...

We recently completed some sort of survey to find out how we feel about, well, just about everything. Last years was a nightmare..asking the same questions over and over again, sometimes the same questions, just written in different ways, over and over and over.

AND THIS WAS MANDATORY. And this is abuse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:angryfire

This is the first time ever in my professional life I replied in the negative to nearly every question, or just mildly negative. My colleagues state that they did the same thing. Last years insulting survey contributed to these responses.

One more Magnet Star reference and I will detonate.

I sing a little song. It is generally greeted with laughter:yeah:

I'm a Magnet Star, I'm a Magnet Star

No matter where you are

no need to travel far

'cause now we're all Magnet Stars

How old are we????

I am in crisis. personally and professionally. I just want to be the nurse that I am and that has worked exceedingly well for me over the last 28 years. I am in no need of a novice administrator telling me how to be a member of the latest fad in nursing. I AM NOT A MAGNET STAR..I AM AN INDIVIDUAL, I AM A PERSON, ABOVE ALL I AM A NURSE!!

I will miss morning break and lunch if it is indicated. I will continue to be available to my patients and families 24/7 while they are still in my unit. I will continue to buy food for them and give them my dvd player and movies. If I want to go to a patient's funeral, I will do so. No one can tell me how to be compassionate. I am a seething cauldron of emotion and love trying to understand and feel the pain and fear my patients feel.

I cried all day yesterday because of the death of two patients and the expected death of a third. two were mine. Their family's were mine, their pain was mine and their loss was mine. No one can tell me how to do anything different. Yes, they all have my cell phone number and I do speak with who ever calls me. I am crying now as I write this

As I have written here in this forum before.. I am what I do, I do what I am. When those who want to improve the quality of care of our patients and by extension their familys understand what I do, accept it, perhaps embrace it, then I will accept advice from my "betters".

I don't need to do any overtime. I refuse. We were informed that once we clock out, we need to, as quickly as possible, leave the floor. Get out and Get off. Do not pass GO and God forbid you forget something and have to come back, you'll be questioned.

Lately no one is observing this. We all just seem to hang out and speak with our friends/colleagues.

We wear uniforms/scrubs of our choice now..clean and neat, shoes clean. Heck..maybe I'll buy a teletubby color scrub. :chuckle

Passive resistance has grown. Discontent and anger hum softly just beneath the surface.

Bad things were done to two excellent staff members who had the misfortune of getting sick.

What is happening?

I feel like the bewildered characters in the strange movie Pleasantville, as change occurs, not necessarily bad, but in such a way that the affected black and while characters could not adjust to the speed of the change.

I fall asleep :zzzzz driving home from work, oncoming headlights seen through my closed eyelids are the only indication that I have fallen asleep driving.

I once woke up asleep in my truck in my driveway after work and had no memory of driving home. I pull over to the side of the road and take a catnap just long enough to get me home without causing an accident.

I am exhausted and yet can't seem to get to bed before 2 a.m every night. Here I am at the barn writing this and its very late, 0110 hrs. I still have to drive home, but I am wide awake at this time.

So..what to do...

I'm gonna do what I always do..take care of those that God chooses to put in my hands and just do the best that I can do.

Fads rise and fade then go away. Some come back another day. :chuckle

I've started provigil.

Eeka End Game, RN

P.S Hey, won nurses week 2008 exemplar contest. Submitted two. Won't go to Utah this October (prize). I don't travel well. Not that far for two days. My horses will miss me.

P.P.S Got a baby bull calf..so cool!! Hes really little. Never had a bovine before.

Not everything is bad.

[End Game RN, RN]

Just to let you know that I fear returning to work Thursday. I'm sweating thinking about this. I've already begun anticipating all the weird stuff that has been happening lately in our unit. On my days off, from the hospital that is, I'm spending half the day in bed after I have woken up, praying that this day does not pass so quickly as it seemed to do the day before. These are the days I have ear marked for the farm. I've been late to work several times this current and pass month. Waiting for a memo.

Lately (the last few months) I hide in my patients rooms and hang out with the family/friends. I only go out to help another colleague and flee from any approaching "boss". All of our unit beds are in private, enclosed glass rooms, some have one wall. You could say that this over supervision has improved the quality of care in that it is more desirable to hide in our rooms then to be found in the nursing station and have it implied that we are not doing anything. Having computers in the rooms has facilitated our hiding as we can get a lot done while avoiding detection.

Cat and Mouse..who wins? who is the cat? who is the mouse. It seems to shift back and forth in this passive aggressive game of Us and Them.

Its now 0313 hrs on Wednesday morning. I'm sitting here at the computer having a majory anxiety attack about Thursday.

Wish me luck!! Hope some hospital administrators are actually reading these posts, it actually would be a good idea if some of them would join allnurses.com. I told all of my people, including "chiefs" about this forum, even gave my "name" that I write under. Perhaps I'll here from one of them.

Gotta dry off, still sweating thinking about tomorrow.

End Game RN

[RainDreamer, BSN, RN]

Reading these posts makes cherish the hospital I work for, absolutely cherish it. Wow, I can't imagine putting up with being treated like crap like that.

[RN1982]

I posted on here once about the staffing on my old unit and the poor management. The VP of nursing at my last facility thought it would be great to print it off and pass it around to the managers.

[End Game RN, RN]

Hey RainDreamer,

I don't want you to think that I believe everything is bad here. So many others employed throughout this hospital are absolutely some of the best people I have had the honor of working with. I have had wonderful relationships and experiences with those in administration. I have invited several of them, many times to sign on to this forum. I think this would be an eye opening experience for them, not that they need this personally, but only to see how things are in the nursing world as a whole.

Everything seems to be happening locally..that is, within our division and/or our ICU. Changes such I have described are happening elsewhere as well but I have not heard any complaints or concerns from others in our facility regarding these changes. Perhaps because the approach is different in those areas. We have never had this happen like this before, it began approximately 2 + years ago and has slowly evolved into its current form. What it is exactly I can't say. Just that not all change is good, especially when it is perceived as being dismissive, disrespectful, judgmental and dictatorial.

Those who may have read other postings I've written know how respectfully I write about our ICU and our "family". We are a great group of people who are simply tired of the latest fads in nursing.

I must state again that I would not be who I am (this is a good thing) without having had the good fortune of beginning my professional nursing career in this facility. I have outlasted many administrations..they come and go...move on...what ever. Many of us remain and just do what we do best.

Yes I am dreading going to work tomorrow. I wish that I didn't feel this way. Feeling this way is alien to me. I'm going to try my best to actually be on time, without shaking as I swipe in. I am going to hide (in a professional manner that is).

This too will pass, I hope.

If not, there is still the rebar in the truck idea. (Chill guys, just a comment).

I am so exhausted!!!

Maybe if I could get my circadian rythym back in sync with my working life I would be in a better mind set to keep all of these "changes" in proper perspective, ignore idiotic directlves, and give other "suggestions" a fair hearing.

Just trying hard!!!!!!!!Look, its 0035hrs. I think I'll actually be in bed before 0130. Good luck to all of you who are going through all of these changes and the challenges these changes bring to all of us.

Perhaps this is the End, perhaps not. I'll see how things go then decide.

Good luck to you all, and

Good night.

[End Game RN, RN]

Update..Geez, this particular issue has totally captivated me as it marches right along with what we are experiencing. This has me fired up!!!

Not all change is good. The only good thing about bad change is that hopefully you can learn from it and move on.

Managed to clock in two minutes before 0700.

Several meetings today..I found other things to do, kept busy.

O.K, here is the outcome of these unplanned staff meetings..05/13...ready for this? If a physician or other health care professional brings a patient's chart/MAR, whatever into a patient's room, is observed doing so or somehow forgets to take it out again, and this is observed by management, the NURSE assigned to that patient will get a memo since we are the ones who are required to educate all staff about this policy and to police others who may violate this policy. Nurse Storm Troopers. always wanted to be one of those.

O.K. what about this one. wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, dry your hands..or use purell to cleanse hands, shake until dry, then proceed to either perform patient care or leave the room.

as soon as you enter the next room, right after this hand washing/cleansing routine, you must repeat the entire hand washing/cleansing you just completed 10 seconds earlier..

or you get a memo if observed not complying with this..

Another one...if a patient arrives from the OR, Trauma Resus, Recovery, ER...from another facility...what ever..after 1800 hrs..no matter what is happening, you must admit this patient, perform all necessary assessments, vital signs, maybe even transport patient to another area of the hospital for surgery, tests, procedures after intubating and placing invasive lines...complete computer generated forms for admission assessments, Braden or Morse scales, may both..can't remember which one, communicate with the family and of course meet all of their needs, including social work evaluation, counseling for those who are overwrought with the situation...name it..winning lottery numbers, we have to do this..and complete everything before 1923 hrs.

We do have a very supportive group of colleagues. We help each other all of the time, but even with this level of assistance, some of these requirements are unrealistic and simply insane. Patients first..the rest can wait.

Or you could get a memo.

I get all of the issues and agree whole heartedly with observing and following policy and procedures, chains of command such as administration of medications, right patient, consents, proxy, right procedure, right time, right body part, right Karma, before any and all procedures. This is a safety issue for all patients. Big Duh..

But this too has become another thing to threaten the staff with...

You'll get a memo..Ooooooooo:banghead::banghead::banghead:

I am a firm believer in following policy and procedures. I am a strong advocate of patient and family rights.

Signatures need to be fully legible..NO PROBLEM like that one.

F/U with results of pain medication, document fully before and after response to medication and patient's impression of effectiveness of medication..This is absolutely necessary and again, no problem for nursing.

ETC................................................................

GOT THIS AND AGREE 100%

Many of these requirements, issues, directives are logical and necessary to promote safety, quality of care to our clients.

On board with that and teach it myself to the new staff.

But..then we get to how it is presented...

three or four memos, your screwed , record of counseling, get another group of memos..remember someone left a chart in your room and you were not present 'cause you were actually working with another patient or transporting another patient off the floor...

BOOM.. memo #1.

Record of counseling, I think three total..on top of the memos.

Unpaid three day suspension with this all on your permanent record.

Actually I'm not sure at what stage of these disciplinary measures we get fired.

AND WE HAVE A UNION.

Morale now sucks rotten eggs in our unit. We were talking amongst ourselves and pretty much came to the same conclusion..

Someone or group of someones have lost their minds.

Much of this is not at the immediate supervisory level, but is directed from above..

I spoke with some of "MY PEOPLE" I do have some of those..I explained my fear of alienation between physicians and nursing staff as a result of nursing being asked to police physician behavior and report it if necessary. I spoke with a few docs today and to a good friend, an ARNP for one of our teams, what the problem is, what we need to do to avoid conflict, being turned against each other, simply by not bringing the stupid chart into the patient's room. Take off lab coats, don't touch the patient until dressed up like a giant yellow condom with gloves (I triple glove).:chuckle

I AGREE WITH ALL OF THIS, JUST DON'T THREATEN US. WE'RE HAPPY TO COMPLY ALL BY OURSELVES, REALLY:confused:

Not being a "Gusano" and having had a mother raised in Nazi Germany with her own stories to frighten me with, I simply will not cooperate with reporting others, my Docs, my colleagues to those who could care less who gets hurt or how the discipline of the miscreants will affect the morale of the rest of the staff.

I think this is all that organizations fault..not to diminish the importance of this regulatory organization, we need oversight!! we need objective input !!!so we can continue to strive to be the best that we can be..but whats their name again?? I can never remember their initals. You know who I'm talking about. And they are very powerful and scary...

You don't encourage loyalty through fear and resentment.

Difficult day again today, one more day then I am free until Tuesday next. I sat after clocking out at the station in the back of the unit..once seen by one of my associate nurse managers, I was told to go home, why was I still here..said very friendly of course. He really is a cool dude but he must follow the party line. I replied that I had nothing waiting for me at home, I was lonely, have little human contact outside the hospital and at least I had someone to talk to here. Most of this is true so it sounds good.

Fell asleep driving home again tonight. Stopped and parked near a favorite Cuban restaurant, apparently fell asleep woke up approximately twenty minutes later clutching my keys and purse, ready to get out of the car. Took me a minute to figure out where I was. Good place as any to pick up a home cooked meal and hang out with my friends at this

restaurant. A large Cuban coffee and dinner, I was awake and I'm still awake and writing this at home.

I hope things get better.

Bye, soon it will End. We'll see where things go from here.

[jreed]

contact wage and hour, u can file a complaint, u must be paid if not given an uninterrupted lunch break

[Irish Nurse 89]

Overtime at my hospital is discouraged. However, I do believe that OT is looked at on an individual basis. And if the same person is having OT on a routine basis, they are called into the office, or receive an email and asked to pay more attention to their clock out times.

[RN1982]

I like how management turns it around and puts the blame on us. They give us all this bullcrap paperwork to fill out and ridiculous nurse to patient ratios and then expect us to get it all done in 8-12 hours depending on your shift. Then if you stay over, its because you have bad time management skills when you really don't.