Basically I work 10 shifts in 14 days all 8 hours. Sometimes I will work 12+ days in a row because there is no one to work when I am away as we can only work at 1 facility at a time for IPAC.
Whenever they ask me to work on my days off I always say yes, making extra money and stuff. Now that they hired more staff I am not getting more than 10 shifts and I feel bad, but do not want to be greedy and keep taking all the shifts and complain.
Come work on my unit. Nobody wants the extra shifts. We are all burned out at this point. I feel like death after picking up one shift so I limit it to one every 6 weeks.
@DK123 When you are done assisting on LovingLife's unit, you are more than welcome to come work at my workplace. We have more hours than you could ever want and I'm sure there are some people who would appreciate not having to constantly work 16-20 hour shifts...
Basically I work 10 shifts in 14 days all 8 hours. Sometimes I will work 12+ days in a row because there is no one to work when I am away as we can only work at 1 facility at a time for IPAC.
Whenever they ask me to work on my days off I always say yes, making extra money and stuff. Now that they hired more staff I am not getting more than 10 shifts and I feel bad, but do not want to be greedy and keep taking all the shifts and complain.
I also wouldn't worry about how other people feel about you picking up many shifts if you feel that it won't impact your body too negatively. I figure if your coworkers really want the shifts, they will volunteer right away for them. If they don't volunteer, they should be grateful that you are picking up so they don't have to and so they aren't mandated.
Right now we're understaffed, and it's tough. Anyone who wants to could make a lot of overtime, but we're pretty burned out, so people aren't picking up all the available shifts, even for incentive bonuses. If I didn't have kids (and a husband who isn't interested in extra solo-parenting time), I would find the money tempting. As it is, I'm grateful to anyone who picks up because it means I'm not working as short as I'd be without them.
Unless you have some sort of inside track that allows you unfair access to overtime, it's fair game for you to pick up as many shifts as you want. I guarantee there are a lot of nurses like myself who aren't competing with you for extras, and appreciate you coming in. Just make sure you're not working so much that you get burnt out. Having a life outside of work is important, too.
I think many facilities go through periods of being overstaffed and understaffed. Sometimes you'll have lots of opportunity for extra shifts, and sometimes you'll be lucky not to get down staffed or put on call instead of working. Put away a little nest egg during the busy times to make sure you've got all your expenses covered during the slow times. Don't let the extra money become your expectation.
SilverBells, BSN
1,108 Posts
@DK123 When you are done assisting on LovingLife's unit, you are more than welcome to come work at my workplace. We have more hours than you could ever want and I'm sure there are some people who would appreciate not having to constantly work 16-20 hour shifts...