Last minute call ins.

[Mikeinhouston]

How does your facility handle last minute call ins? Does your facility start calling nurses then agencies? Is it handle by the house supervisor or charge nurse? Does your facility have some online staffing solution for last minute call ins, like sending out texts, email and voice messages automatically to qualified nurses that are available then they must agree to work the shift? Please help me with my project.

[Seaofclouds, BSN, RN]

Our charge nurse is responsible for calling replacement staff. We call the agencies first so they can start calling their people while we call our people. Our charge nurses also look at the next couple shifts to see if they can work out a deal when calling staff, such as "if you come in today you can have tomorrow off".

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Step-wise response

1. Immediate (first 2 hours of the shift) need is filled by (in order of preference) a) volunteer - existing staff remain to cover first 2 hours, b) volunteer qualified nurse from another dept floated in for 2 hours) c) non-volunteer qualified nurse floated in to cover

2. Offgoing charge nurse & House supervisor initiate 'urgent' staffing request - first calling internal float pool and then anyone in that department who is not currently scheduled to work... if they come in they get additional $ and a different day off; that usually does the trick. If you get an 'urgent call, you can come in up to 2 hours after start of the shift & still be paid for the entire shift... to accommodate the nurse's need to make last minute personal arrangements

Ultimately, it is the nurse manager's responsibility to come in and provide coverage if there is no one else available. This does not happen often, but when it does it makes a huge impression... and that manager usually makes sure that they always have a couple of 'on call' people listed afterward - LOL.