Manager Insists....

[alaskaman]

On a new position for 7 months....last week the manager told me that to comply with the policy day shift nurses (12 hour) stay on the unit until 1930. Typically in a high acuity area after you give report and check in with the patient you can leave. The manager derives her view from those 7 minutes totaled up are a lot of hours of wasted labor. So even after clocking out at 1923 she wants nurses to stay.I point out that the unit is steady and many of us have lives which benefit from leaving a few minutes after report is completed...and yet she is adamant and insistent. I pointed out that I will have to pull back from full time to a .6 next year. She was clearly shocked.

First time in 25 years as an RN I've ever heard of this. Anyone else?

[klone, MSN, RN]

I disagree with the majority of posters telling you to "just do it or deal with it".

If it was me, I'm at work to be PAID. I will not perform work duties off the clock. That's why we work, for payment.

If others want to wait around doing charity work for free, it's their choice. For me, I'm staying clocked in for my services provided.

The union I belong to strictly prohibits working off the clock anyway. Why would you do your manager a favor when she clearly doesn't care about making you stay extra without pay?

My thoughts exactly. If you're clocked out, you're free to go. If she wants you to work that extra 7 minutes, then you absolutely should not clock out.

Another poster indicated that perhaps the manager has too much time on her hands. That's what I'm kind of thinking. Holy cow, if the biggest problem she's dealing with is nurses actually getting out before 0730/1930, then that must be a dream unit!

[NuGuyNurse2b]

I think people forget that managers are under the administrators' microscopes. The directive probably isn't coming from her. It's why I would never want to be a manager and have argued in prior threads where members who were managers were griping about their plight. That's the risk that you take when you become a manager.

[klone, MSN, RN]

It's why I would never want to be a manager and have argued in prior threads where members who were managers were griping about their plight. That's the risk that you take when you become a manager.

Well, that's a nonsensical and ****** opinion. By that rationale, nobody should ever vent or complain about anything related to their job, because they chose to take that job, right?

And no, I don't believe this is a directive from administration. I find it very difficult to believe that administration would endorse nurses working off the clock.

[cleback]

In my orientation, administration made a point of saying they expected us to be there until 1930. And honestly, if I'm not giving report still, I can usually keep busy by answering call lights and helping out. Otherwise, I ask the charge or the supervisor to leave early.

I think your threatening to reduce hours was an overreaction. You're scheduled until 1930 so you should be able to stay until then.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

Well, that's a nonsensical and ****** opinion. By that rationale, nobody should ever vent or complain about anything related to their job, because they chose to take that job, right?

And no, I don't believe this is a directive from administration. I find it very difficult to believe that administration would endorse nurses working off the clock.

That's quite a stretch and perhaps you need a cool beverage if your post is going to include asterisks to voice a counter opinion. Everyone knows management is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and yet they choose to go that route. So I feel no sympathy for them. Nursing has its own pitfalls too, but the fact is none of that is particularly specific to the role. People walk into situations where the patient ratio is not ideal. That is a reality of the role; it is not an expectation. Management is sandwiched between staff and administration. They are expected to uphold policies of the organization and there will be people who are unhappy with it. So I'm not going to re-hash the whole thread here. And of course it can be from administration. Clocking out at 30 minutes on the dot favors the employer.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Clocking out at 30 minutes on the dot favors the employer.

But that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about clocking out at 7:23 and continuing to work until 7:30 because they're being paid until 7:30.

And I use words like **** and **** in everyday casual conversation. It doesn't mean I'm all het up or excited, trust me.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

But that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about clocking out at 7:23 and continuing to work until 7:30 because they're being paid until 7:30.

And I use words like **** and **** in everyday casual conversation. It doesn't mean I'm all het up or excited, trust me.

Here it does...that's why the system kicks it into asterisks. I'm pretty sure we all signed the agreement when we signed up for the site. And I know that's what the OP is talking about, and I disagree with it, too (and personally I don't believe a manager would tell someone to stay without being paid - I think the OP might be misunderstanding things because that's...illegal). But I was responding to the general conversation and direction of the thread that has been going, where people are saying just stay until the 7:30 instead of punching out. That's what the manager is probably requesting of the OP.

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

Where I work our shift ends at 1530. report starts at 1500. It does not matter if report take 15 minute s or more or less we are expected to clock out at 1530. I usually get overtime easily approved if needed for unit safety - It's acute psych after all but it funny when a reports goes quickly and there are 6 or 7 nurses sitting by the time clock waiting for 1530 to clock out.

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

I left a widely known and respected hospital in my area because nurses were working off the clock at 6 am so they could get organized for the day (checking the mar and orders). They would then clock in at 7 am once they wrote out all of their notes. That is 6 hours of unpaid pay every paycheck. I could not wrap my head around that so I left the place.

[MunoRN, RN]

But that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about clocking out at 7:23 and continuing to work until 7:30 because they're being paid until 7:30.

And I use words like **** and **** in everyday casual conversation. It doesn't mean I'm all het up or excited, trust me.

With the commonly used timeclock systems, clocking out at 7:23 means you are still getting paid up until 7:30, but an easier solution would be to not clock out early, but to continue working until the scheduled end of your shift and clock out at that time.

[MunoRN, RN]

Yikes. So after you've given hand-off report, she wants the unit overstaffed for 7 minutes?

Clearly something happened that she's reacting to.

But if it's so critical to have it double staffed at this time, why not at other times? Still, as others said, it's best just to go with it.

Even though you might have twice as many nurses during report, you're still understaffed since you have less staff providing direct patient care than required.

[saskrn]

Staying until 19:30 and 07:30 is standard policy in the different ICU/CCU units and hospitals where I've worked in the past and present.

IMHO, it's not a big deal.