Mandatory overtime/on call

I am a ADON at a AL/personal care home. I have had to come in a few times to cover the floor due to call offs. I do not get paid for it. We call everyone to ASK if they want to come in. We do have a few that sometimes will come in. But when no one comes in I am the one who does. The DON rarely does she usually just let's the staff work short.

The DON and ADON rotate call every other week. I got called back in once this week having to cancel a Dr appointment for the second time and this weekend was home with stomach flu and 101 fever, no way I could go in.

We play let's make a deal a lot to cover shifts. I have 8 nurses on the on call rotation. I am on call 24/7 so I am not on the rotation.

Omgosh ur DON & ADON covers the floor when u are short!!! Ours stay in their office!!

I'm a DON and I have worked 17 of the last 24 hours (9 hours covering a call off yesterday & back to do my job today). For those of you that have never done salary...that is 9 hours of absolutely FREE time. You all are eligible for time and a half & I get to donate all those hours. I highly doubt that I am going to get any kind of comp day out of this - but that's a whole other story.

With that said, I get it that that can be part of my job. I get it that once and awhile I will have to suck it up and just donate my time, BUT I'm always gonna be the absolute last resort.

NASCAR nurse I totally understand. I took a large pay decrease from my home health job where I was working 7 days a week and hours of paperwork every night. But now i mainly work 5 days a week. I have covered many hours on the floor and as you said we don't get paid for that and we still work all week too. I do like my job but miss the money. I work many more hours than the DON and I know she make A LOT more than I do.

Just went through this today! I don't mandate unless we are under state minimum. Usually this applies to the aides, however, if a Licensed calls out I do require someone to stay over until coverage gets there. I do try to schedule a "buffer" nurse. I get creative with their duties. My management Nurses also take turns. I am on call 24/7. I have had to do it twice in the past 9 months and we are a very busy facility.