mandatory overtime policy? need to vent

OC_An Khe · Mar 29, 2004

Why stay at all?

Rustyhammer · Mar 29, 2004

Hey! Everyone has to do it sometimes. At least you get the next day off. Reality is if the relief doesn't show up you stay. We've all been there, done that. As long as it isn't everytime then I wouldn't beef too loud.

-R

doobiedo, RN · Mar 29, 2004

Sorry but I don't agree that only the full time persons should have to stay. At a facility I worked at we had a rotation book. When someone was mandated to stay due to a call out you signed the book and shift that you had to stay. Part timers should have to take rotation too. The only ones exempt were the pool nurses and agency nurses. Now I heard since that pool are not exempt anymore. Of course even if agency was willing to stay the facility said no usually because of the $$. It was cheaper to pay staff.....

longtermcarern · Mar 30, 2004

Why stay at all?

Well now that I have had some sleep, I feel better about it. To answer your question though, The benefits are unmatchable anywhere around. We live in a very rural area. there are only 3 places to work in a 100 mile radius. This is the only place that has a paid retirement after 10 years of service. So I guess I will put up with a lot just to know I will have something besides my 401 and social security to live on.

RNPATL, DNP, RN · Mar 30, 2004

I was mandated the other day. It is a difficult thing to have to stay over, when you were not planning on it. It can be very difficult for single parents (which I am!~). Had to make some really quick arrangements and thankfully have some really, and I mean really good friends that can help me out.

In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why young people do not want to become nurses. Mandated overtime is crazy! I am sorry to those who may disagree, but I have a life and choose to live it on my terms. Being mandated by a job is simply not right. Fortunately, I needed the extra hours and I was able to arrange care for my kids.

wjf00 · Mar 30, 2004

It never ceases to amaze me what people will put up with. That would have been the last shift I ever worked. I have always made it clear in interviews that I will not be mandated EVER. And I don't give second chances. How small is the town you live in? Is there no where else to work? By all means you were correct to do the shift to protect your patients and licence, but why work another day.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Mar 30, 2004

The highest person on the food chain needs to stay, and only then can they ask others to stay and be able to justify it. It's their responsibility to find staff, they have to be at least in the rotation to stay over.

miss_nurse2004 · Apr 17, 2004

Our facility RNs share the "on call" duties each month. If someone calls in or has to leave their shift, the RN on call is responsible to come in and replace the other nurse. No employer can force overtime on their employees. What about the nurse practice act? If you've pulled your shift, and have to stay another 8 hours, 11-7...would you be competent and alert enough to work? What if it's on another hall with residents you don't know and you're going to be the only 11-7 nurse in the building?? Not me, buddy! No way, no how.

Of course, our RN's have the habit of calling all (and I mean ALL) the other lpns who are off work, whether it's 6 pm or 3 in the morning....to ask if they can come in and cover the shift. But the rn gets extra pay to be "on call" and they know well ahead of time their scheduled days on call. Why call me at 5 in the morning and ask me to come in, especially if it's my only day off that week and I wanted to sleep late...for once?!?!?!

Blackcat99 · Apr 17, 2004

:angryfire Mandatory overtime. When I worked in West Virginia they would call people at their homes on their days off and tell them that they were being mandated to come in on their days off even though they were not even on call! Fortunately, the other nurses warned me about it when I was first hired so I never answered my phone. :angryfire

:angryfire When I lived in Calif. many many years ago the DON at the LTC called me at home and told me I had to come in it was my responsibility etc. etc. etc. I told her I couldn't possibly come in because I had been drinking. She told me to come in anyway and got so angry yelling over and over that it was my responsibility to come in. Finally, I started yelling back at her "No you are the director of nurses it's your responsibility" and I slammed the phone down. The next day at work she acted very nice towards me. :uhoh3:

BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN · Apr 17, 2004

We get mandated on occassion..but only as a last ditch effort to staff...we will take heavy assignments to just get thru.

We have a book...every one is in it, no matter how many hours they work...sounds like someone was taking advantage of you!

We can refuse and there is nothing they can do.

bunrab · Apr 17, 2004

we take turns, full and part time alike, and altho no one likes it, we do it if all else has failed, i.e. blast paging all the nurses on our unit for the available shift, trying to split a shift, i'll stay 4 hrs if someone else will come in 4 hrs early, whatever creative solution we can come up with.

our union got us double time pay for 4 or more hrs over your scheduled shift, and time and a half for coming in on your day off, so we've had good luck covering our holes and call outs. they also got us the right to refuse once in a twelve month period.

on the down side, one night when all four of us couldn't/wouldn't stay she told us outright she didn't care who did it as long as there was a body to do the mandatory overtime. we all got written up for that (before the right to refuse).