Needed to vent a bit

TriciaJ, RN · May 13, 2017

First of all: paragraphs are your friend. You will get more responses if readers don't have to wade through a wall of text.

Second: Sounds like your workplace was all right to begin with, but went downhill after it changed management. Now you're working in a poorly-managed facility. They have staffing issues they aren't willing to address. No one knows if an agency nurse will show up or not; no one agrees on how to cover no-shows. And worst of all, whoever is on duty when someone doesn't show up is stuck staying until someone finally does. Unacceptable.

You can probably start by being assertive: request a meeting with management to discuss a staffing plan. Get your coworkers on board to make it clear that they are not owned by their employer; they have lives outside of work and the right to live them. Emergency staffing cannot be the norm.

Chances are, your management will put you off or blow you off. Or they'll make lovely promises to buy time and renege on all of them. And you'll just have to accept the fact that your workplace is a pit and it's time to scout out another job. Many of us have been in your shoes. We hate leaving coworkers we like. But eventually everyone has to save themselves. Or not. Good luck.

dream'n, BSN, RN · May 13, 2017

Start looking for another job immediately. I used to get mandated to stay quite often for call ins/no shows when I first became a nurse in the early 90s. But now that I'm much older, I would never put up with it (barring an actual emergency situation). It might happen once (and I'd have to stay because I couldn't abandon my patients), but trust me it would never happen again. But I'm older and feisty. Honestly, I'd give management an earful and if they didn't come up with a reasonable plan for the future, I'd quit. Nobody has time to deal with that s***. No wonder they are so short staffed.

I<3NEPatriots · May 13, 2017

Hi there Tricia. Thank you for your comment! I tried writing the post in Word first prior to posting and I broke it up but it didn't post that way. Anyway, I was having such issues with the DON that I ended up sitting with her boss and HR in a 1:1 meeting but I don't feel as if much has been done if anything at all. I feel as if when I go back to work I'm going to be penalized for not staying from the last situation however I felt as if it was border-line employee abuse if I did so. The way I looked at it was I must feel confident that I'll be able to deliver safe and effective care before agreeing to staying/picking up more hours. It's an awful situation nonetheless where the DON says it's not her responsibility to be on call but it is what it is at this point. I was trying to get at least two years experience under my belt before advancing in my career but with situations such as these keep rolling through pretty soon I will have no choice but to look elsewhere. More than half of our staff nurses have left within the past 6 months and I'm sure more plan on leaving the way things are going.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · May 13, 2017

Staffing the facility is management's responsibility. It's their most important responsibility. Sick calls are a normal part of doing business, and they need to have a system to deal with them. That system is NOT just mandating people to do double shifts with no notice. Nurses are suckers for arguments about abandonment and "the poor patients" but it's the facility that is doing the abandoning, you worked your assigned shift!

Management always says there is no one available- if they offered more money, eventually someone becomes available. If they added an extra float to the nighttime core staff, there would be someone available. Email them with those suggestions, and some of you own. Include in the email that you are not available for any shift on less than 8 hours notice. Next time you are asked to stay, say you can't, and that you sent them ideas to solve the problem, but no one did anything, therefore, not your problem.

I state in my interviews that I am not available to be mandated for extra hours, unless it's a disaster and management is being called in as well. No one has ever had a problem with that.

I<3NEPatriots · May 14, 2017

Staffing the facility is management's responsibility. It's their most important responsibility. Sick calls are a normal part of doing business, and they need to have a system to deal with them. That system is NOT just mandating people to do double shifts with no notice. Nurses are suckers for arguments about abandonment and "the poor patients" but it's the facility that is doing the abandoning, you worked your assigned shift!
Management always says there is no one available- if they offered more money, eventually someone becomes available. If they added an extra float to the nighttime core staff, there would be someone available. Email them with those suggestions, and some of you own. Include in the email that you are not available for any shift on less than 8 hours notice. Next time you are asked to stay, say you can't, and that you sent them ideas to solve the problem, but no one did anything, therefore, not your problem.
I state in my interviews that I am not available to be mandated for extra hours, unless it's a disaster and management is being called in as well. No one has ever had a problem with that.

I wish I could say that were true! The last time I was on-call on my weekend on I ended up having to work a double because we had an agency nurse who was a no call and no show but later I came to find out that I didn't get paid time and a half for working extra while being on call! I know many nurses say that when you're on call you get paid a little extra for being on however not where I am. Management has not bothered to try and give incentives for current staff to do a little extra here and there. I know we shouldn't expect it but we are so understaffed and under appreciated a little gesture wouldn't hurt!

When I got hired as well I didn't want to be too picky because this was the first place who offered me a nursing job right out of school (I was hired by the previous director) and didn't mind at the time about being on-call because frankly I wasn't worried then! At that point we were fully staffed and had very little to no call outs.

Thank you for your response!

I<3NEPatriots · May 14, 2017

Start looking for another job immediately. I used to get mandated to stay quite often for call ins/no shows when I first became a nurse in the early 90s. But now that I'm much older I would never put up with it (barring an actual emergency situation). It might happen once (and I'd have to stay because I couldn't abandon my patients), but trust me it would never happen again. But I'm older and feisty. Honestly, I'd give management an earful and if they didn't come up with a reasonable plan for the future, I'd quit. Nobody has time to deal with that s***. No wonder they are so short staffed.[/quote']
Thank you for your response! I plan on beginning to look for another job once I'm fully completed with my semester for my RN-BSN. And yes, they're short staffed because they do not show compassion nor care for their employees and expect us to pull double the work for less and many of the staff nursing assistants and nursing staff have left for better opportunities in places with better management. I personally feel as if the patients are losing out in the end by all this but after approaching management several times with no result I give up!

quazar · May 14, 2017

Had a similar situation at one of my first jobs. Poorly staffed, call outs all the time, no coverage. When management refused to cover even when the DOCS called them, that was it for me. I was done. I tried to change things from within, and exactly what TriciaJ said happened: they made lots of lovely promises to buy time to renege on them. I left, and was so glad when I did. It is my suggestion that you definitely get out of there asap.

TriciaJ, RN · May 14, 2017

I wish I could say that were true! The last time I was on-call on my weekend on I ended up having to work a double because we had an agency nurse who was a no call and no show but later I came to find out that I didn't get paid time and a half for working extra while being on call! I know many nurses say that when you're on call you get paid a little extra for being on however not where I am. Management has not bothered to try and give incentives for current staff to do a little extra here and there. I know we shouldn't expect it but we are so understaffed and under appreciated a little gesture wouldn't hurt!
When I got hired as well I didn't want to be too picky because this was the first place who offered me a nursing job right out of school (I was hired by the previous director) and didn't mind at the time about being on-call because frankly I wasn't worried then! At that point we were fully staffed and had very little to no call outs.
Thank you for your response!

Canoehead was actually giving you very good advice. You need to put management on notice that you are not available to be stuck there because they have no emergency staffing policy. They will milk you as long as you let them.

As far as not being properly paid for overtime: you need to contact your state labour board, ASAP. Maybe you work in a state where workers have very few rights but at least do a check. I'm pretty sure you have back wages coming to you.

You're working in a sweat shop. These exist as long as they can find people to work for them.

annabanana2 · May 14, 2017

I don't have advice for you, I just want to say that your working conditions are complete BS and your management are incompetent idiots. Staffing should NOT be your job. You are a NURSE. You did not sign up to be a staffing clerk as well! And for your DON to tell you "not my job" when you called for help that night... oh man. I don't even know you and I feel angry on your behalf. That is astonishing. I'm lucky enough to work in a unionized environment in Canada and not in a MILLION YEARS would something like that fly. Never ever ever. Get out of there, you deserve better.

I<3NEPatriots · May 15, 2017

Canoehead was actually giving you very good advice. You need to put management on notice that you are not available to be stuck there because they have no emergency staffing policy. They will milk you as long as you let them.
As far as not being properly paid for overtime: you need to contact your state labour board, ASAP. Maybe you work in a state where workers have very few rights but at least do a check. I'm pretty sure you have back wages coming to you.
You're working in a sweat shop. These exist as long as they can find people to work for them.

To be honest I wouldn't know how to go about contacting my state about that (I went on their website and all I found was a pay equity thing however not sure if that's the right thing). I have approached management and administration with concerns, complaints, and everything to the point where they won't acknowledge me anymore which makes me feel that they honestly do not care. I also don't want to report them as well in fear they'll realize it's me

**LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM** · May 15, 2017

To be honest I wouldn't know how to go about contacting my state about that (I went on their website and all I found was a pay equity thing however not sure if that's the right thing). I have approached management and administration with concerns complaints, and everything to the point where they won't acknowledge me anymore which makes me feel that they honestly do not care. I also don't want to report them as well in fear they'll realize it's me[/quote']
What are they going to do...fire you? Then they'll be even more short.
Of course they don't care, why should they? They're skating by ridiculously understaffed because their nursing staff is tolerating their abuse. They will only listen when you band together and demand change or talk with your feet.
Finish your semester and get out, or stay and fight. Easy? No way. But you have to do something one way or the other.