Notified of call before being on call

[rlgiv]

What are your hospitals policy when it comes to when someone is notified for call?

I was on call from 7a7p on monday. Was at work Sunday and was not notified about being called in. Went to bed and turned off my phone because I didn't want to be disturbed but knowing I was on call the next morning woke up at 0630 and my phone back on. I received a call at 0710 calling me in. Went to work in a timely fashion and when I got there was told dept. Manager wanted to see me. She wanted to writeme up because I didn't respond to a call that was placed at 0500. Keep in mind I wasn't on call until 0700.

In the end we had a disagreement and I asked her to see the policy in writing and she couldn't find it. She asked me to step out for a few minutes while she looked for it and I took that time to call human resources. They asked if I would like for them to speak with her. They called her in her office immediately and a few minutes later I returned just as there conversation was ending. She then decided not to write me up and informed me that she was going to add an addendum to the policy.

So, the new policy will allow them to call us hours before our actual call starts. This seems to be pretty extreme to me. So does being on call for you mean I am available to be called in from say 7am to whatever time or would you expect a phone call in the middle of the night hours before your even on call?

[klone, MSN, RN]

1 hour ago, myoglobin said:

Thus, normally if I were schedule to work at 0700 the drive takes me about 45 minutes so I would get up at 0630 and be on the road by 0650 (no breakfast as I practice intermittent fasting).

Okay, this made me laugh and think of that joke:

How can you tell if someone does CrossFit?

Don't worry, they'll tell you.

IME, same for people who do keto or IF. ?

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

27 minutes ago, klone said:

Okay, this made me laugh and think of that joke:

How can you tell if someone does CrossFit?

Don't worry, they'll tell you.

IME, same for people who do keto or IF. ?

I almost spit out my IF-approved non-caloric water beverage on my screen when I read that!

[NurseBlaq]

14 hours ago, rlgiv said:

They wanted me in at 7. This is also a new manager. I am a 14 year veteran and I've never had a problem with this before. She wanted to write me up and I asked her to see the policy. She could not find it so after a few minutes she asked me to go get report from off going nurse then come back and we could finish our discussion. I used the opportunity to call human resources because I felt like I was being set up for failure. The HR person asked if I would like for them to call my manager. I said OK and after a few minutes returned. I came in just as she was finishing her call with HR. I could tell she was flustered and she told me that she would not be writing me up. But, as manager she could write a new policy and to expect it out at the next staff meeting.

Here's the thing:

It doesn't matter what time they called you. You knew you were on call at 7 so you should have been up sooner than 7. Don't know how long it took you to get to work but if they called you back at 710 then you were not there on time. They should have left a message, I didn't see where you said if they did or not, but if they did you're in the wrong full stop. If they didn't you're still in the wrong because when you got up at 630 you should have called them, especially if you had the phone turned off.

You wouldn't get the call at 7 if you were needed to be there at 7. You have to be realistic. I'm not understanding your gripe because no matter the scenario, you were wrong. Take it as a learning lesson and now you know.

[rlgiv]

Thanks for all the replies. Not as upset as I was before. In the past being on call meant be available to be called in at that time. New manager means new interpretation of policy. She can do whatever she wants.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I’m glad to hear you’re less upset now. I find the past interpretation of “on call” interesting, because I’ve worked in many places and Ive NEVER seen it work that way.

How does that work, exactly? If there is a sick call and they know they will need you for the entire shift, and you don’t have to actually answer your phone until 0700, what does that off-going nurse do? Does she have to stay late while she’s waiting for you to come in, which may not happen until 0730 or 0800?

[rlgiv]

Nobody stays late. I work in the emergency dept. We are divided into 4 sections with over 40 beds. We fill the the critical assignments first and close beds in the less critical areas or don't run fast track.

[oluchika]

3 hours ago, rlgiv said:

Thanks for all the replies. Not as upset as I was before. In the past being on call meant be available to be called in at that time. New manager means new interpretation of policy. She can do whatever she wants.

Oh, I guess the new manager has the same interpretation that most of us are used to. Idk, glad they're clarifying it for everyone so this misunderstanding doesn't happen again.

[JKL33]

2 hours ago, rlgiv said:

Nobody stays late. I work in the emergency dept.

Ah. Maybe the ED scenario is why I have no problem seeing that there are particularities that do affect situations similar to the OP; that there are reasonable varying understandings of what was expected in a place for a particular date/time. For instance, sometimes you're OC for a shift, and by the history of the practice in that place, everyone knows that it's to cover call-ins and the like. But sometimes you're OC for potential other needs like census surge. The latter happens all the time in EDs, and you're definitely not on-call when you're not on-call; it is more of a "standy-by" understanding of "on-call". And if you think the call you are to take starting at 0700 is more like stand-by for surge, then yes, it's definitely a different deal if they happen to have a call-in at 0500 and suddenly decide "oh hey, we have someone who is going to be OC (the "stand-by" understanding) at 0700, so we'll just call them in now..." Well, fine - but they weren't planning on being on standy-by/"call" until 0700.

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

Couldn't a text message be sent and then if you don't respond, it's assumed you are coming in. Why does one need to engage with someone on the phone hours before they are oncall?

[myoglobin, ASN, BSN, MSN]

That's my main point. In 11 years as a nurse I have never spoken with my employer over the phone other than to call into work (I would email were it possible). If I have to come in call and leave a message early enough to make that possible. If I am on call I will expect that I must be there by the regular time, but don't expect the nurse to answer the phone.

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

6 hours ago, NurseBlaq said:

Here's the thing:

It doesn't matter what time they called you. You knew you were on call at 7 so you should have been up sooner than 7. Don't know how long it took you to get to work but if they called you back at 710 then you were not there on time. They should have left a message, I didn't see where you said if they did or not, but if they did you're in the wrong full stop. If they didn't you're still in the wrong because when you got up at 630 you should have called them, especially if you had the phone turned off.

You wouldn't get the call at 7 if you were needed to be there at 7. You have to be realistic. I'm not understanding your gripe because no matter the scenario, you were wrong. Take it as a learning lesson and now you know.

Does a grown adult need this type of treatment? I don't think so. If a nurse knows when they are supposed to be in and they don't show, then they should deal with the repercussion. If they come in, all is well. It's no wonder so many nurses are sleep deprived. Is the nurse getting paid to answer the phone earlier than the oncall time? Unless it is an emergency, why not a simple text message notification or email that says, we are expecting you to come in for your shift. I am real particular about taking calls from work at home. I have seen so many situations come up of he said she said between co-workers and supervisors concerning the terms of accepting shifts/ being on-call (coming in versus not coming in and getting paid time and a half versus not). Not only that it is kind of difficult to seperate work from home when you are taking unnecessary calls from work.

[NurseBlaq]

25 minutes ago, Workitinurfava said:

Does a grown adult need this type of treatment? I don't think so. If a nurse knows when they are supposed to be in and they don't show, then they should deal with the repercussion. If they come in, all is well. It's no wonder so many nurses are sleep deprived. Is the nurse getting paid to answer the phone earlier than the oncall time? Unless it is an emergency, why not a simple text message notification or email that says, we are expecting you to come in for your shift. I am real particular about taking calls from work at home. I have seen so many situations come up of he said she said between co-workers and supervisors concerning the terms of accepting shifts/ being on-call (coming in versus not coming in and getting paid time and a half versus not). Not only that it is kind of difficult to seperate work from home when you are taking unnecessary calls from work.

She was wrong on both accounts in my post. What type of treatment are you speaking? It's common to get a call BEFORE your start time and if you had the phone turned off 30 minutes before you were supposed to be at work I don't see why you wouldn't call. I would to make sure they hadn't called me but the again I wouldn't have had the phone turned off or would have turned it on earlier. It isn't rocket science. I fail to see what your gripe is. She didn't know she was supposed to be in because there wasn't a message left. So what is your gripe?