I work on a small 15 bed behavioral heath unit at a local hospital. Even though the economy took a dump, our census has not really been affected. More and more people come in depressed with nervous breakdowns due to financial pressures, job and home losses, and marriages crumbling in those stressors. What has changed is our staffing policy when the census does have a dip. When the census dips to 11, a nurse has to leave or be put on the dreaded 'on-call'. For example, let's say that I get a phone call at 1230 to put me on-call for my 1500-2330 shift. I have to be ready to come into work whenever I am called. This means that I cannot do anything with my day, not knowing. The stress of not working is more than if I were at work. Usually that patient #12 does come in because well.. it is rather ridiculous to be able to predict the census for the entire afternoon and night at 1230. When I do make my way in (I live 30 minutes away), the single charge nurse looks ready to cry with the stress of admitting patients, dealing with the doc, and giving patients their meds. Even our on-call docs don't have to come in! I make new grad pay and get a measly $4 an hour for on-call. One day, I was really pulled around. I was called at 1300 and told I was on call before a 1500 shift. I was called at 1445 to come in . I was lazing around in my PJs reading a good book. It took me a rushed 45 minutes to get there and I was very angry in my car. My day turned around when I arrived to the lovely day nurse waiting for me and people happy to see me. It was just dumb, but being at work was a relief from the on-call stress :icon_roll. It is much worse for the day charge nurses when their AM med nurse is called in. How one charge nurse is supposed to pass meds and PRNs (psych patients get a lot of PRNs) for 10 patients, transcribe all new orders, deal with the docs, put out unit 'fires', be harassed at the desk for things like patient belongings and laundry issues, and admit patient #11 is beyond me. This is one of the reasons which I have not fought to renew my charge nurse status after previous issues at work which have faded for the most part. A 20 year experienced extremely capable nurse told me that she locked herself in the med room and almost cried. It made me feel so bad.
This on-call policy strikes me as wrong and unfair. I'm sure that employees (who keep their jobs) in every job field around the world are being abused in one way or another and I'm lucky to have a decent job. However, that doesn't make this right. Anyone else have to be put 'on-call'?
. I was lazing around in my PJs reading a good book. It took me a rushed 45 minutes to get there and I was very angry in my car. My day turned around when I arrived to the lovely day nurse waiting for me and people happy to see me. It was just dumb, but being at work was a relief from the on-call stress :icon_roll. It is much worse for the day charge nurses when their AM med nurse is called in. How one charge nurse is supposed to pass meds and PRNs (psych patients get a lot of PRNs) for 10 patients, transcribe all new orders, deal with the docs, put out unit 'fires', be harassed at the desk for things like patient belongings and laundry issues, and admit patient #11 is beyond me. This is one of the reasons which I have not fought to renew my charge nurse status after previous issues at work which have faded for the most part. A 20 year experienced extremely capable nurse told me that she locked herself in the med room and almost cried. It made me feel so bad.