Speaking of... Getting to work early

[jrsmrs]

Reading another thread got me thinking about this...I always get to work at least a half hour before my shift starts. Do I want to or like to work for free? Hell no! But I really don't know how else I would ever get out on the floor in time to get everything done. If I start at 0730, I've got glucs to do before breakfast, probably at least a few 0800 meds to give, etc. never mind getting vitals on 5 pts, doing assessments on all, washes as needed, putting out any fires that spark, etc.How do you adequately prep for your shift if you get there at the beginning of shift and not early? Reading kardexes & shift summaries, checking meds on MARS vs charts, etc takes me minimum half an hour for 5 pts. Usually quite a bit longer if the pt has a thick chart that takes forever to get through (which is many of the pts). There is no way if I spent a half hour-45 mins prepping after start of shift that I would ever get all my stuff done on time and get out for breaks. I hate going in early, in practice and in principle, but just in order to meet expectations and also to avoid the stress of constantly being behind and trying to play catch-up, I do it. If there is some other way, I'd love to hear it. The only nurses I've noticed who don't come in early really don't seem to be double-checking their med orders vs MARS, which is a policy at our hospital q shift. That's the biggest time eater, really.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

If there is no overlap, do you tape report?

[Aurora77]

Do you all have overlap of shifts, or....? We don't have any overlap, so even if I only wanted to get report, I'd still have to go in a few mins early or else the previous shift would have to stay late to give me report.For those that don't do chart checks at start of shift, when do you do them?

So is there no report? You just go in essentially blind? What kind of facility is this? It sounds very unsafe.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

yes , i go in and review charts before report. I rarely get a decent report . most are useless. and i read md notes and look at orders. when i start right off , i feel as if i don't have a clue about the pt. almost everyone does this on my floor. i like to look over the chart, mar, and orders then get report. if i didnt, i would be drowning half the time. many dont include adequate histories and some of our pts have a lengthy hospital course, when it hits the fan, as it often does i don't want to be the nurse who doesn't know any thing about pt due to a awful (common) report.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

What you don't like the report that goes so and so is fine, so and so had a good day?, lol!

[Aurora77]

Something to think about--if you're giving a half hour of volunteer time to your work, in 52 weeks that comes out to 78 hours of free labor. 2 weeks of time you're not being compensated for. That's assuming 12 hour shifts; if you're working eights, the numbers are worse. Of course your employer is going to allow this, they're getting 2 weeks free from you. If 90% of the staff is doing the same, your employer is saving all kinds of money. I'm not sure why you guys are letting yourself be taken advantage of in tis way. I thought Canadian nurses were unionized? What does the union say?

[sharpeimom]

I lived 35 miles from work. It could take anywhere from 30 minutes to about 90 minutes in wintery weather.

What really made it impossible were all those HUGE log trucks whose top cruising speed rarely exceeded 10 mph. It was windy and mountainous country road and it was impossible to pass. If I didn't allow 90 minutes to get there, there was frequently a good chance that I'd be late.

If I got there way too soon, I'd hit the arches and have a cup of tea. We could clock in 15 minutes early and I'd use those few minutes to just have an unrushed beginning to my day.

[DSkelton711]

Back when I worked in the hospital I worked on a busy OB/GYN floor. Our patients were less complicated but I had surgical patients, high risk OB patients, pre-term patients, admits, discharges and had a patient load of up to 12 patients, no CNA or techs. I did it all--meds, baths, IVs, catheters, vitals, fetal monitoring, hang blood, I/O, discharge instructions, new admits, was charge nurse, took off orders, etc. I would sometimes get pulled from the floor at times to go work L&D, then have to go back to my patient load. I never clocked in early unless asked to do so. Each shift checking orders and MARS is crazy, that should be changed immediately. Quit working for free, it only hurts you in the long run and like another poster said--your co-workers won't appreciate it much. I couldn't imagine working in the hospital these days.

[champagnesupeRNova]

Wow I can't believe there are actually hospitals where there's no overlap between shifts! That's horrible.

I think it's admirable of you to go into work early to be prepared and informed about your patients. Of course, like everyone else said, it's not right that you have to do that and it shouldn't have to continue.

[pamelalayn]

I get to work 30 minutes before my shift starts. If I can get my report, check my patients then check my MARS I'm doing good. The nurses that get there at 7pm (which is shift start) are way behind waiting for a computer to use to check their MAR and to complete their computer work. The doctors show up starting at 730pm, so good luck then. We do not get paid, and they will not pay us for this. I don't care, this 30 minutes does a world of difference for the quality of my day. What annoys me to no end is the nurses that come to me during the shift to ask me for help, "are you busy? can you do me a favor? I do not get to work early to free up my time for starting ivs on their patients, taking their calls and their transfer and admission. These nurse also run out the second their shift is complete. Giving a crappy report and leaving a sloppy mess for the next nurse is not on their mind. I usually get out about 730pm (our shift ends at 715PM). I would get out on time if the next shift was a courteous as me. I think the nurse that started this post cares about the quality of care she gives her patients. When you get a chunk of your work out the way, you can spend more time with your patients and carefully review the chart. I think my 30 minute sacrifice helps more than just me.

[ColimaDog]

When I discovered that if I signed on to certain jobs, I was expected to work without pay, I refused. I let them know that I'd be happy to do the work, but that I had to be paid. They responded that they realized that these shifts took additional time and effort, and that they appreciated my hard work, but that the official policy was not to pay - I responded by requesting that they remove me from those shifts. Sadly, other nurses gladly took them, and work between 25-45 minutes per day without pay. If we all refused to do this, they would have to start paying. It didn't make me popular with the management, but it did keep me from feeling exploited and disrespected.

[pixiestudent2]

When I discovered that if I signed on to certain jobs, I was expected to work without pay, I refused. I let them know that I'd be happy to do the work, but that I had to be paid. They responded that they realized that these shifts took additional time and effort, and that they appreciated my hard work, but that the official policy was not to pay - I responded by requesting that they remove me from those shifts. Sadly, other nurses gladly took them, and work between 25-45 minutes per day without pay. If we all refused to do this, they would have to start paying. It didn't make me popular with the management, but it did keep me from feeling exploited and disrespected.

This is against the law, you can't have a policy not to pay your workers. Good for you for not putting up with it. They should be reported to the board of labor.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

Something to think about--if you're giving a half hour of volunteer time to your work, in 52 weeks that comes out to 78 hours of free labor. 2 weeks of time you're not being compensated for. That's assuming 12 hour shifts; if you're working eights, the numbers are worse. Of course your employer is going to allow this, they're getting 2 weeks free from you. If 90% of the staff is doing the same, your employer is saving all kinds of money. I'm not sure why you guys are letting yourself be taken advantage of in tis way. I thought Canadian nurses were unionized? What does the union say?

worth it to me. thise 30mins i exclusively look up pt info. i do not help on the floor. bells, alarms, or not. our break room has a few computers and i sit in there until 7pm. the shifts i started without looking pt up before i felt way off and unprepared. maybe if i got better reports i would feel differently