On call requirements

1. We now have to pick up 30 hours of on-call requirements every 4 weeks! I was wondering if other people have this crazy requirement. We are short staffed so we know that when we are on call that we will be working. I think that 36 hours a week is enough work for me....after all i do have a life and a family too! I am thinking about just leaving mother/baby for good!

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2. 

   About mombabyRN96

   Joined: May '12; Posts: 32; Likes: 36
   registered nurse; from US
   Specialty: med/surg; floatpool, mom/baby, nursery

   11 Comments

   Comment
3. 
   Sep 21, '12

   That is pretty ridiculous and have never heard of that. Where I work, we're only ever put on call if the census is low (and it's our regular shift to work) or if we're in overtime, we're the first to be put on call. We have a list that we rotate through, too.
4. 
   Sep 21, '12

   In both OB jobs that I have had there has been a call requirement. I worked 40 hours a week & took 5 8 hr calls in a 4 week period. Now I work 30 hours a week & take 3 8 hour calls in 6 weeks. It seems to be usual to have to take call with this job.
5. 
   Sep 21, '12

   I understand having to take call but maybe a 4 or 8 hour shift a month, but they are using an on call person who already works full time and filling in scheduling holes and not hiring more people.
6. 
   Sep 21, '12

   Our on call is less; as in, we work 36 hours a week and if we get 12 hrs of on call we only physically work 24 hrs. In California you can not be forced to work overtime, although some people with unions do. Surgery is the only dept that requires on call, but you know when you sign up for that position; at least in my hospital.
7. 
   Sep 22, '12

   I work L&D and we do not have call. We are a very busy unit and short staffed. No on call!
8. 
   Sep 25, '12

   No mandatory call requirement at my job. Thank goodness! They should hire more RNs
9. 
   Sep 26, '12

   Where I work in L&D we are required to sign up for 16-20 hours of call in a 6 wk period. Right now, we have several nurses off (post-op, maternity leave...), so they are posting additional hours that we can either sign up to work or call. Would love not to HAVE to take call, but I understand it because L&D census is so unpredictable.
10. 
    Sep 26, '12

    We are required to take call 4 hours before and 4 hours after our call shift. If you are working a 12 hour shift, then the call is either before or after. We don't have a set number of hours, but I worked 0.8 and usually had call 2-3 times a pattern. Call SUCKS. And the staffing office seems to view our call nurse as the remedy for all staffing issues. You call and tell them you need more help for the next shift, and they say, "Well, keep your call nurse." NO, they are for emergencies, not for issues we might have a chance to remedy!
11. 
    Sep 30, '12

    They just increased our call from 24 to 36 hours in a four week period. Everyone is so burnt out! We are short staffed and frequently have call offs. The call nurse is supposed to just be for c-sections but is so frequently being used for understaffing that you're almost guaranteed to get called in.
12. 
    Oct 8, '12

    This gets my goat! Hire the new grads! Do you have to train us? Yes. Can it be time consuming? Yes. However, no more burned out nurses and no more waiting for the on call nurse to get there!
13. 
    Oct 9, '12

    Every place I have worked has mandatory call. It is the price of being a closed unit. Usually the requirement is 24- 36 hours per schedule.

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