On call - what is it like for other ERs

Specialties Emergency

Published

What are peoples on call like for their ER???

I would just like to know if mine is bad or am I just being a big baby?? haha! We take one weekend and one week day call in a 6 week period. But for us it is basically "mandatory overtime." Our ER uses it to for staffing basically. AND even if we aren't busy they still keep us there! I had to beg to go home with 1.5 hrs left in the shift and nobody had come in for like an hour and I only had maybe 2 pts.

I'm sorry but I don't think thats fair! What do other people think? I totally don't mind coming in to help out. But there are times where I come in and its not that busy! Or when it slows down, SEND THE ON CALL HOME!!! I have talked to some staff who have worked other ERs around this area and they say it is the same there. But I would like to know why??

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Specializes in ER.

I haven't worked in an ER that had on call. We had core staff, and only one of four ERs ever floated their core staff.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Some places don't have float staff to cover, so this is how they get around it to ensure safe (safer) staffing. Did you know you would have to take call when you started working there, or is this new?

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Only 3 days?! That would be heaven! We take one 48 hr weekend and 3-5 weeknights in 6 weeks. Sucks a lot. We're too short staffed for anything less though.

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Specializes in Adult and pediatric emergency and critical care.

We've had call shifts in the past but none currently. We used to require 1 call shift per schedule period, but if you picked up an overtime shift you didn't need to take a call shift. We used it as a surge process, but since you had an hour to show it it wasn't the most useful thing.

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On 3/27/2019 at 8:16 PM, dancegurl said:

Only 3 days?! That would be heaven! We take one 48 hr weekend and 3-5 weeknights in 6 weeks. Sucks a lot. We're too short staffed for anything less though.

Nah. Being short-staffed doesn't require these measures.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Is on call required for all nurses in your ER? If not, I would try to renegotiate your contract ASAP. Chances are, if you're not happy with this arrangement, neither are many other nurses and they'll be willing to negotiate to keep you. I understand the pressure of constantly being asked to pick up extra shifts by management. My ER has no on call nurses. The nurses in my unit basically refused until they started offering bonuses. Since the bonuses started, we've been having fewer and fewer short staffed days.

If your hospital won't budge, I'd start looking elsewhere. Good ER nurses are always in demand. Best of luck!

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