On Call only position

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Hi - I'm considering an on call hospice position that is 3 evening/nights and two 24 hour weekend days a pay period. No regular hours. It's a fairly busy hospice in a very small city and well managed. My background is firefighter/paramedic then ED nurse. I've always worked on call in addition to my regular hours and don't mind it. What will I like/hate about this position and the hours? Need input from those that have done it.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

Did they give you ANY idea at all of the hours you might expect to take 'real call' cases?

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Hi- I asked about this and was told that I would never be up all night, but I would rarely have a call shift with no calls. Not much help I know.

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Listen to your heart. I am currently working an on call only position for a Hospice company and love it. Although I rarely get a night without a call, each call I answer and visit I make reinforce that I am in the perfect career. The gratitude the patients and/or families express and knowing that I provided support to those who need it most make it worth the nights of multiple calls or being out all night. I also like the challenge of not knowing what I'm walking into and having to think on my feet. I feel like I get more out of the visits than I give. I became a nurse to work in Hospice because of the care my grandmother received from her Hospice nurses over a decade ago. I decided I wanted to provide to others what the Hospice nurses provided to my grandmother and to us, her family. This is my calling and I wouldn't want to do anything else.

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I did this years ago. I love hospice and needed the income. In fact, I got calls every night, and usually could handle them by phone. I did go out every third night or so, but I was never up all night. I worked my day job around it.

Not easy, but doable.

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First-census. Does this company have 50 pts or 200? Coverage area. 50 mile radius of office is standard. Time to get to each visit-once call comes in you have 5min to call facility/family/Pt give instructions n get out the door within 10 minutes and arrive to pts location within 1hour. W your background you should do fine. I do 3-15h shifts Friday, Saturday, Sunday. We have 190 pts. I am primary rn with 2-lpn runners. It's doable. But remember with each call and visit-there is charting. I would commit to only 3-night shifts. Or just the two day weekend shifts.

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