On call status and drive time

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How many of you live an hour away from work or more?

How do you deal with on-call status? Maybe you just got a job and it's an hour away sans traffic and bad weather, it's not like you can up and move with each new job. So little in our control now with the job market as it is. How firm are employers on this... is it something that you need to discuss in an interview? I don't have a problem with coming in, it's just that it may be a while for me to get there. Tell me what your thoughts are. Other than PACU/OR, OB do the rest of you find yourselves on-call a lot more these days?

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I would not bring up this subject during a job interview. If they hire you, your address is on the application and your resume, so it is with their knowledge. Do your best to get there if called in, but don't make an issue of something before it becomes an issue.

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Wierd times, I don't think it wise to move for any new grad with how wishy-washy offers are these days. We are a dime a dozen you know! I have around 10 hospitals within 30 minutes drive. Probably one or two if any new grads will be hired in these hospitals, except those brought in from overseas (that is another story). But there are some more an hour away, seems silly to move kit and kaboodle to reduce that drive time for a low paying nursing job.

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Specializes in Med/Surg Nurse.

At my facility, once called in the employee has up to 2 hours to get to work - I do not live in a highly populated but many of my fellow coworkers live in pretty rural areas, drive times can range from minutes to up to 2 hours.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

our facility allows 2 hours for response. However, when I was a floor nurse I would be called more frequently than anyone, even if not on call, because I live

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Specializes in ICU.

For the on-call positions in my department (cath lab), the nurses and techs have 30 minutes to get to the hospital when called in. If you don't live within/aren't willing or able to stay within 30 minutes when you're on call, you don't get to work in this department.

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Specializes in PACU, Surgery, Acute Medicine.

We have hour to get in, but it's only a few areas that require it. As far as I know, none of the floor nurses are on-call. It's mostly peri-op. They hold to the 1 hour. If you live farther away than that, then you need to make arrangements to stay with someone who lives closer on nights/weekends when you're on call.

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
For the on-call positions in my department (cath lab), the nurses and techs have 30 minutes to get to the hospital when called in. If you don't live within/aren't willing or able to stay within 30 minutes when you're on call, you don't get to work in this department.

Especially when you are on STEMI call.

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Specializes in Peds, PACU, ICU, ER, OB, MED-Surg,.

When I worked PACU we had 30 minutes to be there. If you didn't live close enough you would have to arrange to be within 30 minutes on your call shifts. i.e stay at a hotel if you live out of town. I work now on a regular floor and we get placed on call instead of being low census' or cancelled, we have an hour. Travel time is generally paid by the hospital.

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On my floor (acute medical floor), if you are on call, you have an hour to get there from the time we call you in. If you can't make it (you live > an hour away) you can't be on call, or you have to stay closer.

A lot of times when our staffing is low they offer the option for 1 or 2 staff members to stay home on call. You don't get the option to go home if you can't make it in.

When I worked OB, we had 30 minutes to get in. If you took 31 minutes, you might actually die from the evil glances, and frankly, most of those gals had no problem telling you that you were late and that if you couldn't make it in on time, it would be counted as a no show. I always tried to make it in in way under 30 minutes, so that no one would go straight for my throat.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

Cath lab, absolutely NOT, held to interventional inflate balloon times. I work in the ICU, we have two nurses that live 45 minutes out and our policy is 30 minutes.

To avoid an issue, one, we simply always staff our on call time because we're short and the day shift calls at 4pm to alert them. If we start with low cencus... rare and call in some one at like 11pm... do I really care it takes you an extra 15 minutes... hell no, just get in and help out as soon as you can, so I'm trippled for as short as possible. We have never refused employment for a longer drive in.

but if you are agency, and get housing to be local better be there, and adjust your housing.

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We have an hour (floor) and it's 30 minutes for some other areas (surgery, cath lab, etc). As floor staff, if you can't be there in an hour then usually they just don't put you on call (you either work or get called off) but that's not always an option on the floor and never an option in certain departments. If they need you to be on call and you can't be there from home in the appropriate time frame, they have a room in the hospital where you can stay (for free of course). Those rooms are also available to any staff who don't think they'll be able to make it back for their next shift due to bad weather.

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