Options for childcare when mandated

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Sep 3, 2005

At a hospital I used to work at they kept a running list of whose turn it was to be mandated. If you noticeed your name was up soon you could just schedule an extra shift at your convenence(sp) and your name immediately went to the bottom. Prehaps your boss would be willing to make an arrangement like that.

allnurses Guide · Sep 3, 2005

I would never work somewhere that mandated.

I wish you luck. Never sacrifice your family for your job - that's my credo. :)

steph

mak2 · Sep 3, 2005

Almost ever hospital in the country needs nurses. Anytime I have ever put in an application I have been hired. If nurses stuck together and refused to work mandantory overtime it would inflate nurses wages and more nurses would go into the field. Just Say No.

austin heart, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2005

I would never work somewhere that mandated.
I wish you luck. Never sacrifice your family for your job - that's my credo. :)
steph

Ditto!!!!!

ShayRN · Sep 3, 2005

What you do is stay home and raise your own child. Whether it is your husband or yourself, there is no better option than raising the child yourself.

I refuse to let anyone make me feel like a bad mom because I work. It is condisending and judgemental to make comments like that. What if a woman is a widow and has no choice? I still must pay student loans back and with gas prices what they are, I fully expect our heating bills to be over 500.00 a month this winter. What kind of mother lets her children freeze in a house because she wants to "stay at home to make a better life for them?" I pay the bills, put a roof over my babys' heads and food on the table. There is more than one way to care for your child and just staying at home isn't always optional. Besides, I am a much better mother when I work. I would be miserable and mean if I were home all the time. So can we please stick to her question and not judge those that made other choices?

To answer your question... I have back up. I can call my mom or sil in an emergency. HOWEVER, I have only been mandated once (in 7 years) and I refused. They told me I would be fired if I left and I said, Thats ok, I have two children at home that will be taken off of me if I leave them without parental supervision. I left and never heard another thing about it. I think the thing you have to look at is this, is the mandatory overtime infrequent? Or is it truely used in just emergency situations? Are they offering incentives to get people to come out extra? Are they making a real attempt to find staff to cover the short shifts and are they just using mandation as a VERY LAST resort? If the answer is yes to those questions, I don't have a problem with it. If the answer is NO, then I would find someplace else to work and tell them why I was leaving.

William_SRNA · Sep 3, 2005

Look I am not trying to make you feel guilty. My point is simply that know one will care more for your child than yourself. My wife quit teaching when our son was born and now stays home fulltime. You can with one income make it. Maybe you don't need the $200,000 house the three cars the boat eating out all the time. There are always corners that can be cut. Somehow there is this terrible stigmatism that stay at home moms are disenfranchised or degrading. I know my son gets quality care at home doesn't act out we saw him first start to crawl to start talking to smile, we didn't hear about it from daycare or someone else. You will miss out so much on your child's expereinces when you put the in a daycare or with someone else. I personally think nothing is harder or more challenging than staying with your child. Like I mentioned before there are plenty of stay at home dads as well. No one is trying to degrade anyone but trying to bring up a widow into the situation is ridiculous every situation is different are you a widow?

Get a grip people no one is castigating you as worthless parents I am trying to offer an alternative you may not have looked at.

Hoop

lindarn · Sep 3, 2005

The facility where I work enforces mandatory overtime.
My husband and I are anticipating having a child within the next 5 years.
A major concern of mine is being mandated and having no one to care for my child while my husband works. My family is miles away and the only other person I would trust with my child is a nurse herself and has her hands full with 2 mentally disabled children.
My question is - what do you do?
The facility does not have a daycare in house.
Thanks,
Shel

When are nurses going to "just say no" to mandatory OT? If everyone refused to do mandatory OT, then they would not have anyone to work. Has your State Board of Nursing not changed the language in your Nurse Practice Act that protects nurses from disciplinary action for refusing mandatroy OT? If they don't, then why not? This would be a priority in my book. I would not stay for OT if I had young chldren at home and no one to care for them. I wouldnt stay even if I didn't have young chidren at home. Why do we allow the hospitals to bully and abuse us like this by agreeing to stay.

I would refuse, and if I am disciplined for it or fired, I would go to te papers, and a public forum and make as big a stink as I could. Inform the public that THEIR HEALTH AND SAFETY IS BEING JEAPORIZED BY THIS PRACTICE. PUT IT IN THIER FACES. PUSH THE PUBLIC'S BUTTONS LIKE THE TEACHERS DO.

Everyone in your hospital needs to stand together to stop this practice. You cannot be taken advantage of without your permission.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

Mulan · Sep 3, 2005

Look I am not trying to make you feel guilty. My point is simply that know one will care more for your child than yourself. My wife quit teaching when our son was born and now stays home fulltime. You can with one income make it. Maybe you don't need the $200,000 house the three cars the boat eating out all the time. There are always corners that can be cut. Somehow there is this terrible stigmatism that stay at home moms are disenfranchised or degrading. I know my son gets quality care at home doesn't act out we saw him first start to crawl to start talking to smile, we didn't hear about it from daycare or someone else. You will miss out so much on your child's expereinces when you put the in a daycare or with someone else. I personally think nothing is harder or more challenging than staying with your child. Like I mentioned before there are plenty of stay at home dads as well. No one is trying to degrade anyone but trying to bring up a widow into the situation is ridiculous every situation is different are you a widow?
Get a grip people no one is castigating you as worthless parents I am trying to offer an alternative you may not have looked at.
Hoop

What type of nursing position or job do you have?

lindarn · Sep 3, 2005

What type of nursing position or job do you have?

When I did work, I worked critical care. But we are a military family, and as is typical, we had no family even close to the area to help out. We did not have mandatory OT, but another hospital here in Spokane did, and they could not keep nurses. It is JMHO, that mandatory OT is not something that anyone should have to endure in the 21st Century. This is not dark ages. If you are not unionized, then I would just decide as a group, as I said, and refuse. Period.There is a shortage of nurses, and there are plenty of places that would welcome nurses. Have some self respect and refuse to be bullied.

Write out your report and hand it to the oncoming charge nurse, and just leave. It is not abandomenment if yu have given report to someone else that is competant, another nurse, not the housekeeper. Chart in your notes, that you gave a handwritten report to so and so and she/he accepted it. Make a copy of the note so it doesn't get "lost" if there are repercussions. Don't feel guilty. It is not your job to staff the hospital, it is the hospitals job. If they can't keep nurses because of staffing/pay issues, that is their problem. Bring that to the public's knowledge too. They are getting paid the big bucks. Quit feeling guilty.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

elthia · Sep 3, 2005

Look I am not trying to make you feel guilty. My point is simply that know one will care more for your child than yourself. My wife quit teaching when our son was born and now stays home fulltime. You can with one income make it. Maybe you don't need the $200,000 house the three cars the boat eating out all the time. There are always corners that can be cut. Somehow there is this terrible stigmatism that stay at home moms are disenfranchised or degrading. I know my son gets quality care at home doesn't act out we saw him first start to crawl to start talking to smile, we didn't hear about it from daycare or someone else. You will miss out so much on your child's expereinces when you put the in a daycare or with someone else. I personally think nothing is harder or more challenging than staying with your child. Like I mentioned before there are plenty of stay at home dads as well. No one is trying to degrade anyone but trying to bring up a widow into the situation is ridiculous every situation is different are you a widow?
Get a grip people no one is castigating you as worthless parents I am trying to offer an alternative you may not have looked at.
Hoop

In regards to your comment that I placed in bold.

I live in a 3 bedroom/2 bath. We are a one car(ecoomy car) family. No boats, no pool, heck no cable TV, eat out once a month at a mom/pop store (bill comes to $6.50 a person.)

What we do have is student loans, poor health(me, and yes I have medical insurance, but $60-200 a week medical copays AFTER insurance, not counting meds ), a second car that doesn't have a warranty that's broke down till we have the $$$ to get it fixed.

I haven't been to a beauty shop to have a hair cut in over 6 months, I have 2 pairs of pants that fit, thank goodness my scrubs are drawstring waist. The only expense I have that is not a necessity is internet access, it's also my only luxory (sp). We don't buy fresh veggies, we grow them in the backyard, garden supplies majorityof vegetable needs. We've even considered selling the house and moving into a cheap apartment if my health fails again, and using the equity to pay more med bills.

Please tell me what corner's can be cut??? I don't think losing the internet is going to make such a difference that me or DH could quit a job and become a single income family.

Not every 2 income family lives above their means. Some are 2 income just to get by. :angryfire :angryfire

Don't think all got into this situation by spending recklessly.

elthia · Sep 3, 2005

Sorry, didn't mean to try to hijack the thread, just a little touchy on the income debate.

At my place of work, you are supposed to be allowed to go home for 2 hours to "arrange " child care.

Of course, the problem is then, do you honestly think the staff member is going to come back?