Overtime dependent nurses

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Specializes in ER.

We have new edicts about overtime at our hospital that have some up in arms. Me, I do overtime about once a month, it's not really part of my budget though. I don't really like working more than full time, but if I do, I'm glad I get time and a half.

Some of my colleagues are utterly dependent on it. The top earners where I work are making $50 an hr. That means overtime adds up to $75 an hour. Then they are indignant that management wants to have more per diem nurses, wants to give extra shifts to newer nurses, wants people to clock out on time, not get double backs, etc and so forth.

Ironically, many of these nurses are free market advocates, outraged at liberal policies, irate when destitute people abuse the system. Yet they feel totally put out when hospital management is really making rational business decisions to avoid paying top earners big bucks. We are a union contract hospital where there is a step system that rewards longevity.

I'm grateful for it, personally. I'm fairly up there in earnings. But, on the other hand, I do understand that hospital administrations, as much as we loath their outrageous tactics, salaries, arrogance, do have a legitimate goal of reducing expenses.

What do you all think?

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I agree with you.

Also, if you* are constantly dependent on overtime to stay afloat there is something seriously wrong with your finances. I do not think it is the management's responsibility to provide a solution for said financial problems i.e. give opportunities for overtime.

(A general "you," not you specifically)

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Specializes in nursing education.

Our hospital, during the height of the nursing shortage (yes, it really did exist not that long ago) went to a system of a huge shift differential for full time nights, and other differentials for weekend-only, etc. Nurses became dependent on the extra income- like their spending went up to match the big pay. Then when there no longer was a shortage, they cut the differential. People were scared, angry, etc. because they no longer had this extra income, rather than having saved it up or invested some. I think it's just human nature, but I do wonder what they're spending $75/hour on.

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It's never a good idea to depend on overtime to keep your finances in order. I have worked with people who work too many days in a row, and they are extra crispy. Too burnt out to even do their usual duties. And it seems that manager is dependent on people who are willing to kill themselves so that they have extra money, instead of hiring people to make up for staffing shortfalls. The most overtime I'm willing to do is 4 hour shifts at a time. Never an extra 12 or 8 hour shift, at least not willingly. Mandatory stays, I can't help sadly.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Depending on OT is a mistake. I do think hospitals need to be mindful of OT. I always found it really wasn't the full shift OT that destroyed my budget (well it did but was a necessary evil) because I always KNEW there would be necessary allowances to safely cover shifts. It was the incidental chronic users....the one hour here or the extra 45 mins EVERY shift that were killers.

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Specializes in ICU.

I don't think there's anything wrong with being overtime dependent, but if you're overtime dependent with a base salary of $50/hr, there is a problem. I am pretty overtime dependent but I only make $20/hr...

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

The other issue here is fatigue, of course. I'm working on the ANA Professional Issues Panel addressing fatigue in the workplace, and have heard some horror stories of nurses routinely working 60-72 hours per week- for months at a time.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I don't think there's anything wrong with being overtime dependent, but if you're overtime dependent with a base salary of $50/hr, there is a problem. I am pretty overtime dependent but I only make $20/hr...
It really isn't about how much per hour you make it's about being dependent on income that can be taken away.
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Our hospital during the height of the nursing shortage (yes, it really did exist not that long ago) went to a system of a huge shift differential for full time nights, and other differentials for weekend-only, etc. Nurses became dependent on the extra income- like their spending went up to match the big pay. Then when there no longer was a shortage, they cut the differential. People were scared, angry, etc. because they no longer had this extra income, rather than having saved it up or invested some. I think it's just human nature, but I do wonder what they're spending $75/hour on.[/quote']

Some people like to live like they have more than they do. People these days live on plastic cards with limitations and never pay it off. Some people see a big check as a shopping spree fund every pay day. It is not the old days where people only spent money for school clothes and special occasions. We are in the materialist greed days

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

no one is promised OT. If they made the bade decision to depend on it, that is their own fault. I guess they can get a PT job elsewhere if they want

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Specializes in ICU.
It really isn't about how much per hour you make it's about being dependent on income that can be taken away.

I agree with you, and I hate that I'm overtime dependent. My boyfriend, friends, and family are all about 400 miles away and I could probably live on the income I made if I didn't make the drive once a month (which on average costs at least $80-$90 in gas each way, plus whatever costs I incur while I'm up there trying to maintain these relationships, and my boyfriend's job's hours prevent him from making the drive ever, so the costs there are very one-sided). Even then, I could probably still make the drive on my income without going into the red if I lived in a low-cost high-crime area of town. However, I think any job that requires a professional degree should at least provide enough for the employee to live an average blue-collar life in a good neighborhood without overtime. I only break even without overtime, and that's with careful budgeting. I get that it's really not about the base pay, but maybe nurses should make more than $20/hr in the first place.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Your boyfriend should be participating in the cost of your travels or get good with seeing you less. The job pays what it pays. Skype is free.

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