PCT at a hospital Flex pool (FL hospital Waterman)

yousoldtheworld · Nov 12, 2008

In Indiana, at least, being in the flex pool means that you can be sent to work in multiple units, wherever you may be needed that day. It could also mean working different shifts depending on need, but I think it all depends on the facility.

Most likely, it means you would be sent to work wherever and whenever you were most needed.

rancelumsden · Nov 13, 2008

Just seconding the previous response. Flex pool is strictly 'as needed'. I would hope they would have explained all this to you --- how the pool works varies at different institutions.

It means you need to be home ready to take a call and go to work on a moments notice. Different places have different rules on this as far as your availability. That is, some places have a quota of calls you must take (meaning you can 'reject' a shift only so many times) and others are more flexible.

Shifts --- that can vary. Some places will allow you to be on-call for any shift, others may restrict it to one or two shifts. Same thing with the days --- it's up to them/you how that will work as far as days/weekends.

How often you work is up in the air. You might fill in a day here or there if people call in, or you might cover someone for awhile if they are off sick, vacation, leave of absence, or whatever.

Pay --- the pool PCT's are the hospital I was at were paid about 20% more (to start) on an hourly basis. But, they didn't get benes and as we're discussing, didn't have any guaranteed number of hours. May not work one week, might work 40 hours for the next few weeks.

Yes, you can be sent to any unit within the hospitals training boundaries. At our hospital, you needed specialized training to work in the ER, so you would not be sent there unless you had the training.

It's not the greatest work arrangement, but it gets your foot in the door and allows you to be an employee and have first crack at 'regular' CNA positions as they become available. It also, theoretically, allows you work on many different units and see how they vary. Good overall experience --- more stressful as you're always 'the new guy' and don't know the routine, but you have the potential of learning a great deal if you are amenable to learning new things.

Angielou1079 · Nov 13, 2008

Just seconding the previous response. Flex pool is strictly 'as needed'. I would hope they would have explained all this to you --- how the pool works varies at different institutions.
It means you need to be home ready to take a call and go to work on a moments notice. Different places have different rules on this as far as your availability. That is, some places have a quota of calls you must take (meaning you can 'reject' a shift only so many times) and others are more flexible.
Shifts --- that can vary. Some places will allow you to be on-call for any shift, others may restrict it to one or two shifts. Same thing with the days --- it's up to them/you how that will work as far as days/weekends.
How often you work is up in the air. You might fill in a day here or there if people call in, or you might cover someone for awhile if they are off sick, vacation, leave of absence, or whatever.
Pay --- the pool PCT's are the hospital I was at were paid about 20% more (to start) on an hourly basis. But, they didn't get benes and as we're discussing, didn't have any guaranteed number of hours. May not work one week, might work 40 hours for the next few weeks.
Yes, you can be sent to any unit within the hospitals training boundaries. At our hospital, you needed specialized training to work in the ER, so you would not be sent there unless you had the training.
It's not the greatest work arrangement, but it gets your foot in the door and allows you to be an employee and have first crack at 'regular' CNA positions as they become available. It also, theoretically, allows you work on many different units and see how they vary. Good overall experience --- more stressful as you're always 'the new guy' and don't know the routine, but you have the potential of learning a great deal if you are amenable to learning new things.

Oh they haven't explained it cause I was just looking at an ad...I don't start CNA classes until Saturday but I REALLY would rather work in a hospital setting. Thank you so much for ALL of the information:bowingpur:yeah::heartbeat