Here in NY state there's a law that when a nurse's time on the job exceeds 16 hours in a 24 hr period, he/she must be relieved. This may apply to other workers too- I just don't know.
Yesterday I was on call. Worked 7a-3p regular time and then ended up staying on call until
10:30p. That put me very close to my 16hr limit. If I got called in again last night, I'd definitely go overtime. I texted my manager, who was supervisor last night, and told her of the situation.
She reminded me that when we're on call, we're supposed to have a "call buddy" who agrees to come in if we go over the 16 hours. I'd never set up a buddy.
Is this how most hospitals do this? To me it seems ridiculous. In essence, when I'm on call, my buddy is really on call too. It means that they can't go away for that weekend, can't have a couple of beers with friends, etc. In essence this doubles our call!
Any better suggestions? Thanks