crystal106

We used to have pagers and for some reason they went to the cell phone. we have been trying to get the pager back, but management doesn't want us to. I'm not sure why.

I work for a company which has 6 Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF) and 4 other similar facilities which all care for the developmentally disabled. These facilities do not require nurses in the buildings to pass medications. In NY state, the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities allows aides to pass medications with extra training. As a result, the RN's are placed on call per regulations to field concerns. They have to call use for the use of a PRN and any other reason they think they need us.

Where I work, the RN's are expected to carry a cell phone and be on call 24/7 every 6 weeks. While it does not seem to be that much to ask of us, we feel it is. We live in northern New York State and cell phone service can be spotty in places. This means our travel is limited. I can not attend my daughter's soccer games if they are anywhere near the mountains. Because we are salaried, they tell us it is part of our job and offer us no compensation other than our regular pay. I just got off call on Wednesday. In the week, I had the phone, I had 30 calls. Some are in the middle of the night and others require us to go to the building to assess an issue. There is no compensation for the calls or going in. They expect us to take time off later in the week which is usually not possible. I'm wondering if anyone has a similar issue. If anyone is on call like this, could you tell me if you get compensation and what kind of compensation? We are going to write a proposal and need some comparisons so we can see what we should be asking for. We're thinking a dollar amount per call because some weeks are very busy and others are not. Thanks for your input!