TallRN3

Yes most of the other staff are running out of PTO also. I have picked up an extra shift every week for the last 7 weeks, and have never worked any that i signed up for. Always called off. But on the flip side i usually get to work my 3 12's. I was just wondering what other hospitals do. I mean my hosp is not going to retain good nurses because of this situation. There has to be a compromise!

I work in a small rural hospital in Missouri, 100 beds. Our average census is anywhere between 30-50 pts. I and other staff have to take turns with on call and low census, when patient census is low. Sometimes this is a weekly ordeal. Our patient to nurse ratio is 4:1, and I truly love to work for this facility, although I still have bills to pay and PTO can only go so far. What are other nurses doing or are facilities doing during the slow times to help their staff get by? Are there any special policy's other hospitals have that deal with this sort of thing?