peer support

My reason for coming to this topic is to get a feel for hours and compensation for on call nurses in home hospice care. I am especially interested in current data to learn how it works in different agencies. There are 2 RNs that share all the on call time. The positions are salaried, The present structure at my site is 2 overnights (5pm to 9am) and Friday 5p through 9a on Monday every other weekend. On paper, to the uninitiated, it looks pretty good. In reality, it is exhausting! The management is willing to listen to suggested alternative hours which is the reason for my search. I am so hoping to be able to come to some kind of schedule which will allow us to give the quality care our agency is known for and will enable us to be safe, rested responsible practitioners while we are on the job. Presently, on weekends we have no scheduled time for sleep. We have on average 75 patients. Case managers work one weekend "shift" every 4-5 weeks which is mostly for admission visits. I agree with my peers who wrote that it is impossible (and not patient/consumer friendly) to do admissions while on call. It is often possible for the nurse to ask administration to take calls while but not always. The leave policy for on call is "pro-rated" as was described by others here. As some of the posters from the early 2005,2007, noted, when they learned what other jobs entailed, they perceived it was maybe not so bad where they work. I think it is essential in 2011 to be sure we are fairly compensated for the hours that we work. be it in the car, patient home, listening to report or waiting for the phone to ring - it is all part of 24/7 care. I love what I do - have been in community nursing for over 30 years, both in home care and hospice. I hope we can support each other to be compensated at a fair, professional level for the essential work that we do. Thanks for reading and please comment if you have the time and inclination.