So, last night at work, we were extremely short on staff, even more than usual. Since there was only one nurse scheduled to work overnight, the supervisor was going to have to stay as well. Well, 11 pm came around, and the nurse that was supposed to relieve me did not show up. We did attempt to contact her, but she did not respond.
I was working with another nurse, who volunteered to stay over night. Unfortunately, they weren't able to take him up on his request, since he had not worked at our facility long enough. This meant that I was the obvious choice to stay overnight. However, I work a second job during the day, so working extra hours really doesn't work for me, which all of the staff there know.
So, at about 11:30, when the other nurse still had not shown up, the supervisor came to tell me that she had tried contacting other nurses, but no one had responded. She also let me know that the nurse manager was coming into relieve me and the other nurse, but that I was under "hot waters" for not being the one to stay overnight (although she said that those were someone else's words, not hers, and that it was unfair to penalize me because this was my secondary job).
I'm just wondering if I should have volunteered to stay overnight, even though working any extra hours is a major inconvenience for me.
While it's very true that it would not be in their best interest to fire me, simply because I'm not able to work all of the hours they would want me to, it's not in my interest to take advantage of that. I'm also working this job to gain some good nursing experience and possible references, so I do feel the need to try and maintain a good relationship with management, if at all possible (though, sometimes their demands seem slightly unreasonable). I agree that staffing is their own issue, but I feel guilty leaving others in a bind, too.
You know your situation better than I do.
- if you absolutely NEED this place on your resume...
- if you live and work in an area where it's hard for RNs to get new jobs and easy for facilities to replace their staff...
- if you're having hard times financially and couldn't afford to look for a new job if it came to that...
- if mandating staff is the way of the land where you are, enshrined by law and common practice...
... then, yeah, in those cases it might be advisable to just take the overtime, sleep be damned. But keep in mind the ultimate truth of the matter: you are being exploited. When your employer tells you to pull a double shift regardless of your personal circumstances and with the only 'incentive' being that your meek acquiescence will not make the Powers That Be angry, take the extra shift or not as your own personal circumstances allow. But FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, don't feel guilty about your decision.
Didn't they stop mandating nurses? Next time remember your mind and body come first and a facility will work you like a mule if you allow it. I'm sorry they intimidated you like that.
They have no reason to have concern over the fact you choose to have a second job. As far as they're concerned, the job they hired you for is the only one that matters.
You see this is why nursing's gone to hell. Back in the day, when I worked in England, we used to use agency nurses. It was an outside company that you called when you needed staff in a hurry. It was great because they had a wide pool of nurses from all over the city they could call and get someone at short notice. Agency nurses got paid the big bucks and the units were staffed. Now no one wants to use agency nurses because they cost the facility too much so the onus falls on the already overworked staff, and they don't even offer so much as a bonus! What do they expect? Sure, you could be a martyr and stay, but will that make them solve the staffing problem? No, probably not. Nurses need to learn to say no but of course then you get frowned upon for not taking up the slack. God forbid we have lives or something. Ugh.
I think it's relevant to know when your 2nd job's shift began or if you've ever stayed an additional shift.
If my next shift was too soon to get adequate sleep and/or if I'd already shown that I'd stay in a pinch, I would approach the manager and give her the opportunity to choose between my availabilty without discrimination/reprisal or my resignation if my availabilty wasn't up to their expectations. I would approach this without defensiveness or resentment.
Specializes in QA, ID/DD, Correctional, Education.
OP correct me if I am wrong but from the way you worded your original post it sounds as if you had worked a swing shift, the facility wanted you to also work the over night shift and you have a day shift job? If that is correct no way in the freaking world would I ever work 24 hours in a row unless it was the zombie apocalypse/apocalypse of choice.
As an ADON I was forced to remain in my facility working for almost 30 hours once. On my drive home I fell asleep at stoplights twice. I had to park my car, get my DH out of his job and have him come drive me home before I killed myself and/or others through sheer exhaustion. Never ever again will I work more than 16 hours in a row unless it truly is an emergency situation. Do not give in on this.
Our facility basically has the policy that they can mandate whenever they want. It says that it is only done during "extreme" circumstances, such as emergencies or when very short staffed, but that is nearly every day. Not staying is looked upon as a "performance issue." I'll have to look up what my state laws say, though.
No policy of theirs is above state law. Mine has a law that states we cannot be penalized if OT would create a safety concern for my patients. So if they tried to mandate someone, she just needs to say "I am not safe to care for these patients all night" and show them the state law. There isn't the same provision for "I don't have childcare for 8 more hours," or "I don't want to stay..." so the official reason needs to be patient safety.
Didn't they stop mandating nurses? Next time remember your mind and body come first and a facility will work you like a mule if you allow it. I'm sorry they intimidated you like that.
Where I work there probably wouldn't have been a nurse manager coming in. The mandatory OT is a given, and they don't care if you have other obligations or another job. Mandatory OT is so common it is even covered in the employee handbook. Refusing mandatory OT is considered voluntary termination.
OP, I agree that willingly taking OT is enabling their poor staffing practices to continue. Why would they need to change anything if they have staff willing to fill in their holes?
For any future jobs, you may want to consider asking about the facility's OT practices, e.g. "Under what circumstances do you mandate OT?" Good answer: Major natural disaster or infrastructural disaster. Bad answer: if we can't find anyone else to relieve you. In nearly 14 yrs as an RN, I have worked exactly 1 mandatory OT shift. We had a blizzard that physically prevented the PM staff from coming in -- those who tried got stuck. Otherwise, I've turned down all unwanted OT and have never been penalized.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
. I agree that staffing is their own issue, but I feel guilty leaving others in a bind, too.
This is how they get away with chronic short staffing. They know that we will feel guilty about our patients and our coworkers. Boohoo that the manager had to come in. She would have had no problem sleeping like a baby if you'd agreed to stay.
Cowboyardee
472 Posts
You know your situation better than I do.
- if you absolutely NEED this place on your resume...
- if you live and work in an area where it's hard for RNs to get new jobs and easy for facilities to replace their staff...
- if you're having hard times financially and couldn't afford to look for a new job if it came to that...
- if mandating staff is the way of the land where you are, enshrined by law and common practice...
... then, yeah, in those cases it might be advisable to just take the overtime, sleep be damned. But keep in mind the ultimate truth of the matter: you are being exploited. When your employer tells you to pull a double shift regardless of your personal circumstances and with the only 'incentive' being that your meek acquiescence will not make the Powers That Be angry, take the extra shift or not as your own personal circumstances allow. But FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, don't feel guilty about your decision.