Small Rural Hospitals; What is your policy regarding "On-Call"

[xenarn42]

Hello everyone, I am the new director of an OR for a small hospital. I am responsible for the budget and more recently, the hospital is looking for cut backs or layoffs. I am doing everything in my power to not require lay-offs, but in doing so, I need to tighten the budget. In the past, my employees that were "on-call" would finish their shift, stay at the hospital, punch out, then punch right back in so they could get paid the on-call wage plus claim the additional 2 hours regardless of how long they stay. Can some of you share your policies for on-call, please include you opinion as well. I am in a tough position because I am a very strong advocate for my nurses but I cannot let them take advantage of the system when nurses may be losing their jobs due to the cut backs. Thanks in advance.

[HollywoodDiva]

You definitely are in a tough spot. Most places have the same policies regarding call, if you take that away you risk losing people in your dept. If you cut back by laying off staff you risk burnout and increasing work load and staff has to take more call = more overtime. It's a bind and as a traveler I see this frequently. Some places lay off their staff immediately then realize they need staff to run OR's then have to hire travelers for a period of time but essentially lost good employees they had in place. Good luck and keep us posted.