We text each other to cover shifts, for call off's, for requests and it works really well and is less invasive way of asking somebody to cover call offs.
We have been doing this for a few months and it seems to work well.
Staff will answer and say yes or no quickly where as if you phone they either ignore the phone or have it switched off.
Has anybody else heard of this or tried it out on your unit?
Staff say they feel less guilty when saying no, plus if they want to think about and then say no it is not as personal as a phone call.
We dont put any pressure on staff to cover but if they do we reward them in a monthly draw for a gift card.
We do this at my job too. We have to text our boss to call off actually. She says it is the only way to keep in touch with us lol. The only thing that sucks is she turns her phone off at 9pm, so if nightshift calls off (11-7) the 3 to 11 person is screwed...and has to stay because if they just left, apparently that is considered neglect and theyd get fired.
This policy of your boss essentially requires you to have a cell phone and if that is the case, the hospital should be paying for that.
Believe it or not, some people don't have cell phones, and even some of those who do don't text. I don't like texting much, except the little bit I do with my kids.
I'm more likely to answer a txt versus a call myself. What's not ok is when people text others to say they're not coming in or will be late...which I see alot where I work. In that case one should call and speak to a nurse. I don't answer calls from work and if they don't leave a message I won't return the call.
I much, much prefer to be texted. Not only does it give me time to think about whether or not I want to come in and formulate a reply, but it gives me a written record (saved on my phone) about what was said, by whom, and when it was said. Comes in handy far more often than I'd like where I work.
We text each other regarding staffing all the time. I don't know that it bothers anyone. Of course, I have unlimited texting therefore I often forget that others dont. LOL
We text each other regarding staffing all the time. I don't know that it bothers anyone. Of course, I have unlimited texting therefore I often forget that others dont. LOL
I think it's easy to forget that other don't have unlimited texting (I have a limit) or that they don't like texting in general. I personally won't even respond to texts that use "text" spelling. That drives me nuts. That being said, I am a terrible texter, so sometimes my own spelling is not correct, but not because I'm too lazy to try and spell words out.
I prefer being texted, especially at my last place of employment. I found myself saying "yes" more times... I think it was because I wasn't annoyed at a bad-timing phone call or felt like I had time to adjust my schedule if need be without having to say yes or no right away.
:smokin:
CCL RN, RN
557 Posts
The boss should *always* have their phone on...