Weekend Call rant

[Guest 1152923]

I just wanted to fume a bit about weekend call at my hospital as I am to the point that I am ready to look elsewhere.  I feel that weekends and off hours should be reserved for true, emergency surgeries-I.e. 'life or limb' so as not to over-tax the call team(s).  However, Saturdays and Sundays are routinely a constant stream of toe amputations, BKA/AKAs, I&Ds, laminectomies......  I get the appendiceal perforations, common bile duct obstructions, testicular torsions... but anymore, weekends are just another working day without the resources.  Also, when working on call, the expectation is that nurses carry and answer the charge phone.  This creates a serious compromise in patient care with numerous, numerous interruptions while circulating -many calls from the outside with no secretary or anyone to screen.  Not answering the calls is not an option either because often a surgeon will be wanting to schedule a surgery and will be plenty angry after trying 3-4 times unsuccessfully to get through.  Thoughts??  

[Chickenlady]

I guess they don't want to keep the patient in the hospital bed just sitting and waiting until Monday to get that toe cut off.  If you are running a full house all the time, it makes more sense to get these peeps taken care of and home.  That being said, they should staff for it. 

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

12 hours ago, Chickenlady said:

I guess they don't want to keep the patient in the hospital bed just sitting and waiting until Monday to get that toe cut off.  If you are running a full house all the time, it makes more sense to get these peeps taken care of and home.  That being said, they should staff for it. 

This is exactly the rationale behind our weekend schedule as well- if the wait for surgery is the only thing keeping the patient in the hospital, we want to get them out. However, we actually staff weekends and call staff are only brought in if needed- such as all 3 rooms running and a trauma/emergency needs to go now. We also have a charge who is not in a room and a scrub who is free. They start the trauma/emergency until the call team arrives.

[Guest 1152923]

58 minutes ago, Rose_Queen said:

This is exactly the rationale behind our weekend schedule as well- if the wait for surgery is the only thing keeping the patient in the hospital, we want to get them out. However, we actually staff weekends and call staff are only brought in if needed- such as all 3 rooms running and a trauma/emergency needs to go now. We also have a charge who is not in a room and a scrub who is free. They start the trauma/emergency until the call team arrives.

Thank you for the response.  What you describe is actually the staffing model that I have seen used at other hospitals.  The problem at my current hospital however, is that weekends aren't routinely staffed and 'on call' staff are called in repeatedly for minor cases.  Also, being unit charge while answering nonstop calls, coordinating multiple added surgeries and calling in additional OR and PACU staff, COVID donner/doffers, runners...at the same time as circulating in a room approaches the impossible and compromises patient care and safety.