What is your schedule like as a nurse?

[Yerani27]

In terms of working in the hospital, I heard that overtime and night shifts are mandatory. However, how often do nurses work overtime or do night shifts? Is it mandatory for nurses to be on call and work double shifts? I also heard how nurses aren't being paid for overtime. Specifically, there was this article I read online that talked about how nurses are working during their breaks and not getting paid for that amount of time. Is this something that any of you nurses have experienced. Thank you so much for all your answers! =)

I also wanted to share this article with all of you that I read recently. It basically talks nurses going on strike in the San Francisco Bay area due to overtime violations as well as other issues. The managers had to hire travel nurses to take their place. The travel nurses also complained of overtime violations. One of the nurses mentioned that she wasn't paid the proper amount for 20 hours a week of overtime. This is the article: Nurse Scab says Overtime Pay a Problem

[f1j1nurse]

M-F 7am -3pm, all weekends and holidays off. I do not work in a hospital. We do get mandated to stay over at times but since we are fully staffed, we have a mandate list and I have not gotten mandated in over a year.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

You certainly seem to be "hearing" a lot of things. Have you bothered to question these sources further?

That's good to know that management cares about your well-being. I heard from a nurse that she had to work overtime. There was not option to say no, which is pretty sad. She works at a clinic now.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I was wondering why submitting OT on a regular basis is discouraged by management. Is it just because they want to save money?

Overtime is costly. To management, it represents poor time management on the part of the nurse. They will never admit that the nurses are overworked and the unit is understaffed.

[Alfi_srq]

I work 3x12 days only. We do not rotate. No mandatory OT. If I work through my lunch break, I can clock out with a special code and get paid for that time. I can pick up OT if I want to, when census is high and unit needs coverage, but never mandatory. We have a float team at the hospital that most of the time covers our needs. We do self-scheduling and most of the time we get what requested. Sometimes, certain nurses get asked to stay 4 extra hours for remote tele room, but again not mandatory. Just to help out if they are short.

[Yerani27]

So, none of you work mandatory on call shifts?

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

No mandatory on call for me. But if a nurse runs late or calls in, you can't leave, as this is considered pt abandonment.

I did work through some of my breaks. Perhaps 25-50% of them, because stuff needed to get done. For example, I was waiting for the MD to round. Or was waiting for transport to send a pt out.

I could have handed off my responsibilities to the other nurses, but I didn't want to overwhelm them.

[ne0ven0m]

My facility and unit requires 3 12 hr shifts per week. In my 2 years of working there, they've yet to implement mandatory overtime. Only requirement we have is working 3 weekend shifts per month, and sometimes they'll let you off with 2 if you're needed more mid week on a short-staffed day.

Recently, they've put the entire hospital on critical pay (x1.5 base + $2/hr). It's optional, but any shift you pick up (even as short as 4 hours), you'll get critical pay. I think it's one of the rare morale boosters I've seen since I started. There's been a gradual exodus without enough replacements, so we've all worked short-staffed for a good part of 2015.