Working to the clock

Specialties Geriatric

Published

Would it really kill staff to hang around perhaps 5- 10 min after their shift to assist with an emergency?? A few weeks ago, a resident went sour approx. 40 min before the end of the shift- I assembled all the paper work, called family etc etc including calling the ambulance and then was getting calls from other floors which I needed to deal with. The resident was stable enough so I asked the nurse in that area ( I am the charge nurse for 4 areas) to please show the paramedics to the resident's room and she says to me - I can't stay I have a friend waiting for me in the parking lot- and that was it- she didn't stay and I had to run around like a nut watching all unionized staff leave right on the dot of 12 and ended up sending the poor soul out myself and leaving late- I don't care about myself leaving late- I hate coming on a shift and being handed a mess like that and even though the night staff was there by then they hadn't had report- Back when I first started nursing ( 20 years ago) if something came up you helped out, now staff watch the clock like they are in a marathon and start putting their coats on as the hands inch up to the final hour. If someone wants a tylenol at 1150 too bad they don't have time to stop and give it - it might take them past quitting time. I have even seen staff get up and walk away from charting ( I'll finish tomorrow) because their shift was over. They tell me they are not getting overtime so why should they stay?? I guess work ethics are not a good enough reason.:uhoh3:

I would like to see people stand by the clock waiting to clock out at our facility because it has a video camera at it and management monitors this type of action. As for staying to help co-workers....most of the employees are happy to assist if it is an emergency, but management is cutting us so short on staff and insisting that we not work over. This is not because of a low census because most of our departments are busting at the seams. I think maybe we are losing a lot of money due to a decrease in elective procedures and we are still in the deficit due to opening a new facility. Frustrating because you do not want to leave your co-workers or patients in need.

Okay, I am rambling and clearly need sleep. Enough said :uhoh3:

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Specializes in ICU, MedSurg, Medical Telemetry.
Would it really kill staff to hang around perhaps 5- 10 min after their shift to assist with an emergency?? A few weeks ago, a resident went sour approx. 40 min before the end of the shift- I assembled all the paper work, called family etc etc including calling the ambulance and then was getting calls from other floors which I needed to deal with. The resident was stable enough so I asked the nurse in that area ( I am the charge nurse for 4 areas) to please show the paramedics to the resident's room and she says to me - I can't stay I have a friend waiting for me in the parking lot- and that was it- she didn't stay and I had to run around like a nut watching all unionized staff leave right on the dot of 12 and ended up sending the poor soul out myself and leaving late- I don't care about myself leaving late- I hate coming on a shift and being handed a mess like that and even though the night staff was there by then they hadn't had report- Back when I first started nursing ( 20 years ago) if something came up you helped out, now staff watch the clock like they are in a marathon and start putting their coats on as the hands inch up to the final hour. If someone wants a tylenol at 1150 too bad they don't have time to stop and give it - it might take them past quitting time. I have even seen staff get up and walk away from charting ( I'll finish tomorrow) because their shift was over. They tell me they are not getting overtime so why should they stay?? I guess work ethics are not a good enough reason.:uhoh3:

Are you serious? Where's the professional pride? The idea of teamwork? The basic concern for the pt? It's not about the overtime.:madface:

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:yeah:to the CNA!

nope, the CNA is being a martyr and stupid

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One of the "inventions" I blame is the time clock...when you leave after your placement's arrived, and you given report, and you can write down 1900, now some days it might have been 1910, and sometimes it might have been 1847, but you didn't worry about it, it evened out. Now, you clock out early...well don't, and heaven help you if you clock out late, then the clock becomes who you answer too instead of the work, the people you work with, and the pts.

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I don't work free.

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I have had more than one employer specifically require clocking out, then finishing on one's own time sans pay. Decision must be made based upon need for job and tolerance for employer abuse.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

In this state it is illegal for an employer to ask you to clock out and stay in the facility. I'm salaried now but when I punched in and out I would stay until the work was done...I was the nurse manager of a very busy subacute floor. I got called on the carpet one day for overtime. I looked the boss in the eye and explained that: 1. We had no unit secretary so I was at the copy machine for an hour when I could have been doing nursing, 2. We had 4 admits, 2 discharges, and 3 rescues to the hospital without one mistake being made, and 3. we never got a dph tag on my unit...so unless they wanted things to fall apart......but then again, I'm what your grandmother would call fresh!

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Well call me old fashioned..... but I wasn't asking for this person to stay every shift and work overtime, I only asked that she show the paramedics to the room until I got back from dealing with the other issues which didn't take long- two nights later I saw her running out the door 5 min. early - she had no qualms about doing that but on the flip side she couldnt stay five min. later to help me out?

We are all taken advantage of by administration - the bottom line is money/profit but I try to remember that it might help to lead by example???

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wiley, I think that coworker deserves a whack upside the head. But I also understand sometimes just being DONE. I was today. Maybe she was just fried?

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Specializes in PACU, CARDIAC ICU, TRAUMA, SICU, LTC.
I don't work free.

Me neither..no way, no how! If I wanted to "volunteer," I would do it at an animal shelter...

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Specializes in CTICU.

There's no way I could in all good conscience walk out the door if the proverbial was hitting the fan and a coworker needed help. No way.

Then again, I'm salaried and we get screwed - the hourly employees watch the clock, and actually leave early on Fridays because "I've hit my 40hrs" while I am there 7a - 6p because I need to get my work finished (as are my other salaried coworkers).

My boss and I interviewed RNs for position recently... one of them asked "Will I have to stay late very often?" - thereby guaranteeing SHE won't get hired!

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Specializes in Hospice.

Just want to re-iterate what has already been mentioned about staying off the clock.

First of all, it's a violation of federal labor laws. WalMart just recently had to pay out millions in overtime to workers who had been forced to clock out then return to work. It really is illegal to do.

Secondly, you lose any legal rights you might have to both workers' comp and to malpractice coverage in the event of a lawsuit ... you were clocked out, therefore you weren't acting in the capacity of an employee.

Finally, the OP did not mention whether the management of her facility writes workers up for overtime or threatens to not pay them ... if one runs the risk of disciplinary action for "helping out", it's normal to think twice about it and reasonable to decline to do it.

So ... it isn't just about the money. There's a lot that goes into maintaining a culture of teamwork in a facility. The willingness to help out needs to be balanced with the need for boundaries. I read long ago that one of the reasons that caregivers burn out so readily is that, in a helping profession, there is always something more to be done and we often get no support for setting limits.

These are general comments, not specifically directed at the OP ... I don't know enough about the context of her situation to be able to say much of anything.

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