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Discussion

Working 24+ hours?

I'm thinking this is illegal, but I'm not sure.

What is the MAX number of hours a nurse can work in ONE shift? For example, can we work 24 hours straight?

Obviously this is a huge safety issue. I live in Texas and I work at the freestanding ER. Staff on shift includes 1 RN, 1 MD, 1 CT tech, and 1 unit secretary. Sometimes it's an issue trying to find coverage for shifts especially at the last minute. There honestly isn't a whole lot of full-time staff for day shift.

If there isn't another nurse available to come in and relieve you, you're expected to stay and work. One of our nurses was literally stuck here for a few days. The facility doesn't believe in closing down if coverage cannot be found.

I realize that a disaster situation is different, but Texas states that mandatory overtime may be required in the event of a disaster situation, but does that also mean working 24+ hours at a time? I'm more curious about non-disaster situations.

Thank you in advance!

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    If there isn't another nurse available to come in and relieve you, you're expected to stay and work. One of our nurses was literally stuck here for a few days.

    That sounds like a total mess. While that seems pretty dangerous I doubt that it's illegal, especially in Texas (which is notorious for lack of legal nursing protections at the state level).

    I have known flight nurses who work 24 hour shifts. If they're out on a transport at 'shift change,' they may end of doing a 30+ hour shift to complete their transport. It's also standard for our NPs on my unit to work 24 hour shifts, though we do try to let them sleep for a bit if possible.

    The facility doesn't believe in closing down if coverage cannot be found.

    I know even less about this topic, but it's possible that they may not be allowed to close due to EMTALA laws.

    I do believe that it is possible for you to report your unit to the nursing board. There are a bunch of topics on AN about nurses who are mandated to to stay over if coverage can't be found. The advice is generally to stay over that one incident (to avoid abandonment), then report the unit to the BON.

    Regardless, if they don't fix their staffing issues, your unit's problem will just become progressively worse and worse. I'm sure even more people will leave if they are consistently expected to stay over.

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    The BON wouldn't be interested in this but I bet OSHA or the federal labor board would. They are violating laws all over the place. Even those with 24 hour schedules are required to have down time.

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