Working Part time in order to make over time money $$

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Just wondering if this is going on at your hospital. I'm a 3rd year nursing student, soon finished my preceptorship on a med/surg floor. I have heard that some RN's work part time so they can get called in once and twice a week in order to get payed overtime. Nurses here get a lot of calls to do overtime. When a nurse comes in on her day off she/he get payed twice their hourly rate. They may do the same amount of hours as an full timer but get payed more.

just like to hear some thoughts, I have heard in the media that Nurses do this.

Cheers,

Christa

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I'm part time. I do cartwheels anytime I get called in. The downside is the insane cost of health insurance.

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Specializes in Cardiac, ICU, medical, surgical.

In Australia, if you work part time- there is no pay difference when you are called in to do an extra shift until it exceeds full time hours.

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Yeah, I don't get how you can work part time and get paid overtime if you're still coming in under 40 hours a week. AFAIK, overtime pay starts at more than 40 hours a week regardless of your PT/FT status.

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Up here in Canada it's very common. The UNA contract in Alberta is the last one that has double time for part timers. It was quite common to have part timers work two shifts on their designated days off to make nearly full time wages.

OT has gone sky high and they will probably loose it in their next contract. The LPN's lost it in their contract, now part timers only have the chance to do double rate OT on their designated weekends off.

With the way the economy and the healthcare budget is going, the RN union will lose it next spring. Staffing is even refusing to book part timers on their double time days and only offering them shifts on their straight time days.

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This is not always the case. However in our hospital, it happens only if you have a pool contract with the hospital. This means you will work as a pools nurse for pool rate, but you can get pulled to other units as specified by the contract. SUEN

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Specializes in M/S, Travel Nursing, Pulmonary.

I have heard of this. With casual/part time, if you worked above your allotted hours there was a bonus for helping out. I doubt that exists anymore though. That was back when hospitals had to beg for staff to come in. Now, those sorts of programs have for the most part been eliminated and hospitals keep the part time staff as part time help...........lean more on the full time people to make the ends meet.

In today's economy, if you are offered full time, I'd take it and all the benefits that go with it. From what I understand from a few people who have been at hospitals where lay offs occurred, the hospital drops its casual/part time staff first.

I would also point out that you said you heard of this through the media. Not my first choice of info. on the medical or nursing career path/fields. They'll have you believing there is a shortage and hospitals are begging for people.

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I'm part time. I do cartwheels anytime I get called in. The downside is the insane cost of health insurance.

I'm from Canada, our health care is free

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This is how I have been running my life for the last 20+ years. I work two 12 hour shifts per week and make myself available for IHR( in house registry, which is time and a half). I usually pick up one IHR shift per pay period and I could always pick up more if I wanted to. Some weeks I have picked up one or two extra shifts. That is my gravy money. Why am I able to do this? Well it seems they cant figure out how to staff correctly. Or there is always someone calling in sick or something. And I made myself more valuable, by doing things others wont do, such as being in charge, etc. So I get the overtime pay and the charge pay. If you want to get overtime, make yourself more valuable to the unit by learning to do things that others dont want to do, like ACLS. Or taking charge, etc. I have a co-worker that works fulltime and does at least 1-2 extra shifts per week at OT. Thats because she makes herself available. There are some people that wont work any extra shifts, but when they know you like the OT money, they call you first because they know you will show up and be happy to do it. And I have fulltime benefits also. And when I work the OT I accumulate the extra PTO(vacation time). Now the good thing for me about working parttime is I get to be off more days when I WANT to be off. I can take almost 2 weeks off without hardly using any of my PTO. If it's slow, well then I don't get the OT, but usually I manage to pull a day extra if I want to. I just study the schedule and when I see it looks light, I make myself available. So that's the trick, be good at what you do, do things others wont do, and make yourself available. And believe me, I have very decent paychecks.

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I have seen this practice. A facility I worked at instituted the policy during time of sever shortage. A few nurses played it the way you describe. However, as soon as the shortage ease the facility recinded the policy. It was costing them a fortune. Most places can change that practice anytime they please unless it is in a contract somewhere.

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Most jobs offered on the job postings are for full time jobs around here. I see only a few part time jobs offered at my hospital.

The per diem staff have taken over the place of part time jobs, and they get paid at a higher hourly rate.

Overtime is something my managers hate paying. The per diems are cheaper than the regular staff overtime in most cases.

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I'm from Canada, our health care is free

Nothing in life is ever free. Someone always pays especially anytime the government is involved.

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