Got told at 6pm that I'm staying until 11 because nobody picked up and the night nurse called out. Not asked. Told. I'd already been awake since 4:45 and I hadn't eaten anything since a granola bar at 10am.
I said I wasn't safe and the house sup said she'd "note my concern." Note it where exactly. So I stayed, obviously, because what am I gonna do, walk off and get reported for abandonment over something that isn't even my fault.
I keep hearing people say just refuse, they can't actually make you. Has anyone actually done that and kept their job? Or is that just something people say online?
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Post replyWe get mandated so often that people have started calling out preemptively on days they think they'll get stuck. So the nurses who actually show up get punished for showing up. Then admin acts confused about retention.
Did they at least relieve you long enough to eat something? Or did they mandate you and then make you work through without a break too?
Not saying it's okay, but the house sup was probably out of options too. Agency wouldn't fill it, nobody answered the text blast, and she still had to staff the unit. The real problem is whoever keeps that unit running with zero cushion, not the person holding the phone at 6pm.
Look up whether your state has a mandatory overtime law for nurses, because some do and some don't. Also fill out an assignment despite objection form if your union or state association has one. A written form holds up a lot better than a sup's 'concern.'
I refused once, about four years ago. I told the sup before I took report on any extra patients that I was not accepting the assignment and why, then followed up in writing. Nobody reported me to the board, but I got moved to the bottom of the PTO request list for about six months and my manager was cold for a long time. I kept the job. Whether it was worth it depends on the day you ask me.
Note it where exactly is sending me. Probably the same place as all our staffing complaints.