I really need to get over my guilt complex!
Yesterday I found out that there were 2 unfilled nursing shifts for today and tomorrow days. We are so short staffed that it's hard to get someone to fill one shift, let alone 2 on a weekend. Usually when there are 2 vacant shifts they make someone from the previous shift stay for a double. The nurse has no choice. It's either stay or get fired and charged with "abandonment". So the nurse stays, and if they can find someone else to fill that second vacant spot, then all is well. Otherwise each nurse has to pick up extra patients and are run ragged and often miss their breaks.
So I felt really bad knowing how bad the staffing was for the day shifts on the weekend that I volunteered to do a double shift tomorrow (Sunday). So I work this evening until midnight and then go back in at 7:30 am and work until midnight. It's my last day of work before I get 2 days off.
My chiropractor is so upset with me because I tend to do at least 1 if not 2 double shifts per week. I'm not the only one doing double shifts either. On Thursday one of the day nurses did a double shift from days into evenings nd then came to work yesterday morning for her regular shift (same thing I'm doing, only I"m doing my regular evening shift today and my double on my last shift).
If I had the energy and physical health, I could be doing double shifts every single day of the week on my ward. That's how bad our nursing shortage is
I don't mind doing the odd double shift. But when they are weekly or more than weekly, it's hard. Plus the overtime doesn't even really pay off. My tax deductions alone from my last check which had 2 double shifts was enough for me to pay my rent and utilities for an entire month. So whatever I did earn for those shifts, got eaten up by the tax man.
Yesterday I found out that there were 2 unfilled nursing shifts for today and tomorrow days. We are so short staffed that it's hard to get someone to fill one shift, let alone 2 on a weekend. Usually when there are 2 vacant shifts they make someone from the previous shift stay for a double. The nurse has no choice. It's either stay or get fired and charged with "abandonment". So the nurse stays, and if they can find someone else to fill that second vacant spot, then all is well. Otherwise each nurse has to pick up extra patients and are run ragged and often miss their breaks.
So I felt really bad knowing how bad the staffing was for the day shifts on the weekend that I volunteered to do a double shift tomorrow (Sunday). So I work this evening until midnight and then go back in at 7:30 am and work until midnight. It's my last day of work before I get 2 days off.
My chiropractor is so upset with me because I tend to do at least 1 if not 2 double shifts per week. I'm not the only one doing double shifts either. On Thursday one of the day nurses did a double shift from days into evenings nd then came to work yesterday morning for her regular shift (same thing I'm doing, only I"m doing my regular evening shift today and my double on my last shift).
If I had the energy and physical health, I could be doing double shifts every single day of the week on my ward. That's how bad our nursing shortage is
I don't mind doing the odd double shift. But when they are weekly or more than weekly, it's hard. Plus the overtime doesn't even really pay off. My tax deductions alone from my last check which had 2 double shifts was enough for me to pay my rent and utilities for an entire month. So whatever I did earn for those shifts, got eaten up by the tax man.