Simply Col

This has been  a bit of a rough week.   I worked 5 evening shifts and each one carried the threat of mandatory overtime.   

For those of you that do not know.. mandatory overtime for nurses is the practice of hospitals and health care institutions to maintain adequate numbers of staff nurses through forced overtime with as little as one hour’s notice. 

Because I work the evening shift, for me being mandated means that I am forced to work another 8 hrs through the night, for a total of 16 hours.   I can not refuse.  If I do I am threatened with serious repercussions from my employer which may include legal action. 

It is my understanding that mandatory overtime first came about to provide adequate nursing care in the situation of an unforeseen emergency.    This I can easily comprehend.   The sad reality now is that it is more often than not used to fill known staffing needs that the employer has been unable to fill. 

Leaving for work at 3:00 in the afternoon with the knowledge that there is a good chance that I will not be able to leave for home at the end of my evening shift  is becoming increasingly difficult.   I try not to dwell on it too much before I head out the door … but the thought is always there.. in the back of my mind… and I worry… and my stomach tightens.    

The first thing I do when I get to work is check the staff assignment sheet.    If it shows a nursing need for nights that has not been filled,  my stomach tightens just that much more and my spirit takes a nose dive.   For the rest of the shift I am on edge and stressed.  Will they find someone to work?  Will I have to stay? 

I am an “old nurse” having been in the profession for over 30 years.  And the reality is that I simply am getting old.   My body aches in places it never used to ache and after putting in 8 hours… I often feel finished.   When I hear the words,  “you have been mandated”… well … it is difficult to articulate the feelings … powerless and defeated come to mind. Unsafe, to say the very least.

So what can I do?   I am really not sure.   I phoned our nurses union about this and they were of absolutely no help but did provide a supportive ear. “Fill out heavy work-load forms” was their advise. Ya right.. been there.. done that.   How can this be, I have to wonder. How can they condone this?

My magic 80 (my eligibility for retirement) comes up next year.   My original plan was to work for at least another four years but now I am very seriously considering retiring and working at something else if need be .. maybe the Humane Society :-) . 

This saddens me in many ways… for I still love my profession but just don’t feel I am safe to practice  in the way that I am being forced to. I am beginning to feel that the constant worry and stress is affecting the core of who I am, literally wounding my spirit.. and this is not good.  

The nursing shortage is a true concern … but I have to wonder if the practice of mandatory overtime is helping the situation.   Seems more like a quick bandaid fix than anything else.  

I have heard that close to  50% of the now working RNs will be retiring in the next 5-10 years.   One would think that the ‘powers that be’ would be wise to try to retain those thinking of retirement for as long as possible.  I wonder when they will realize that mandatory overtime may not be the way to accomplish this.   After we are all gone, I suppose.