I don't have to work today
I don't have to work today.....
I was supposed to work.
This is my week-end to work.
But, yesterday, when I was at the hospital, doing more off day work, I noticed the census was down. When census is down (and trust me, this rarely happens--I last remember it happening about 3 years ago...), one of two things will happen.
1--If other units are short- staffed, nurses from the low census unit will be sent to that unit to work.
2--If no other units need the nurse(s), a nurse will be called and given the day off (officially, DWOP-d ; Day Off Without Pay, altho you can use your PTO time to get paid)
We have been pulled to other floors to work on occasion, but, because we use so many agency nurses, they have been the only ones getting dropped (obviously, they get dropped first, because the hospital has to pay so much more for them to work, when you add the agency nurses higher hourly salary + the aency fee (which amounts to about 50-75 dollars/hr).
So anyway, I noticed the low census, and signed up for the DWOP if census was low enough to drop first the agency nurse who was scheduled to work, then me.
(Today is Fall Festival at the boys school. Usually it's on Friday night, but, this year was changed, and I was not going to be able to go. Amanda was supposed to go, but, you can guess how that went--yep--something she had to do and she went out of town yesterday.)
Then last night, I called, re-iterated my request to the charge nurse (who BTW, is my Siamese Twin---we were separated at birth--lol) . I also told her if one nurse needed to be pulled, pull the agency nurse, then leave me for the drop. (When that agency nurse goes to another floor, they have to pay her, not us, so we don't care if she still works, as long as she works elsewhere).
So, my alarm goes off at 5:00 and no phone call. Just as I hit the snooze button, knowing I had to work, the phone rings and I got my drop!!
YAY!!! YAY!!!!! Now I can take the boys to the fall festival! They will be so happy!!!!
Uh----I do have to be available until 7:15, in case census should go back up with new admissions.
So, this was TMI, huh????
Sorry......