Hey! I finished my nursing school about 12 years ago and worked on a ICU for about two years after nursing school as a RN.
Moved to a different country and now I am working at a facility for disabled people.
I work only nightshift and we have to be awake all night in case emergency but honestly, I never had an emergency. My clients sleep all night.
My base income is very high and in addition I get nightshift bonus, so I am getting a lot of money that isn’t taxed at the end of the month either because in this country shift differential (night, sundays, holidays) isn’t taxed.
I don’t know I am doing this since two years and if I’d lay down on a couch no one would ever know.
Should I keep going or say something? My Nightshift coworkers don’t do anything either but they just keep quiet. And if I am honest I think the dayshift doesn’t do a lot either. Our clients really dont need a lot of assist… it’s kind of weird getting paid for this job.
Standing by “just in case” means you’re giving up your time, a normal sleep schedule, and aren’t at your own place or going out.
Sometimes, having someone on standby is exactly what’s needed. And it’s good that they’re compensating you fairly for that time.
You don’t want to be in the situation where you’re “officially” free and unpaid, but always have to be within 10 minutes of work and rush there whenever you get a call that can happen at any time.
And besides, when it comes to emergencies, someone who just got rushed out of whatever they were doing isn’t the most helpful.