OPEIU HEALTHCARE Pennsylvania occasionally receives reports that nurses feel pressured not to claim overtime. Yet, nurses are experiencing an increase in patient loads, a rise in patient acuity and a decrease in ancillary staff. All of these factors result in an increase of overtime for nurses.

YOU AS A PROFESSIONAL MUST CLAIM YOUR OVERTIME

Nurse may feel, that as professionals, they should be able to complete their work in eight hours. Nurses feel responsible for their patients and feel they simply cannot walk out at the end of an eight-hour shift. If a patient's condition deteriorates in the last hours of a shift, you prioritize the patient's care. If you have to stay over past your shift to chart or perform other duties, you do so as a professional. You should claim your time.

IT'S THE LAW, CLAIM YOUR TIME

Federal Law, State Law and your Union Contract all require your employer to pay you for all hours worked, including overtime and working through your meal periods. If you fail to claim your time, you are falsifying your own time records.

DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED, CLAIM YOUR TIME

Do not feel intimidated by managers who frown on overtime and blame the nurse. Increased patient loads and increased acuity are the primary reasons why nurses work overtime. By not recording the time you work overtime, undermines your colleagues and makes it appear that you have adequate staffing on shifts when you do not have sufficient or appropriate staff. This, in turn, may lead to a reduction of staff.

OPEIU HEALTHCARE PENNSYLVANIA WANTS TO HEAR FROM NURSES/PATIENTS

OPEIU HEALTHCARE Pennsylvania is collecting data on the adverse effects of mandatory overtime on patient care. Nurses have been forced to work overtime to the detriment of the care to patients and to the detriment of their own health. Please share your experience either as a nurse or as a patient. Together, we can fight the misuse of mandatory overtime.

Send your comments to overtimesurvey@opeiuhealth.org