Many nurses at Children’s work in departments where one can be required to participate in mandatory pre-scheduled call. Unlike voluntary call, mandatory call is subject to certain rules. If you work in one of these areas with mandatory pre-scheduled call, please thoroughly review the following information. WSNA understands that currently these departments are Perioperative Services, Cardiac Cath Lab, Imaging Services (including GI), Transplant Coordinators, Dialysis, ECMO, Apheresis and Home Care (including infusion). WSNA, your officers and staffing committee representatives are asking for your assistance in identifying any improper use of call.

Mandatory pre-scheduled call CANNOT be used:

• where the staffing plan identifies a need for 5 RNs to staff the unit but only schedules 3 to work;
• to respond to regular changes in patient census; ie. the unit is regularly seeing patients on the weekends because of overflow from the week but is using on-call staff instead of including a need for a regular shift in the staffing plan;
• to respond to regular changes in acuity;
• to respond to sick calls, leaves, vacations, etc.;
• to fill chronic staffing shortages;

Please fill out a Staffing Complaint/ADO form each and every time you are called back for one of the impermissible purposes listed above. You should select one of the following options under “staffing concern” and also please provide details under “other concerns:”

• Our unit staffing plan is inadequate
• Our unit is not staffed according to its staffing plan
• Shift adjustments are inadequate

ADO staffing complaint forms can be found at: https://www.wsna.org/union/ado
Where can I find my Children’s staffing plan? https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/2300/HospPolicies/ChildrensNS.pdf

Questions? Please contact WSNA Nurse Representative Sara Frey at sfrey@wsna.org or 206-575-7979, ext. 3039.