attendance management?!?!??!

[hapeewendy]

Okay I have now been included into our workplaces

attendance management program.

If youre off work for more than four times a year

for medical reasons youre enrolled in what our workplace calls "attendance management"

basically every time after this initiation to the program you need a specific form filled out by your MD that you were infact sick and basically detailing how long you will be off and what your needs will be when you return

I agree with this fully except for one line on the form

PATIENT DIAGNOSIS

while I believe any facility has the right to try to manage and lessen the time off work of their employees I do not believe they have a right to know the persons diagnosis.

for me its simple, I was diagnosed with Lupus this year and have had some complications , nothing major just some infections, uncontrolled fevers etc etc but enough to keep me out of work for a while.

but what if a nurse is dealing with cancer or something else , I mean I wouldnt want my occ health dept, my unit administrator and human resource dept to know in vivid detail what I am going through...

I already called the union to question the practice of including diagnosis on the forms and they said several staff have complained and that they are looking into it...

what do you all think?

[Agnus]

This is none of the employer's business. EXCEPT if you have and infection.

Infection control at your place of work needs to know that you have an infection and what it is. This is so they can protect patients and other staff. They need to know so they can check if this is a problem at your work site, as you may have picked it up at work and/or you may have contaminated the work site with the organism.

If it is present at the site they need to be knowlegable so they can take action. They will also need to know that your infection is gone before you return to work. AND they have an obligation to keep your information confidential.

[micro, RN]

happeewendy,

hey, good to see you.........

glad you and not me on this committee.....but I do agree, something needs to be done with the totally problemmakers.......like if call-offs, well I am still working, sniff, sniff, cough, cough.....

1) is that more than four seperate times a year.........

because otherwise, why are they offering us this time off is we can't take it......(hapeewendy.....know you know this is not directed towards you)

now if it was for more than four seperate episodes a year(more than one day off at a time)....then I agree

2) absolutely agree with you and Agnus..........it is not my employer's business the exact details of my dx.........all that I should have to provide is a dr. "excuse"(makes you feel like in school).........stating that dr. has reviewed the person job description and person has the ability to perform those duties without any risk of injury to self or others.........

"the days of dark ages and prejudices are not over unfortunately.........and

even more than that what is private, should be kept that, unless that person chooses to share"

tough call, good thread ?????

lol,

micro

[CEN35]

your employer has no right to know about your medical history or conditions. it is up to your pmd, to determine if your condition/infection is an issue at your place of employment. there are plenty of rules and regulations related to this issue.

on a different note, out system has now started hadning out $25.00 bonuses for no absences or lates for part-timers, and $50.00 for no absences or lates for full timers. this is evaluated quarterly, and paid out quarterly. while it isn't much, i rarely call off sick, and is nice to see some acknowledgment to those who show up everyday on time.

me :)

[thisnurse]

funny i think, we are exposed to so many different illnesses and when we do get them we are penalized for calling off.

i cant even count how many times ive been exposed to the flu and then got a call from infectious to isolate the patient...after the fact.

[MQ Edna]

We were just told that there would be a black book at the nurses station and when we call in, they are going to write down the time, date and REASON. I don't know if that means delving more into "I'm sick" but are they allowed to ask specifically why you can't come in???

[JMP]

I work in an UNIONIED enviroment. ONA (Ontario Nurses Assocation) is a very strong union. We have people who call in sick ALL the time. It is frustrating, since many of us do not. I know we all get sick sometimes, but some of these people are always sick on the weekends, or when it is their turn to do nights.

There are positives about being in a union, we have alot of rights.

Employer keeps tract of sick calls and you will be called in and asked if there are problems if your sick time gets above average. I have been there almost a year now and have never called in sick. It would be nice if that was rewarded.

[hapeewendy]

I agree with you all on your points

just to clarify , I am not defending the call out kings and queens of nursing, the ones who are not sick , but dont feel "up to coming in today/tonight"

thats just unacceptable

I am talking about people with legit illnesses like myself, I should NOT be penalized because I have an auto immune disease, I did not choose this

I would love to feel well enough to be the awesome nurse that I am, but some days, honestly I cannot get out of bed, I am 25 with arthritis, this isnt a pity parade believe me I know how lucky I am to be here and feel good for the most part

but why do I feel like I am back in grade school having to justify why I missed my math class or something?

I mean really, If I have a bug how considerate of me would it be to come in and spread it to all my co workers and not to mention all my immunosuppressed patients :)

I agree with the attendance management program

but I dont agree with the diagnosis part of the form

I have nothing to hide, when I am off work it is for a damn good reason

if there are alarming trends in ppls absences like every weekend or very frequent then I can understand calling a meeting and investigating and finding out what may be going on with the person

but that almost never happens, people just sit and speculate that the person never wants to work etc....

dont get yourselves in the dangerous position of

jumping to conclusions about people who are absent from work

I work with some of the worst notoriously bad caller offers , but I dont feel I should be lumped in with them.

I totally agree with rewarding perfect attendance

I think people who are lucky enough to be well and healthy and come to work should be given kudos.

I just dont think that my name should appear in any black book of condemned nurses because unfortunately sometimes I call in sick

and refuse to put my own health in further jeopardy as i have in the past and come in anyway

I applaud you healthy nurses that sometimes yes need to pick up my slack when I'm lying in emerg myself with a 104 fever , but really would you want me nursing your loved ones when I'm less than 100% ?

I think management, yes easy to rag on management I know, needs to come up with more initiatives and implement ideas on how to minimize sick calls, or at least investigate them fairly, without assumptions and conclusions based on opinion not fact :)

*jumps off soapbox and falls because she is notoriously clumsy during daylight hours*

cheers, thanks for the input

you are all as wise,if not wiser than yoda himself

:)

[hoolahan, ASN, RN]

IN ther section that say Diagnosis, I would have my doctor owrite "non-communicable and confidential". That should cover it.

However, I agree, if you are given time, you should be able to use it for whatever reason. I have a problem w employers who allow 12 sick days, yet penalize you if you use over 8. If you don't want people to use over 8, don't give more than 8 for crying out loud!! I think if they allow X number of sick days, NOTHING should be done until the Xth sick day is used, period.