called in sick, nurse manager calling back (inappropriate tactics?)

Nurses General Nursing

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My husband and I work together as RNs on the same unit (ICU) and we work the same schedule. No problems on that front so far between us, staff, or management. Neither of us has called in sick since signing on 18 months ago.

Yesterday, he called in sick for the first time ever (vomiting and diarrhea.) He gave plenty of notice, calling both our nurse manager and charge nurse at midnight. Our shift is 7a-7p.

At 4am, our NM called my husband. My husband was ill, and could predict that it was a plea to retract his sick day, and decided not to pick up. Then, the NM texted my husband "please call me back asap."

Ten minutes later, the NM called my cell phone. I of course happened to be finishing my last precious hours of sleep before showing up to work at 7am. I did not pick up! Five minutes later, the NM texted my phone: "please let your husband know to call me. we will need his help at 11. thank you."

Then, between 0400-0430, NM proceeded to call us BOTH one more time. He proceeded to leave a message on my husband's phone: "we will be needing you to come in as several nurses will be tripled."

What????!

My husband did end up going into work (i know, i know :( ) much to our charge nurse's dismay. It turns out, had he not retracted his sick day, the NM would have ended up coming in to take patients. My husband ended up working while he was sick, and three nurses were tripled anyway (I was one of them.)

Is this a typical tactic in nursing these days? I feel that this was inappropriate behavior on our NM's part, and can't help but to feel somewhat violated - on my husband's behalf, and that the NM was disturbing my sleep when he knew I would be working in several hours?

Not sure why I'm posting, just trying to vent and find some solidarity I guess. Thanks :)

I can't believe someone hasn't physically attacked one of these managers yet! Heaven knows, they are asking for it! back in the day, someone would have given then a good hard slap in the face.

Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.

You want me to send Kcmylorn up there? Sounds like a nurse that can get reform going in your facility:)

Kcmylorn can use the "Chuck Norris" style discussion to bring them to reason, best idea so far!

Not to derail, but I simply cannot fathom not having a home telephone. I guess if you really cannot afford it, try this: get the $10 track phone and use that for the home phone. Only provide that number to your work place, and then don't answer it, lol. Let them leave a message and return the call at your convenience. I truly do not believe text messages are acceptable for professional communications. Disclaimer: I don't send text messages to anyone anyway, and I suppose that is another thread.

I do think when we habitually choose this sort of informal and unprofessional communication behavior as the norm, we invite more unprofessional conduct on their part. I suggest you raise the bar, and then hold them to higher standards as well. None of this text messaging nonsense. Real, professional, adult communique required. If they want something from you, they have to ask you, personally, and politely. If they should be unable to reach you to speak with you directly and make their request in a manner that facilitates clear dialogue, offering an opportunity for questions and answers as well as compromise, then they should make other arrangements.

If you opt to accept the status quo because it is easier than addressing the problem and taking steps to remedy the issues at hand, I will refrain from commenting "told ya so" on your next thread on the same or similar subject. ;)

I can't fathom having a home telephone. Ever. What a waste of money. If someone needs me, I have a cell phone. There is no reason this day and age for anyone to have a home telephone. But that's just my $0.02.

My question is, to the OP why the hell do you keep your cell phone turned on all night long? My phone is shut off between 9PM and 6 AM, and if someone has died or there is an emergency, it can wait until the morning.

Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
I can't fathom having a home telephone. Ever. What a waste of money. If someone needs me, I have a cell phone. There is no reason this day and age for anyone to have a home telephone. But that's just my $0.02.

I have a child who stays at home by himself, and I do NOT think children need a cell phone, so we have a land-line. Much cheaper to have a home phone, and it also provides a phone number where his friends and classmates can call him without tying up my cell phone. It also ensures that we always have a phone around for emergencies -- hard to call 911 for a drowning incident if the only phone was a cell phone that went into the pool during the drowning incident, for example.

If I were a single person, or if I had no kids, I wouldn't bother with having a home phone. But when kids are involved, things are different.

My question is, to the OP why the hell do you keep your cell phone turned on all night long? My phone is shut off between 9PM and 6 AM, and if someone has died or there is an emergency, it can wait until the morning.

And again -- some people have different priorities. For most people, deaths and emergencies are "need to know NOW" situations. I care about my family and friends, and I want to be available to them, so I don't turn my phone off. I don't want to wait five hours to find out that someone needed my support in the middle of the night.

A solution to the work problem, however, could be to send all calls from work directly to voicemail (provided that there is one specific work number -- hard to set that up if every extension at the hospital has a different caller-ID number). Or just don't answer if you see that it's work calling in.

Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele/Onc.
I have a child who stays at home by himself, and I do NOT think children need a cell phone, so we have a land-line. Much cheaper to have a home phone, and it also provides a phone number where his friends and classmates can call him without tying up my cell phone. It also ensures that we always have a phone around for emergencies -- hard to call 911 for a drowning incident if the only phone was a cell phone that went into the pool during the drowning incident, for example.

If I were a single person, or if I had no kids, I wouldn't bother with having a home phone. But when kids are involved, things are different.

And again -- some people have different priorities. For most people, deaths and emergencies are "need to know NOW" situations. I care about my family and friends, and I want to be available to them, so I don't turn my phone off. I don't want to wait five hours to find out that someone needed my support in the middle of the night.

A solution to the work problem, however, could be to send all calls from work directly to voicemail (provided that there is one specific work number -- hard to set that up if every extension at the hospital has a different caller-ID number). Or just don't answer if you see that it's work calling in.

I have kids as well and I agree. They are teenagers now and do have cell phones, but they are often in their rooms or purses (like mine) and not on their persons. When I'm calling them from work, etc, to check on the homework, ask them to get dinners started, etc, I like them to answer and they answer the home phone.

When they were younger, they had friends who only had cells. I'd call for the kids to come home for dinner and mom wouldn't be at home. So I'd have to walk down the street to get the kids. Not horrible, except when you have dinner on the stove.

I have another friend who has two teenagers. One has a cell. One only has a phone that works when you are within wifi and it only texts. This daughter (age 12) gets left home alone at times and will only have her texting device for contact. That makes me uncomfortable.

Cell phones have a lot of problems. They miss calls, loose charges, get lost. We have an old fashioned rotary phone in our basement left over from the dinosaurs When our power went out for over a week (twice) several years ago, guess which phone kept working no matter what?

Another friend only has a cell and works at one of the large stadiums in town. During concerts and ball games, she is unreachable because there are soooo many people their using their cell phones, the signals get jammed. She was complaining the other day about how many calls she has been missing and voicemails that don't show up on her phone until the next day. My husband called her the other day regarding carpools and she didn't get the message until the next day. If she had a landline, she'd have gotten the message when she got home. I've noticed too that when I'm in a large crowd, my cell service stinks.

only have a cell and work has its very own ringtone...I decide whether i answer it or not!!

Please explain, what is "being tripled"? Can it be doing a triple shift? I never heard of such a thing. This, if so, is not allowed in California. I hope you learned from this...........do not answer a call from work. Let it go to voice mail and then decide whether to return the call.

Completely inappropriate. I've never worked anywhere where that would happen ... but if I were to get such a call, MY next calls would be to human resources and to my manager's boss.

After I printed out a screen shot of those messages to send to HR. Any mgr doing that to me or my partner would soon be short a nurse. This, after a year and a half of PERFECT ATTENDENCE?? That is just craz-zeee.

For the NM to call was definitely inappropriate in this situation. You are not your husbands keeper and he did call to let the NM know he was sick and wouldn't be coming in. If he has just not shown up and they were unable to reach him then I can see them reaching out to the emergency contact since they don't know if something may have happened to the employee on the way to work.

Secondly, unless you both need to have your phones on at night (kids, aging parents) turn them off.

I also agree w/a few of the other posters, I would go to HR and/or the NM boss about this..basically the NM was able to get what he/she wanted by being a pest and unprofessional.

Lastly, your husband was legitimately sick so how the NM staffs is not your husbands concern or responsibility - it's the NM. All too often the NM's don't seem to want to manage other than routine, easy going times. Next time your husband needs to not call back, stay home and leave the responsibility of staffing to the NM - where it belongs.

needshaldol: I think OP means taking 3 ICU patients. Not working 3 shifts.

Specializes in Adult Critical Care, Med-Surg, Obs.

That was grossly inappropriate, its the NM job to get coverage, there a plenty of options from floating other nurses, to calling others off shift for OT. The fact that your husband went in was also a poor choice, a law suit for negligence could be made if he knowingly went into work and got a patient sick.

You need to go up the chain of command for that one.

Thanks. I can't imagine three ICU patients for one nurse. Two, yes but three? The work of a nurse is awful these days. I am in CA where we have ratios but to get back at us, they changed the ratios for the aides! So patients get such poor care. We now have a new computer program and seriously patients get ALL their care from aide and I just pop in for important stuff. My patient is the computer.

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