Calling in....

[SweetLemon]

so i am a little perturbed and just wondered what others experience is about this.... :madface:i called in the other night d/t not feeling well and gave the supervisor on duty 5 1/2 hours notice that i would not be in. i called in and stated i was feeling ill and did not believe it would be a good idea for me to come in. rather then getting an "sorry your not feeling well or hope you feel better soon" the reply i got was "i am going to need some symptoms" what?!?!?! i am sorry but i never call in sick ever, am never late to work, and on average put in at least 15-20 hours ot per week. all i am asking for is one night. i explained to him that my dog had passed away that morning and due to her being ill the last few days had gone 48hours without sleep and was beginning to feel like i was getting the flu, finally with that he agreed to take me off the schedule but even then it seemed like he was fairly reluctant. am i being a too sensitive and is this normal, i just felt like i was being called out on trying to play hookie when i really did have a legit reason to not be there. i am sorry but i would not want someone passing meds who had not been to bed for 2 days.

[pers]

I don't work when I'm sick. Even though we have a no fault attendance policy where I work, they still ask what's wrong with you ("sick" isn't enough, they want the details!). Each time they ask me, I ask them if my absence will be excused and not counted against me depending on the reason I'm calling off. Of course I'm told it's a no fault policy and all unscheduled absences count the same regardless of the reason so I reply that if the reason doesn't matter they don't need to know.

[MoLee228]

I am so sorry about the loss of your dog . Pets are members of the family and I certainly do not function normally after the loss of a family member. REGARDLESS of whether you were sleep deprived, or felt sick, in MY opinion you deserve a day (at the VERY least) to mourn the loss of your dog. Call me crazy, but my dog is my baby, and if something were to happen to her I would be absolutely devastated and I certainly won't be coming in to work!

Non-animal people just don't get it, so if you are reading this and thinking, "wow this girl is crazy it's just a dog," please don't judge. For those of you with pets near and dear to your heart, you know and understand. Those who don't, just can't understand.

[Schmoo1022]

Where are our "rights to privacy". I think if you are calling out sick, it's really nobodys business why. I can see if someone is constantly calling out, but I have had this happen to me and I never call. If someone calls out, I tell them "I hope you feel better." It is not my business why. Yes, we will be short and no, I probably won't find anyone to cover that shift. But, I also don't want to get sick !

[swirlygirl]

Are they even allowed to ask you that??? I called off sick in January when I was 11 weeks pregnant and had a stomach virus. I don't think I've ever been that weak and sick in my life. I hadn't eaten more than a cracker for about 4 days and when I called off, my nurse manager asked me if I could just "rest my gut and take some pepto" and come in. And when my grandfather passed away last month, I called in to use a bereavement day. (I only had to miss 1 shift for the entire 3 days of viewing/funeral) She gave me a disgusted sigh and said "Well, thanks for calling early enough for us to find someone else to cover your shift." Yeah, you're welcome.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

You guys were right, Dr. A was a dream....and also very married, with kids x3....*sigh*

Swirlygirl's comment reminded me of another boss I had. My grandmother, who had lived with us for 10 years, died from breast CA, and wanted to be buried out of state. She died Monday morning, we had the body shipped out of state, the viewing Tuesday, buried her Wednesday, and I was back to work Thursday, after driving all night. I show up, labile beyond belief, and this princess of the corporate world tells me she's only letting me take 2 days of bereavement time, since, and I quote: "She was only your grandmother." She offered to "let" me take a day's vacation to cover the 3rd day I was out of state. I told her I didn't think burying my grandma was a "vacation" and was so mad, I went to the ladies room and started punching the door to one of the stalls. it would hit the wall, bounce back, and I'd punch it again. I split the skin over 2 of my knuckles, before I could calm myself to the point where I wasn't sure I'd go back and split some more knuckles on my boss's face....

And both our HR department and the union stated that any employee, management or union was to get 3 days for instate, 5 days for out of state funerals for spouses, parents, kids, siblings or grandparents....

Human beings can be complete idiots.

[Moogie]

My goodness, as professionals, you would think we could manage to know when not to come to work.

Thank you! I remember going to work once with a horrible cold and of course I was assigned to a patient with a suppressed immune system. Masks, gloves, handwashing---I did everything I could except refuse the assignment (which was not an option). Patient got sick. Duh. I also got sick once because the surgeon operating on me had a cold. Repeat. Duh.

I realize that some people are lacking in work ethic and will call in sick when they aren't. However, it's ridiculous that health professionals are asked to work with sick people when they themselves are ill. I once called in and had a nursing supervisor tell me that "lots of people work when they're sick." I sure dragged my sorry carcass to work that night. I've seen co-workers come in with fevers, diarrhea, and symptoms of the respiratory bug du jour. One nursing assistant had to excuse herself from report so she could vomit. A pregnant co-worker came to work with abdominal cramps and lady partsl bleeding. She had a miscarriage at work. All these people were scared to call in sick because at this particular facility, we were penalized if we called in, regardless of the reason. I know people who were written up because they called in during blizzards or when there was flooding in the area and the roads were closed.

One time when I worked charge in med surg I had a floater come in who was inconsolable over the euthanasia of her beloved kitten. She didn't want to call in because staffing would give her a hard time and be unsympathetic because it was "just" a cat. The nurse was in no condition to work and she was of very little use to the patients who needed her that shift. Yes, we are to be responsible caregivers and not call in just because we feel like it. However, part of that responsibility includes knowing when to NOT come into work. And if you're emotionally distraught, in tears to the point that you can't concentrate or even function, DON'T GO TO WORK.

I also once sent a nursing assistant home because her friend had committed suicide earlier that day. Told the DON not to even go there. I don't think she got written up, either.

BTW, thanks, Nerd, for the story about the 'rhea. Thought I was going to laugh so hard I was going to squirt my Pepsi out of my nose. Then I got to the rest of your post.

[Moogie]

Swirlygirl's comment reminded me of another boss I had. My grandmother, who had lived with us for 10 years, died from breast CA, and wanted to be buried out of state. She died Monday morning, we had the body shipped out of state, the viewing Tuesday, buried her Wednesday, and I was back to work Thursday, after driving all night. I show up, labile beyond belief, and this princess of the corporate world tells me she's only letting me take 2 days of bereavement time, since, and I quote: "She was only your grandmother." She offered to "let" me take a day's vacation to cover the 3rd day I was out of state. I told her I didn't think burying my grandma was a "vacation" and was so mad, I went to the ladies room and started punching the door to one of the stalls. it would hit the wall, bounce back, and I'd punch it again. I split the skin over 2 of my knuckles, before I could calm myself to the point where I wasn't sure I'd go back and split some more knuckles on my boss's face....

And both our HR department and the union stated that any employee, management or union was to get 3 days for instate, 5 days for out of state funerals for spouses, parents, kids, siblings or grandparents....

Unbelievable. Un-freaking-believable.

Reminds me of a colleague who had breast cancer and was written up by the nurse manager for "more than the usual number of absences." This while she was receiving chemo. :angryfire

[RNandRRT]

The hospital system I've been employed with has had a no harassment policy for sick calls. Only certain people in the chain of command can take a sick call, and they are told that they cannot ask anything about what's wrong. Just take the call off, confirm the shift being called off for, thank them for the call, and hang up.

If it's a second day, then they can request that a doctor's note be obtained, but still not able to discuss it. That's between the director and the employee.

[LHH1996]

to Pers...i wish i had the guts to say that...LOL..i will try to remember if i ever have a situation again.. ;-)

[kmarie724]

I know what you mean. When I was almost 39 weeks pregnant, I called in because I had been having contractions all day and was pretty sure I was going to be having the baby that night or the next day. They said "Well, call and let us know tomorrow if you'll be able to make it in tomorrow night." I told them that I wouldn't be in for at least 6 weeks, I was staring my maternity leave!

[Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN]

How do some of these managers/HR people sleep at night?

[tishirajan]

I wish I had thought of that! I would have been more than happy to send in a bag of my barf! Some people do not have the sense God gave a goose! :scrm: