Calling off :-(

SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN · Jul 4, 2017

This isn't uncommon. I used to PRN at a LTC facility that required you to find a replacement if sick. I worked there 16 months, showed up on time to every shift, and gave my boss an 8 hr notice that I was ill w/ norovirus and there was no way I could work (puking/diarrhea at same time ðŸ˜·). She said find your replacement, I said okay sure I'll do that in between puking in a bucket while sitting on the commode, not. She didn't find anyone and the previous shift was mandated to staying even though they had 8 hours to work it out. Just ridiculous. I thought part of the reason nursing management was paid well was that they can take on an assignment if low staffing. I've literally never seen that happen though.

TriciaJ, RN · Jul 4, 2017

I am just amazed! If you are sick,you are out period.
You should not have to worry about finding a replacement.
Just make sure that you have informed the hospital officially as per policy.
I would not be as cut and dry when calling the nursing office, as being unprofessional has a way of coming back to bite you unexpectedly!
The hospital is responsible to ensure safe staffing but you can't pull people off the street.
Our RNs are not so easy to replace, so one has to be mindful that we signed up for "essential service' and not a 9-5 pm job.
It comes with it's pros and cons.
I would encourage you to find out the policy and make sure you did not sign up for that in your job contract. If so, you are bound until you break that contract.
Have an honest conversation with the manager about expectations for callouts and make a decision if this is what you really want.

It is not unprofessional to be assertive. It doesn't matter how hard it is to replace RNs or whether one can be dragged in off the street. All a sick or injured nurse has to do is call out, as soon as s/he realizes s/he is unfit to work, to give admin maximum time to find a replacement. If they are unable to find a replacement, that's their problem. Any "policy" or "contract" that states otherwise is BS and needs to be challenged as such. We know it's "essential service" and not 9-5. For the purpose of calling out sick, that is irrelevant.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 4, 2017

At our hospital, the policy is that if you have to call off, you need to find your own replacement. We are a critical access hospital so there are not a lot of staff on standby. The population of our town is about 1500.
I had an injury before work today, got hit by a gate that a cow ran into when we were sorting. I passed out and when I came to, I had a forehead abrasion and pain in my L ribs.
I was scheduled to work that night. So my question is...I was in NO shape to call around to find a repalcement. I called in to work and let them know what happened. They were very snotty to me on the phone. Needless to say I'm going to an ER 40 miles away to get checked out.
Is this normal in other places? Especially critical access hospitals? I know we dont have staff but I can't function safely as a nurse with a head injury.

Passing out and going to the ER pretty much trump the expectation that you find your replacement. I suspect that expectation came about from one too many holiday call-outs.

RNKPCE · Jul 5, 2017

So sorry you got injured. Maybe you'll want to quit your current job and start working at the hospital they took you to after your injury : ) That policy is terrible.

ImLovingIt · Jul 5, 2017

Does your hospital give out your contact information to everyone else in case someone needs a replacement? I would be livid if my employer was so cavalier about disclosing my phone/email.

CKPM2RN, ASN, EMT-P · Jul 5, 2017

So they just want a warm body with a license and damn the consequences! With LOC and the rib injury you could be doing a critical procedure on a patient and suddenly black out. That would be so safe and responsible, I can see why the admin won't do their job because if you have the audacity to have a syncopal event at work then you just deserve to be fired.

JKL33 · Jul 5, 2017

Our RNs are not so easy to replace, so one has to be mindful that we signed up for "essential service' and not a 9-5 pm job.

Ah ha! Since that is indeed the case, RNs should be treated as such in all respects with regard to their employment. The pay, benefits, and respect from the employer should reflect the fact that someone off the street can't do the job. Somehow I haven't quite seen that play out yet!

Another fine example of the double-standard.

Aristillus · Jul 5, 2017

Not so long ago a nurse on my unit was fired for doing exactly this, stealing (IV fluids and drugs) hospital property in order to feel well enough to work. You were doing neither yourself, the physician or your patients a favor by doing patient care with a saline-lock in your arm!

I understand the difficulty of staffing a unit with a call out. I also understand that sick time can be abused. There are better ways to deal with this issue. An on-call list is one of them. Requiring a physician's note is another. Allowing a limited number of call outs per rolling year with disciplinary action for excess is how my hospital handles it. Many hospitals require management to pitch in when there's an emergency. I suppose in an "employed at will" state a nurse could be fired for any reason or no reason at all and I understand that in a small town finding other employment isn't so easy. But my gosh, you and your co-workers need to band together and stand up to this! It just makes my blood boil that a) hospitals take advantage of nurses and b) that nurses are so timid. Can you imagine any group of physicians who would allow themselves to be subjected to such a rule? Remember this: They can't fire ALL of you.

I once stay through my NOC shift with a kidney stone. With the advice of the doc, I gave myself a Toradol injection, started a line, and gave myself 4 liters of fluid. I would saline lock it to do patient care and then re-connect while I was in the office.

Aristillus · Jul 5, 2017

Ah ha! Since that is indeed the case, RNs should be treated as such in all respects with regard to their employment. The pay, benefits, and respect from the employer should reflect the fact that someone off the street can't do the job. Somehow I haven't quite seen that play out yet!
Another fine example of the double-standard.

Exactly! Florence Nightingale has been dead for a very long time. Hospitals in 2017 are corporations, not charity operations. As my favorite old Ann Landers quote says: "If you don't want to be a doormat, don't lie down in front of the door!"

guest317 · Jul 5, 2017

Honestly, I do not believe an off duty employee has any responsibility to return staffing phone calls unless they are in an on-call position and in fact, are on call that day/evening. Your off time is just that...your off time. If you have already told the staffer that you can't work then that's all you need to do. You do not owe them any explanation. Once an employee has been called and turned down working an extra shift then it should be logged and that person not be called again. When the unit I used to work was short they would sometimes call more than once in hopes I would change my mind or think if someone else called I might say yes for that person. Sometimes a supervisor would even call with a bonus pay offer. Now, if that offer was good enough I might work but usually I declined. I would consider multiple calls like that to be harassment.

guest317 · Jul 5, 2017

It would not be abandonment as you had not accepted your work assignment yet. As for finding your own replacement...that is ridiculous. I have worked in some smaller community hospitals and on day shift the unit manager was responsible for staffing, not like bigger hospitals where they have personnel assigned for staffing only. On the other shifts the charge nurse was responsible to do the staffing in addition to all her other duties. There were many times when someone called in and no replacement was available and my unit manager came in an worked the floor. We work hard enough often in less than desirable staffing conditions that when you are sick or injured and unable to work that you have to call around trying to find someone to work. So I guess your administration would prefer you come to work with the flu and spread it around to other staff members or immunosuppressed patients? Give me a break...you were knocked out!!!! Can anyone say TBI???

daverika · Jul 5, 2017

Call your state wage and hour entity. I am sure this is illegal. If there is push back from your hospital please find another job. Nurses are people too.