Calling off :-(

Nurses General Nursing

Published

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.

Specializes in PACU, ED.

Calling around to try to find nursing coverage is work done for the hospital. I bet they did not offer to pay their sick nurses for doing their staffing job. As hourly workers, this violates federal law. Also, requiring sick or injured nurses to find their own replacement violates common decency.

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We ask that you try and find some one to switch if your able. That way you don't accrue any points. And everyone tries to cover each other as much as possible. Obviously if you've been in an accident you're not able to worry about a replacement. That's admins job. But if you don't find someone to cover your shift you can still call out up to 2 hours prior to clock in time. It simply counts as a regular call out points.

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It's not patient abandonment. You never arrived at work. You never accepted report. In order to abandon a patient you first have to accept care.

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Specializes in heart failure and prison.

What in the world!!!! So let me get this straight if you have to call out because your sick or have an emergency you have to find your own coverage???? Ok I have never heard of this. At my facility; once the schedule is posted and you need a day off then you have to find your own switch. However; most people will call out. But I have never heard of that. But how is that acceptable. So if you can't find anyone what happen? Do you still have to come in???

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I have never heard of such a policy. If someone calls out sick on my unit it is the job of the clinical coordinators to cover it; if they are on PTO then it is the managers responsibility and after that administration.

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Working with a kidney stone?? That's crazy tough. But I can see how it could happen in a small town. We nurses can be pretty hard core, that's for sure.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

It just occurred to me that the hospital floor of my first employer (back on pg 1) used agency nurses. I remember a CNA who worked both hospital and LTC floors commenting "you can tell which cars belong to the agency nurses!" referring to the high-end cars parked in our lot. THAT is what your hospital needs to do if they are short staffed. NOT expect a nurse to 1) do their job with finding coverage, or 2) work while sick or hurt.

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Specializes in PACU.

I worked at a LTC facility that had the policy (i'm sure not written, but verbal) that if you called in with 4 hours of the start of your shift you had to find your replacement. They "waved it" for people they liked and were strict with people they didn't like. I don't work there anymore....even though I never called in sick, I didn't like "enforcing" that policy when I was charging.

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Specializes in Critical Care, PICU, OR.

Not as bad as to find own replacement (sic!) but, to call in we have to make at least 2 calls: FIRST the manager (day or night), then House Supervisor. Good idea to call Charge Nurse on the unit.

Prior to that experience I just called the Charge Nurse.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

I am shocked at how many respondents have worked for employers with such a ridiculous policy. Escalating disciplinary action for repeated call offs is ok, expecting someone to replace themselves when sick or injured is at best horribly punitive to the employee and at worst very dangerous to the patients. Do tbey really want a nurse with something highly contagious taking care of patients? Or even a nurse trying to work sick or injured that can't perform the job safely?

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

You notified your work you're not going to be there, so they'll have to figure it out. Someone may get mandated to stay, but that's the name of the game.

Having a policy like that is just management trying to scare you into always finding coverage before you call off, which - that wouldn't even be a call off if you covered your own shift.

Just bring your doctors note and start looking for a new job.

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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.

Just when you think you've heard every way possible nurses are abused by their facilities...

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