What would u do?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Would you leave your daughter in labor to go to work? My daughter was in labor and I called off work at 4 am for a shift that didn't start until 3pm. My boss knew my daughter was pregnant and that I had someone to cover for me. My boss called me on my cell at 7:15 am yelling and screaming at me that I had better come to work, she actually wanted me to leave her alone. I just got done working 3 doubles in 5 days and a 12 hr shift all in one week. If I could have been at work I would have been. But my family comes first. Needless to say I no longer work there. Was I wrong? Will this affect my getting another job? I appreciate any advice I can get.

Take Care and Happy New Year!

Bridget

Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.

congratulations grandma!

baby.jpg

you have every right to call in whether it be that you're sick or whatever as long as you give proper notice which certainly you did.

i say this job is not meant for you. be glad. god doesn't close a door without opening a window. most applications have a place to check whether or not you want your current employer contacted just mark no. if they ask you why you're changing jobs be honest tell them. anyone with a heart will understand, if they don't their not worthy of you. enjoy that new baby and now give us the details! boy? girl?

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Nurses, just like anyone else work to take care of their families and lifestyles. This means that we have lives. My conscience would have gotten to me if I were not there for my child at his time of need. Especially if something happened to him!! You were reasonable, you called WAY before the start of your shift, giving them enough time to find someone, and you had already taken care of that, anyway. Move on, and congratulations on the new addition to your family. Was it a boy or a girl?

Thank you everyone for answering my question. I quit, I didn't want to work for someone like that. I'm only worried about how it will effect my getting another job. My daughter had a baby boy Christmas Night at 6pm. I was there and would not have missed it for anything at all. He weighed 7 lbs and 3/4 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Thanks again,

Bridget

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Okay, I'm totally scratching my head here.

Firstly, you definately did the right thing. Heck, if I had NOT already found someone to cover me and my daughter went into labor, I'd still be calling in and going to my daughter. And would have felt perfectly justified in doing so, especially 11 hours or so in advance.

(OTOH, if I would have anticipated it happening around the holiday, then yes I guess I would have made sure I had someone who would cover me)

So WHY, if you had someone that was going to work for you, was she calling you screaming at you to come to work? I mean, I understand that some managers are total tyrants, but geez!!!!

Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.

:balloons: Congrats, Bridgett!!!

Don't worry about another job situation. You weren't fired and were smart to get out!!!

Congratulations on such a beautiful Christmas gift! I was at my grandson's birth, and wouldn't have missed it for the world.

I'm a firm believer that all things happen for a reason. Look at it this way... you have a new grandbaby to love on and you are no longer working for that ass. Win-win :)

I quit my job without notice under far less noble circumstances than you, and did not have any problems finding a job. Sure, I can't go back to that hell-hole, but I don't want to anyway.

Now go cuddle that little sweetie!

:balloons:

Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

First, let me say that you do not deserve to be yelled at. That being said, what I would do would depend upon the circumstances. If my daughter were an adult in a caring relationship with a loving partner, yes, I would leave them to enjoy their moment together. If, however, my daughter were, say a teen mom with no partner, then I would want to be there, if she wanted me.

Giving birth is such a highly personal moment. When I had my second daughter, my mother wanted to be there. I was afraid of hurting her feelings, so I allowed her to be there. But really, I would have preferred it to be just me and my partner and the CNM.

would you leave your daughter in labor to go to work? my daughter was in labor and i called off work at 4 am for a shift that didn't start until 3pm. my boss knew my daughter was pregnant and that i had someone to cover for me. my boss called me on my cell at 7:15 am yelling and screaming at me that i had better come to work, she actually wanted me to leave her alone. i just got done working 3 doubles in 5 days and a 12 hr shift all in one week. if i could have been at work i would have been. but my family comes first. needless to say i no longer work there. was i wrong? will this affect my getting another job? i appreciate any advice i can get.

take care and happy new year!

bridget

you're kidding, right?

what in the world makes you think you were wrong?? family comes first, and although having a baby is the most natural thing in the world, every girl who is close to her mama wants her mama there!!

even if there was a question of right or wrong, your boss had no right to yell at you or threaten you. bosses who threaten are bullies and they don't expect to have their bluffs called.

not long ago my daughter called me at work to say that monster had a 105 temp....yes, it was accurate, she's a cna and knows how to take a temp. i went to my bosses expecting to have to beg for the time off. as soon as i said "baby.....fever...." they both said "go, we'll get your patients covered."

Specializes in CVICU-ICU.

I do not think you were wrong at all in wanting to be with your daughter....you followed the proper procedure for calling in and gave plenty of notice and I would have done the same thing.

Now what I do think you were wrong about is quitting without giving notice. I think that could come back to haunt you because now your employer has a reason to put you on the Do Not Rehire list. Lets say if when your supervisior began her tyrant you would have just told you that your shift was covered and you were going to be with your daughter for the birth of your grandbaby (congrats!!!) then went back to work on your next shift and gave notice if you still felt like you wanted to quit...if you'd have worked your notice out then your employer would not have a valid reason to say they would not rehire you because you followed all the proper procedures for calling in and for also leaving your job but now it looks bad on you because you walked off the job with no notice.

We are supposed to be professionals and even though our supervisiors do not always act profession in our minds that doesnt mean that we shouldn't. When you do interview for a new job I would refrain from saying anything bad about your old supervisior and this incident because even though what your old supervisior did was unprofessional, uncaring and just downright mean the next one interviewing your might wonder if there is a part of the story that you arent telling correctly and wonder if she'll have the same problem if a conflict arises between you and her.

I hope that makes sense......Im not saying that your supervisior was right and I am not saying that I think what you did was wrong...I just think you went about it the wrong way and now it might come back to bite you in the butt so to speak.

Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

You did 3 doubles and a 12 hour in one week? By my count that's 60 hours, and she was angry that you wouldn't work more when you'd already covered your shift? Your HR needs to hear about that. Hope you get an exit interview with her boss.

If you didn't do a two week notice, I'd contact your facility and see if they want you to work it out in another area; or even just transfer you. That's assuming you work for a facility and not just that one person! :lol2:

Congrats on the little one!

There are just some places you HAVE to be. Daughter should not be left alone in labor. I tell my husband all the time some things only happen once. If you think you should be there then you should. No matter, the nurse manager was upset. Daughter has one mother. Manager has other nurses she can call on.

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