When calling in are you asked "what's wrong with you"

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  1. This is a discussion on When calling in are you asked "what's wrong with you" in General Nursing Discussion, part of General Nursing ... I'm calling into work for tomorrows shift. The House Sup (or whoever is in the office) asks "well...

    by May 7, '12
    I'm calling into work for tomorrows shift. The House Sup (or whoever is in the office) asks "well whats wrong with you" Is that legal? Am I under any obligation to tell them so? Where's MY HIPPA protection?
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    by squatmunkie_RN May 7, '12 6:40 pm
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    Been there,done that likes this.
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  3. 66 Comments so far...

  4. May 7, '12 by
    Tell 'em you have anal glaucoma.

    You just can't see your arse coming into work...
    JHU2016, DawnJ, HHcrazed, and 35 others like this.
  5. May 7, '12 by
    The one hospital I work at just wanted to know if you had flu symptoms. Another hospital seemed like the grand inquisition to which I politely told them I'm sick and not coming in and that there was nothing further to discuss.
  6. May 7, '12 by
    When I call in, I am asked a series of SCRIPTED questions designed to identify communicable diseases about which the hospital may want to know (cough, fever, GI, etc.). If they don't apply, I just say no to each one, end of discussion. If I call in for a sick child, there are no questions.

    "Scripted" is the key word above. It isn't the person on the phone being nosy, she's doing her job to gather data used to identify trends - mostly related to influenza.
    DizzyLizzyNurse, kakamegamama, Altra, and 2 others like this.
  7. May 7, '12 by
    I just tell the I'm sick and will not answer their questions why. None of their business, period, unless it's contagious and I've been working.
    nuangel1 and canoehead like this.
  8. May 7, '12 by
    I am only asked if I am ill or absent.
  9. May 7, '12 by
    Nope...we have a no fault call in policy...we just say we are calling off.
    SandraCVRN likes this.
  10. May 7, '12 by
    Sweet merciful God, this is the funniest thing I've read all year. Whew... I can't breathe, thanks for that :-D
    redhead_NURSE98! and jadelpn like this.
  11. May 7, '12 by
    What are you talking about???
  12. May 7, '12 by
    Leave it to nursing... now we have to describe the reason we are sick!

    #1 I am sick of working

    #2 I am taking a mental health day

    #3 I have the hershey squirts and cannot make the 45 minute drive

    #4 I don't have to give any details.... I will not be in today!
    patty89, SandraCVRN, DizzyLizzyNurse, and 9 others like this.