Not falling for that old trick

Nurses Relations

Published

You know when they beg you to come in sick making all kinds of promises. You can leave if it is too much, we won't give you a big assignment, the charge nurse will help you. Just for a few hours, or just until 11. Well you know what? I fell for it once before and you know what i got? Berated for being too slow, admissions dumped on, and when I started vomiting I was not allowed to go home because "there is no one else you just have to stay". 12 hours is just TOO long to suck it up when you are not well. The person on the phone that makes all the promises, well she leaves at 7pm. We have all witnessed this happen to each other time after time and well, it does not give you incentive to try to suck it up.

Specializes in critical care, Med-Surg.
Unionize

I AGREE! But how does this happen, where does one begin?

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Specializes in critical care, Med-Surg.
Treasure this experience, because it's definitely not the norm! I now work outside the hospital, and we are also encouraged to stay home when sick. My last hospital job? A call-in was treated like a betrayal and you were made to feel guilty. To the point that supervisors might call you at home for an in-depth review of your symptoms so they could try to change your mind. And I worked L&D, where no sick nurse should ever be!

Last time I called in sick with a very obvious head cold, they asked me if I had a temp.

Seriously? Why?

I already felt guilty about calling in, don't know the point of asking if I had a temp.

It annoyed me.

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Specializes in Ambulatory care.

oh heck no if i'm calling in i'm gonna rest and sleep etc anything but go to work. Whats the point of me going in especiallyif i'm just as sick as the patients if not worst. I need to be at my sharpest to protect that license. AND when it comes down to it the charge nurse IS an RN too so let her work, shoot if there is no other nurse on the floor guess what? as the RN she is now legally bound to stay hah take that! so yea you called out followign rules, so stay out. wheover's there can deal with the rest of it. The way i see if when someone else calls out my workload increasescuz i'm sharing thier job functions and i work later well cuz there's no coverage. So why would i feel guilty calling out? none none at all and i'm a newbie

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Specializes in Ambulatory care.

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We are only human, we need to rest when we are sick.

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

My last hospital was horrible. They guilted me into coming in even though I told them I had a 102 temp. I was promised just a few hours until someone could get there to relieve me. Like a sick, idiot, I fell for it. Of course once I got there, they made me stay. I had the assignment from hell, and the other nurses were at the desk laughing it up. My pt's took one look at me and knew I was sick.

I did make it to 1 pm on an 8 hr shift. I told the CN to find coverage because I was either going to be passing out, or I was going to leave.

Thankfully, my current employer demands we stay home if we are sick. No questions asked, other than concern.

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.

Oh, yes! I have heard some of the same lines - call in sick and whn youre on the phone with staff member you can hear the heitation in their voice - "... uh,...well, uh...ok." I knew that within 30 minutes I would get the call back - and if I anwered, it would be those same "deals"

- you can jut float, you can work just until the other person comes in (and you that person is nonexistant) - you can have just 1/2 a pt load, ect.

The last time I called in, I wa working in the ER and was asigned as the 11a - 11pm shift. I had laid down and woke up vomiting. I called the supervisor well within the allotted time frame for sick call. He argued with me, then tried to tell me another nurse had called in becase he had wrecked his truck. then supervisor tried to beg and bargain with me.

He finally made me come in, but by 0930 I wa SO sick I ended up as a patient in my ER -when the traige nurse called me, he found me sitting in my PJs in a chair in the corner, shaking and repeatedly vomiting into my trash can from home.

Anne, RNC

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Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.

For some reason, this has ALWAYS happened to me... I call out sick, and right after I do, I start to feel better and question whether or not I should still come in.

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I was offered a free lunch once to stay over and work 7-3 after I had just worked the night shift, and that was after I had already pulled two consecutive 16 hour shifts. Lunch? Really? I told them I was exhausted and wasn't going to risk making med. errors for a free lunch and went home.
Yep. I turn the conversation to patient safety. "Im sorry, my illness prevents me from practicing safely today." If they try to argue that, THEY sound like the bad ones for willing to risk patient safety.
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Yep. I turn the conversation to patient safety. "Im sorry, my illness prevents me from practicing safely today." If they try to argue that, THEY sound like the bad ones for willing to risk patient safety.

That is good, I am going to use it next time! Thanks!

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Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

If you are sick then do not let the "dialog" surrounding your absence deter you.

Staffing the hospital is not the responsibility of the staff nurse...it is the responsibility of the administration and management. Most of us are lowly hourly employees and are under no obligation to work when we are ill, in fact, we are encouraged not to work ill when we are oriented to our positions. It IS an issue of patient safety when we encourage ill staff to work.

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Thankfully I now manage a small ASC and the staff never abuses the concept of sick time---honestly! They JUST.COME.IN. If someone is sick, too sick to work, then she will call one of the per diems to cover her or one of the part-timers, or something....I typically just get a call telling me that the shift is covered.....period. Sounds like a fantasy, but it's true :)

However, I have worked for a hospital system where no matter WHAT you told the supervisor, no matter how ill, you had to deal with the wheeling/dealing/whining about how YOU are making life difficult for THEM. Truth be told, I know for a fact that they got lots of calls from lots of people who were anything BUT sick: they just wanted the night off, or they had it tough the previous night and didn't want to work shorthanded again, so....they were going to stiff those who were on tonight. MUCH different work ethics than I have the pleasure of working among now.

My tales to share? How about the time I called the supervisor with a stomach bug that wouldn't quit; I could NOT leave the bathroom for more than a few minutes, without exaggeration. So how was I going to drive a half hour to get there and do a 12 hour+ shift?? Supervisor response: Take an Immodium and get in. Seriously? Wish I'd thought of that....uggh. Sorry, I'm sick.

Or how about this one: Telling supervisor that I was too ill to work that night--I was on 7p-7a at that time--and was calling him at about 3pm because I hadn't yet slept that day from LAST night's shift and there was no way I could manage this. His answer: go sleep now and come in. Umm...nope. I'm SICK, which is why I'm not sleeping. Answer: Call me back at 5 (we had a two-hour window for call-ins) and he'd see if he needed me at 7. NO, pal. And then---ready for this?--"Well then call me at 7 and I'll let you know if I need you to come in at 11"!!! Seriously, dude?? I told him "I'm not ASKING to be out sick, I'm TELLING YOU I'm out sick tonight....and I'll let you know tomorrow if I"m coming in the NEXT night"!

Unreal. People who work "the real world" of office life, 9-5ers, I swear think we make this up.

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