A Conversation with my Supervisor

[raebabelvn]

Me: Hello?

Nursing Supervisor: Hi, this is (insert name), the nursing supervisor.

Me: Hi there.

NS: I noticed that you called out sick last week. I was told you had strep, did you see a doctor?

Me: Yes, I saw one over the weekend.

NS: Are you feeling better now? How are your symptoms?

Me: I'm doing much better. My symptoms are practically gone.

NS: The administrator (aka: case manager) asked me to call you. When you call out sick it puts a strain on the family and the office. Barring serious illness, you have to work your shifts. You've been inconsistent the past couple of weeks.

Me: I understand. The last couple of weeks have been rough with illness. I'm a very consistent worker. However, if I'm sick and very symptomatic, I'm not going to risk exposing my patient to those germs. The patient is already immunocompromised, and sick at the moment. Working while that sick is irresponsible.

NS: Oh yes, I understand. We never want our nurses to work when they're sick. It poses a health risk to our patients...

Me: Ok, I agree.

NS: ...but you need to work all your shifts.

Me: (getting irritated now) I'm sorry, but I'm not going to put my patient in a situation where he may catch a bug. His immune system cannot handle it.

NS: Are you working your shifts this weekend?

Me: Yes.

NS: Thank you (click!)

Wow.... talk about double standards! My patient caught a simple cold from a family member that stayed away from him while sick, and he was sick for 2 weeks. Can you imagine what strep would do?! I'm getting fed up with this agency. On top of this nonsense, I've been getting harassing and threatening calls about my CPR card that isn't even expired yet. I'm talking like 2-3 calls a day. So angry with them right now!!!!!

[Riseupandnurse]

If I had to call in sick,I always did it from the er. Their er. so if there was any trouble I would say, "Sure, I'll be glad to work. Would you just come down and speak to this unreasonable ER DR who says that I can't?" And that was the end of that.

[diane227, LPN, RN]

You have fallen into the trap of trying to be logical with the illogical. When you get a call like this, you have to go into the "Delbert" interaction mode.

Thank you for your concern.

I am well now.

I am aware of my work obligations.

Thank you for calling.

Keep it short and to the point. Do not try to explain or give a reason for not coming to work (to protect the patients etc) because no one cares. No need to get angry because this kind of stuff will never go away, especially in health care. Unfortunately in this profession, passive aggressive behavior is rampant.