Well, I want to say first that I fully understand that hospitals expect you to be at work no matter what the weather.
I always go. I go for other people. That's why I have a four wheel drive. However, sometimes there is bad timing. Such as major snow that falls heavily and rapidly.
I got up, took a shower, got in the car to go to work. I swept it off the night before, got gas the night before, washed my uniform and had it pressed in case the power went out.
I warmed up the car, went off my driveway...moved about 15 feet and it slid into the yard.
The vehicle would not move.
So for the first time in years...I don't call in sick but maybe once a year. Never for weather.
I have PTO right? Lots of it because I never call in.
Get this...hospital is not allowing me to use my PTO for that day.
Freaking ridiculous. So if anyone else makes an attempt and wrecks. Call the news right after the tow truck. The general public should know that hospitals don't care about the safety of their employees. So this crappie about the fact they do? They can stick it as far as I'm concerned.
Specializes in Med-Surg, OB, ICU, Public Health Nursing.
Allow me to address your snippet response.
First, in all the years I have been with the hospital, do you know how many times I have missed for snow?
ZERO. In fact, I usually go in for others that are not there. So before you claim I don't prepare I absolutely do.
I guess you missed the part where my vehicle slid off the driveway into the yard.
I called a tow to get me out. They said that they were so backed up that unless it was on a road or someone was inside they would not come.
I don't work in the city I live in. The snow came in two waves...the first wave already came, the second that was supposed to hit here did not come on the day it was supposed to. I was off that day the snow came where I worked. We got snow TWO DAYS prior to my scheduled shift to the tune of about 6 inches. That's a large fall where I live.
The day before my shift do you know how much snow we received? NONE.
The day of my shift we were supposed to only get 2 additional inches. We ended up getting 10. The roads were clear enough. Even the radar that I pulled up throughout the night did now show we were getting that much.
So would you travel to a hotel two days in advance, pay for two nights at roughly $80 a night in my area, for two inches of predicted snow (the large snowfall had already hit and roads scraped). No, you would not. Two inches is no big deal.
You can drive on scraped roads if you go slow. You cannot drive in 10 inches of freshly fallen snow. I also live in a mountainous area. You can't even get up an incline when it's like that.
It takes me 45 minutes to get to work. I got up in time to allow for 90 minutes for me to get there.
My point is that some nurses do try and get there and cannot besides all efforts. I even called a tow truck that refused to come!!! I can only go by the weather report. I got gas in advance and had my car swept off to make sure it would not freeze.
Short of bringing a magic wand and pixie dust I don't know what else I could have done.
Some of us understood the first time and agree with you. It is your PTO time and you earned it. Management should look at the call outs on a case by case basis. With your great past attendance, you should have been paid.
In addition, there are those who say, "oh well, it is only one day of pay. Many nurses live paycheck and paycheck and we have no way of knowing if it is a significiant financial hardship.
Just by reading this post, I can figure out which poster is management material and which would be the, "manager from hell."
Specializes in Med-Surg, OB, ICU, Public Health Nursing.
It is my considered opinion that we nurses need to grow up and stop considering ourselves saintly because we are expected to show up to work. The girl who runs the cash register at the 24/7 Walgreens has the same weird hours we do and does not get paid half what we do - certainly no PTO. She has no guarantee of 40 hours either; her shift changes constantly. Have you noticed how many 24/7 gas stations, Subways, McDonald's, and other minimum wage places are open to serve you as you huff and puff to your PTO-paid job? The days when only cops, firefighters, and medical personnel had to work weird days are over, people. We are blessed to have steady jobs that offer benefits.
My wife speaks four languages fluently, has a Master's from an Ivy League, and scrapes here and there for a few associate-professor hours between several schools. A friend of mine has 13 hours per week between three different retail stores. Not worth the gas. Pretty much everyone we know is in the same boat. You truly don't know how hard it is out there for people outside the medical field.
"A High Tide Lifts all Boats." (John F. Kennedy)
I believe, it is great to have empathy for low paid workers. However, that does not mean we settle for crumbs. It means a nationwide "Fight for $15/hour." In addition, adjunct professors are now being organized into unions due to their pathetic wages.
When you look at wages and working conditions in the US, it is clear the union nurse fares much better than the "right to work for peanuts" nurse.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
4WD and AWD will land you in the ditch if you don't have the skill to drive in inclement weather.
Proper planning and skill will get you there, even in RWD, which I have.
Planning ahead helps. This was clearly an epic snowstorm. I feel for all affected by it. I have been through such events myself. I was always somewhat amazed at the ability of patients to make it to the hospital for elective procedures like certain surgeries and social induction of labor.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
AWD is not the same as 4 wheel drive. Most don't realize you have to put it in low to engage 4WD and lock the wheels.
depending on the vehicle. My 4 wheel drive is a switch and for 4 wheel low like off roading put it in neutral flip the switch, put it in park, then drive and off you go.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
depending on the vehicle. My 4 wheel drive is a switch and for 4 wheel low like off roading put it in neutral flip the switch, put it in park, then drive and off you go.
Many don't know how to put their vehicle into 4WD and that's one part of the problem. I know some assume 4WD is automatic when bad weather hits (I will not admit whether I might be related to this person)
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Ah unique circumstances. Not a sick kid or you being sick. A major blizzard that was warned for a week. I think they ( the powers that be) want people to understand not making it in to work during dire circumstances does not automatically mean a paid day off at home. I see no problem with that. They are not asking you to die on the highway, just to forgo being paid to stay home while someone else covers you.
You made out ok. In some places, people are written up for this. You were safe and warm at home, not stuck in a ditch somewhere.
Yet, Not one word from you about the person(s) inconvenienced by your not making it in. Someone had to cover for you and certainly did not plan on it. You were unharmed and safe at home, be grateful.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Some of us understood the first time and agree with you. It is your PTO time and you earned it. Management should look at the call outs on a case by case basis. With your great past attendance, you should have been paid.
In addition, there are those who say, "oh well, it is only one day of pay. Many nurses live paycheck and paycheck and we have no way of knowing if it is a significiant financial hardship.
Just by reading this post, I can figure out which poster is management material and which would be the, "manager from hell."
And some of us understood the first time and didn't agree with the OP. It is her PTO; she earned it. And management should look at the call outs on a case by case basis. But in the event of a major weather event, they have to be fair. Either they pay everyone who failed to make it to work during the event, or they pay no one. Paying Amanda but not Barbara is going to be contested . . . and can be interpreted as favoritism. It should have been announced ahead of time so that you know at the time you make your decision whether or not to go to work, but paying the OP "because she's never called in before" and not paying her colleague "who called in a bunch of times when her kid had leukemia" is just NOT fair.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Yes I read the OP and comprehended the post. Disagreement does not mean lack of comprehension.
Anyhow----- I still don't agree with her. I feel for the person who had to cover for her because it was no doubt, an inconvenience. The OP is fine. She was not in a wreck, her vehicle sustained no damage and she was at no time, in danger as the dramatic title of the OP would indicate. She got a day off without pay, which I might add, many do when they fail to show up for work.
If it were me (and it was a few years back during an epic flood when I could not get out of my town as the interstate was submerged under feet of water) I would be grateful and not pitching a fit. I certainly freaked out on the way to work when I suddenly was faced at 4 am with standing/moving water over a road I could not determine the depth of. I turned around and went back home. Turned out it was a good decision. That same water washed a restaurant off its foundation across 4 lanes of road in that very spot less than 2 hours later. It was probably already 2 feet or so deep when I encountered it.
I went without pay for that day. Someone else had to cover for me. I felt bad for that but grateful for being safe.
Focus. Gratitude. Really, it could have been so much worse OP.
Emergent, RN
4,306 Posts
A lot of folks overestimate the ability of AWD to save them from lousy driving.