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.
Every time I read one of these posts, I can't help but wonder....
Don't you realize what the "essential" means in the term "essential personnel"?
We don't get to not make it in. If the weather is getting bad, plan ahead and sleep at the hospital. I know ours had emergency plans in place and sleeping rooms, etc. It is what it is, and it will always be that way. If everyone called out, who would be there to take care of the patients? I understand it sucks. Believe me. But it's not NEW. This is what we have signed up for. Right?
My facility operated on the emergency staffing plans, which means - yes - no PTO, and a write up if you call out.
Which is why my social media was littered with photos of nurses sleeping on floors in break rooms.
My point is that I don't think administration should be telling anyone how they can use their PTO. Either it's yours or its not. Other people use it when they can't find a baby sitter, have a sick child, car trouble or any other reason. No...this past week was "special".
Oh...it's also important to note that no salaried employees were docked that missed because of snow. That also was included in the corporate email. Because we certainly aren't going to have managers and administration with short checks.
None of this information, or the information that the admins refused to provide meals or sleeping space, was in the OP. The only info you gave was that you got stuck and were not allowed to use pto. Subsequent posters had no way of knowing the rest of the context.
If what you say about management at your facility is true, you need a union.
I remain confused how a 4 wheel vehicle got stuck in 10 inches of snow.
My mom lives in Michigan and she has always told me that 4WD isnt actually that great for the winter conditions up there - she says AWD is different and much more effective.
The reasons that nurses are essential personnel are obvious. I wish, however, that they were not treated like cattle (in some hospitals) to meet their essential job duties. I don't live where there are many snowstorms, but I've lived in places with other weather events that we are told aren't excuses for missing work. I've heard stories (online and in person) of nurses sleeping on the floor, being woken up during their sleep to give their cot to a physician, being told they aren't allowed to sleep in empty patient rooms, eating from vending machines, having to book hotels just to ensure they make it to work, not having adequate shower facilities or linens/towels.
I just feel like if I am SO essential, then the hospital should do what they can to facilitate having me there. Give me a meal voucher, give me a stipend to cover at least part of my lodging costs for my hotel that I had to stay at. Provide me a decent place to sleep so I can get real rest. If you need me to stay to keep your facility running, set aside some funds to facilitate keeping essential staff on hand.
Maybe this is how some hospitals handle it, but I wish ALL did.
also , having 4wd/awd doesnt stop you from sliding on ice. thats why I like having a little snow on the ground-at least you get some traction.
I remember driving home a few years back from work with my front wheel drive sunfire. It did great in snow, but this snow was over the hood. I would drive and the snow would poof up over the hood into the windshield - I had to stick my head out the window to see where I was going - brrr! it was at night too, so the lights were covered also. That was a long ride - my 45 min ride home took almost 2 hours. But this is par for the course for where I live
I now have 4wd truck. If it means driving in 4w low at 20 mph ( think plow speed) i guess thats what I have to do. I think we can have studded tires( wish i had money for that) but I dont think we can use chains on the road.
I am a former night shift administrative nursing supervisor who was in much the same situation with a snow storm- in fact I didn't get home for 5 days. However, I would never even think of telling an off duty employee they could not leave the hospital. And had I been told that by a supervisor I would have called the police and told them I was being held against my consent. (That is why they made me a supervisor-they figured it was safer!- Actually they knew that because I would in fact do something like that, that I was smart enough not put the hospital in a liability situation even though I once called the police on a Dr. who threw a chart at one of the RN's in ED.)
It is bad enough to institute "mandatory overtime" on staff- I had to do it 3 times although not during the snowstorm. But no one except police or I guess military can hold you against your will. I would tell the risk manager of the hospital to get the checkbook out
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I am a former night shift administrative nursing supervisor who was in much the same situation with a snow storm- in fact I didn't get home for 5 days. However, I would never even think of telling an off duty employee they could not leave the hospital. And had I been told that by a supervisor I would have called the police and told them I was being held against my consent. (That is why they made me a supervisor-they figured it was safer!- Actually they knew that because I would in fact do something like that, that I was smart enough not put the hospital in a liability situation even though I once called the police on a Dr. who threw a chart at one of the RN's in ED.)
It is bad enough to institute "mandatory overtime" on staff- I had to do it 3 times although not during the snowstorm. But no one except police or I guess military can hold you against your will. I would tell the risk manager of the hospital to get the checkbook out
cathymacRN
I think you have the wrong thread. The OP never went to work to be held against her will.
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.
Oh..once again assumptions.
The unit was fully staffed. We all work well together with the part-timers offering in advance to come in that live closer. When I did live closer I did this for others because not everyone can find a sitter when schools make last minute closing decisions. We had to move recently because of my husbands parents.
I live in a region with one of the most highly unpredictable weather patterns in the country. The snow that is forecast either doesn't come at all or falls half what was predicted.
We rarely get more. We often go entire winters with no snowfall.
So according to your logic I would have booked a hotel two days in advance and paid 80% in hotel fees of what I would have made that day.
Sorry lady, but you wouldn't have done it either.
I think that administration should have left it up to management. We have some nurses that will call in if one flake falls. If they were going to punish they should have targeted the ones with excessive call ins.
Not the ones that have excellent attendance records with a record of NEVER calling in due to weather. In fact, This past week was the first day ever....I have missed because of snow in my nursing CAREER.
The unit was fully staffed. We all work well together with the part-timers offering in advance to come in that live closer. When I did live closer I did this for others because not everyone can find a sitter when schools make last minute closing decisions. We had to move recently because of my husbands parents.
I live in a region with one of the most highly unpredictable weather patterns in the country. The snow that is forecast either doesn't come at all or falls half what was predicted.
We rarely get more. We often go entire winters with no snowfall.
So according to your logic I would have booked a hotel two days in advance and paid 80% in hotel fees of what I would have made that day.
Sorry lady, but you wouldn't have done it either.
I think that administration should have left it up to management. We have some nurses that will call in if one flake falls. If they were going to punish they should have targeted the ones with excessive call ins.
Not the ones that have excellent attendance records with a record of NEVER calling in due to weather. In fact, This past week was the first day ever....I have missed because of snow in my nursing CAREER.
The unit was fully staffed at the time. You calling in made them short staffed. That's what's not safe. So you live in a state with unpredictable weather? So do all your coworkers, yet they managed to make it.
You didn't make it to work so you don't get paid PTO. That's the policy. Accept it and move on because it isn't going to change. That's great that you've never missed because of weather. It doesn't matter that you have perfect weather attendance. Like a PP said, they can't bend the rules for you.
Salaried employees would not be docked...by law that is why they are salaried. Once they are docked that makes them hourly....and they work far more than a 40 hour week.
If you look at the HR policies for ALL of your PTO it says...pending on manager approval and unit needs.
I am so sorry ((HUGS)) without a union contract they administration can pretty much do as they please. It is clear you tried but I remain confused how a 4 wheel vehicle got stuck in 10 inches of snow.
Well, I don't really have a jeep, it's more like an all wheel drive.
I have a steep driveway and the vehicle slipped when I was backing out. This is our first winter in the house so the next time I'll know to park at the bottom. But there is a sharp incline out of my neighborhood...even if I had got on the road...not sure I would have made it up that far...but would have tried.
I got the back wheels in the yard and it couldn't get enough traction from the front wheels to get it out. The back wheels just spun. I had some boards in the garage and put those under the front wheels and I couldn't inch it over enough to pull.
Trust me...snow does not scare me. I'll get out in any weather. My new house is also more out in the country...we used to live closer to the city...they scrape that first...my roads later in the day apparently. By the time they scraped my shift was half over.
My state doesn't carry large budgets for snow preparation. They don't run ice and gravel and scrapers all night like they do up north. They wait until the snow stops...then they plow. Only main roads are scraped during the night for emergency workers.
Our hospital also does not have a program to retrieve nurses from home. Some do.
Sorry for the vent. I started thinking about all the nurses that can't afford even a four wheel drive. Not all nurses can afford hotels...that sounds easy but some are single mothers and nurses are paid poorly here.
Not getting paid for 12 hours..with taxes and car insurance due...blows.
~PedsRN~, BSN, RN
826 Posts
Every time I read one of these posts, I can't help but wonder....
Don't you realize what the "essential" means in the term "essential personnel"?
We don't get to not make it in. If the weather is getting bad, plan ahead and sleep at the hospital. I know ours had emergency plans in place and sleeping rooms, etc. It is what it is, and it will always be that way. If everyone called out, who would be there to take care of the patients? I understand it sucks. Believe me. But it's not NEW. This is what we have signed up for. Right?
My facility operated on the emergency staffing plans, which means - yes - no PTO, and a write up if you call out.
Which is why my social media was littered with photos of nurses sleeping on floors in break rooms.
Part of the job.