Calling out in advance

[MissChloe]

I work as an aide in a nursing home. I have had some sort of stomach bug since this morning, and I am scheduled to work the evening shift tomorrow night. I have a history of this sort of thing, and I'm sure it won't be gone by tomorrow, so I called in this evening, trying to be nice and give them as much time as possible to find someone to cover for me. The staffing coordinator told me that they don't accept call-ins this far in advance and that I REALLY need to show up tomorrow.

Um, what? I was trying to do a nice thing by giving them ample time to call someone in. Instead she now thinks I'm faking. Did I do the wrong thing? I debated waiting until tomorrow but I'm honestly positive I'm going to still feel crappy tomorrow and I'd rather take a day off and get better than work through it and do a poor job taking care of my patients and be sick for longer.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Calling in the day of is much more credible, IMO.

Agreed. Calling out earlier than that sounds fishy to others: this includes management as well as your coworkers who will hear about it. Even if you are truly sick as a dog, they're going to wonder if you really are...and as juliaann said, if someone thinks you're faking by calling out so early, it's not going to do you any favors.

If you're concerned about staffing, don't wait until the minimum time to call out. For example, if policy is that you have to call out at least 2 hours before the shift, don't wait that long--call out at 6-8-10 hours before your shift. Unless you're holding a doctor's note that has you out of work for X number of days, IMO don't call out any earlier than a shift before you have to work.

Good luck.

[MissChloe]

I appreciate everyone's insight. I just wish I would have asked before I called yesterday!

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

I appreciate everyone's insight. I just wish I would have asked before I called yesterday!

Hindsight is 20/20. Don't feel badly about it, what's done is done, right?

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

Honestly, and I'm not trying to be harsh, but if you feel good ENOUGH to work, then you should be there. If you're truly too sick to be able to perform your job, then you call in. It wouldn't matter WHAT she said yesterday, if you can't, you can't. If it could go either way, then you work. If you get X number of sick days a year or whatever, and you have not exceeded those, it doesn't matter if she says you "have" to or not. She can't decide for you. Where I work, you can call in for any reason at all, as long as it's not more than a certain number of days. They can't deny you a sick day. The fact that you are going anyway leads me to believe you're not sick enough not to. I say this because that's what your manager is going to be thinking, too.

In any other job I've had, I'd have to be really, really sick to call off. If it was something minor or I was getting over something, I'd just deal with it. But as a CNA, that "line" is in a different place. Standing behind a cash register feeling nauseous is bad enough- running around like crazy, wiping up poop, and lifting people with an upset stomach is a lot harder. Plus, no one wants the residents exposed to that. One year we had a stomach bug that ripped through all the residents and staff- it was epic!

[MissChloe]

Well, I just found out why I HAD to go in today--the FEDS were there. THAT was fun. Trying to keep from looking too green with a guy with a clipboard follows me around nodding and mmhmming and making notes...

[caliotter3]

Too bad you couldn't have arranged to upchuck on him! That would have been very appropriate to the occasion.