Calling in sick before the holidays

Nurses General Nursing

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all of us had full loads yesterday. i was told to delegate some of mine because i had to drive a ways to teach a family how to inject interferon, so i would limit the overtime. i did. a while later we get a message that one of the lvns called in sick. she was the one i delegated my pts to. great.

boss called her and informed her that by calling in sick the day before a holiday, she will not the holiday pay.

*gasp*

all of a sudden she's feeling better!!!!

*addendum* this post is not about the legitimately ill. when a reminder about the policy suddenly produces a healing, the "illness" is obviously not legit. that's what this is about.

because as a healthcare professional, i'm not capable of determining whether or not i'm truly sick.:uhoh3:

i really resent being asked to bring in a doctor's note. it's assuming that i'm lying (and as far as i'm concerned, also an invasion of my privacy.) and if you think that little of my integrity, you shouldn't trust me with patients.

true, there are some people that take advantage of more lenient attendance policies. but i'm tired of the honest being punished for dishonesty. why should i pay a copay because i have a virus (that no md visit is going to fix) that takes 2-3 days to go away? it's bad enough i'm losing my shift diffs and just getting pto pay (which i'd really rather spend on a planned vacation) but then i have to pay a copay at the md too?

i agree with the other stuff you said but why would requiring a doctor's note be an invasion of privacy? the doc does not have to state what is wrong, in fact i don't think i've ever seen a doc's note say this. all it has to say is "nurse wooh can return to work on (date)." they can't ask and they can't insist on knowing.

Specializes in Med/surg,Tele,PACU,ER,ICU,LTAC,HH,Neuro.

I am in retail and to call in the day AFTER Thanksgiving means you probably shouldn't return to work. I was late last year and got docked two days tardy. WHY DO people shop at 4 AM anyway? The sales are no better than the following Saturday on half the stuff they buy. This year I work the night shift so I hope it will be slower than 4AM. I know the place will look LIKE A TORNADO struck.

Used to be Christmas people were not in the hospital unless they were really sick.

Now the acuity is ten times higher. Happy Holidays.

I can understand exactly where "wooh" is coming from. I worked holidays for years, never called in while others did, then the one time I was sick, really sick and was in the ER for 16 hours d/t low staff and no beds, when I got to the floor I was treated like I had committed a crime for even getting sick on a holiday. Holidays are stressful, but things happen and we need to remember our fellow staff members are human too.

Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
Hoo, boy... I'm just glad I will never have to work another holiday again. We're not open holidays.

We're closed on holidays also and it is wonderful however I'll never say "never", you never know what the future holds. I've got another 15 years to work before retirement.

Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
Because as a healthcare professional, I'm not capable of determining whether or not I'm truly sick.:uhoh3:

No matter what somebody does for a living they know when they are truly sick.

My employer doesn't accept doctor's notes, period. If you say you are sick then you are sick. If you are sick more than 6 times a year you get a verbal warning, more than 8 times a year you get a written warning. More than 12 times a year you are subject to termination. Each sick episode counts as one call in even if you are sick for several days. I think it's very fair

I was asked to work a case on Christmas Eve to cover for a nurse who had promised a family that she would work this holiday weeks in advance. She called off at the last minute, and I mean last minute. A few days later, I was told by another that this person had attended an office holiday party held at her other job. I thought it was very unthoughtful of her to make a promise then wait until the last minute to break it. The family was very upset. They were very religious and wanted to attend services. There I was like an idiot trying to explain to them that maybe she really was "sick".

Specializes in Med/Surg, Psych..

I try my best not to call off sick on a paid holiday unless I am truly truly sick!! We get double and half times paid on holidays....so no one calls in sick:D

The hospital did try to cancell us, because they did not want to pay us so much money, but none of us took that voluntary cancellation!!

I was even willing to do over time:lol2:

Shantas

I agree with you 100%. Give me any holiday. That holiday pay really helps out.

Where I work it's kinda weird and up for debate... I still have no received a definate answer from anyone regarding something like this but from what I understand if you call out for the holiday, if you have no time on the books (i.e. no-pay status) then you will not be paid, but if you do have time on the books you will be paid at the regular rate, no time-and-a-half. So... I dunno.It really doesn't look good when you call out and you're scheduled for the holiday, especially if you call out for the holiday that your scheduled and it falls on your RDO, because you're also getting an adjusted day off because the holiday falls on your day off. (why does the state have to make EVERYTHING so confusing?). If you consistently call out for the holidays you will be put on medical verification which means that if you call out you must bring in a doctors note to be paid for that day. That's why a lot of people where I work have "6-month" doctor notes.

In Australia you get paid double time for public holidays. It's a HUGE incentive not to call in sick ;)

Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

*you are exposed to every bug in the region while shopping for just the right gift.

* you are up earily and to bed late to get ready for the holiday.

*every patient you care for is so sick there is no way for them to be at home.

* you boss tells you that in one of the most expensive times of the year you are going to lose a days pay.

-yep I might get better enough to come in but I'm going to give whatever I've got to all my coworkers and patients.

--guess what, we are even shorter staffed next week when 3 other people call off.

I know it seems like people are "faking it" when they call off during the holiday season but I would rather work short than work with someone who will share thier bug with me- I WILL call off and lose a days pay.

I have known few health care professionals who will dump on thier peers for an extra day off over the holidays. Most of the ones I have met that do this don't last long in the profession anyway. I did know one nurse who strangely had her grandmother die each Christmes for 3 years in a row- TRAGIC STORY!! Unless you are dead yourself- or your spouse/ child you had better show up. I will help you get you mind off your loss and I can't catch it.

Yup. If you're sick stay at home PLEASE. If your able to work and you're scheduled, then get your butt IN. You're not the only one who wants a little extra time off, but don't make life more difficult for everyone else.At my job we have a voluntary OT list that people sign up for for different dates and shifts that way if anyone calls out we go down the list until we find someone willing to come in. But that doesn't always work. When it doesn't... it's miserable.

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