Calling out sick

nightmare, RN · Sep 1, 2008

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the people missing work for "illness" is completely over the top now? I feel old and crochety every day but can count on both hands the times I've called out sick over the past 25 years.

I agree,in 17 years I've been off sick less than 20 days!(not counting time off for Gall Bladder op)Annoyingly I always seem to be sick in my 'own' time!

TopazLover, BSN, RN · Sep 1, 2008

I agree. I see too many people holding down two or more jobs, sometimes trying to go to school at the same time. Many of these people really are sick. Some are just sick and tired of being tired and need time off.

I keep reading about nurses who are working extra shifts when they work 12 hour shifts. Unfortunately, money talks and it is easy to listen to in this economy. When I work with nurses who are doing this, I end up with more than my share of the load.-- Venting here.

I can handle it because I don't work full time.

Older nurses are wearing out with age. Too many years of hard work without all of the things to make our lives easier. :twocents:

MzMouse · Sep 1, 2008

I think more "mental health" days get taken than honest-to-gosh sick days.

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 1, 2008

I've thought that too, at times. But ...

As I contemplate possibly leaving my current job and look at the 2 months of sick time saved up in my sick bank that I will have to leave untaken and get paid nothing for, I think maybe I should have called in sick a few more times. I think of all those days I worked when I felt terrible and how my boss never rewarded me for that in any way. And if I leave, I will simply lose that unused time off.

Maybe a compromise would be best. Maybe I should have called in a few more times without making it a regular habit.

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Sep 1, 2008

I've had many days in the last two weeks where 2-3 nurses have called off.....and then the management tells us that the "extra" pay for picking up shifts is going away. Something about the hospital lost 700,000 bucks last month and we all need to "tighten" our belts....

However, then they have the nerve to say we need to come in and help out...and do hourly rounding regardless of our patient load, AND the hospital is building a new addition to the back half....and we will be expanding into it....They wonder why nobody wants to work.

correctlywrong · Sep 1, 2008

There was a different ethic in the last generations. There was a feeling that the company would take care of you and that you just had to work hard and be a loyal employee. There are people who retired having never called in sick, and that was the norm.

But there were also people who gave that level of commitment to a company and got only grief in return. I know that many think of healthcare as being different than other industries, but many hospitals are corporate endeavors at this point. Even those that are non-profit send out memos justifying running hundreds of millions of dollars in the black and the biggest perk most employees ever see is a free ice cream in the cafeteria. (ahem, UPMC).

The younger generation has wised up a little. Yes, we call off when we are sick, or even just too tired and disgusted to make it in that day. I've been working every shift pretty close to burn out. If a day comes that I figure my mental state is going to make me an unsafe nurse that day, I will do my patients, colleagues, and the facility a favor and call off.

They have no problem mandating extra 12 hour shifts to us to cover their staffing short falls, while refusing to use agency staff or travellers to lighten the load? I have no problem calling out sick when the load gets too heavy to bear that day, physically or mentally. And I have learned that administraton does somehow find replacement when they are forced to do so, even though that nurse wouldn't have been available to help our understaffed unit if the call off hadn't occurred.

Have I mentioned that my nurse manager has never had an assignment in the entire time that I have been there? The one time she sort of helped out, she refused to pass meds, perform assessments, or chart. Her reason was that she hadn't staffed in so long that she didn't feel safe doing those things. I am not sure what exactly she did do, but whatever it was, it was apparently so taxing to her desk-job-softened feet that SHE called off the next day, to rest.

And I should feel guilty about my 2 or 3 call offs a year?

It is unfortunate that the older generation was taken so advantage of, but their work ethic was developed in a time when they thought they could depend on reciprocity of loyalty between them and their employer. If it really still worked that way (if it ever really did!), then I would be far less likely to call off as well.

iwanna · Sep 1, 2008

I think that it is terrible to just call off because you are tired from working. I rarely called off, and when I did I was very sick and/or communicable. If I wanted a day off, I would request a census day. I have been in the position of having extra work due to call offs. I wouldn't do it to anyone else, unless it just could not be avoided. But, we did not have any sick days, unless we were off sick for at least 3 consecutive days. We did have PTO for whatever reason you wanted to use it for.

RNKPCE · Sep 1, 2008

There is nothing wrong with calling in sick. Our job is physical and there are things that can happen to us in which we can't work but in other professions could such as a sprained ankle, stitches on your hand, horrible cough. We can't be hacking all over and taking care of patients and sharing the phone with co-workers. On the other hand there are people who seem to be "sick" a lot. Our management tracks patterns. Such a those that call in sick on Fridays or Mondays to get a long weekend. But at my work unless they are getting close to their limit of occurrences in a year(ending June 30th) there is nothing management can do. Our hospital tracks occurrences not total days. If you call in sick 2 days in a row that is one occurrence. If you call in sick Monday and feel better Tuesday and workand feel bad again on Wednesday and call in sick that is two occurrences. So therefore a lot of people just call in sick on the Tuesday just to be sure. Also there is a rise in sick days as the end of that year approaches(June 30th), people want to get their allotment in. But again nothing management can do.

The staff without benefits tend to have fewer sick days because if they don't work they don't get paid.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Sep 1, 2008

I also believe that many people (including myself) take more mental health days than are actually sick. I have accepted this as a part of life. Sometimes, when I go into my clinic, I notice that we are SHORT!! Those days, I sometimes wish I follwed my first thought and called in, too, but then, I just roll up my sleeves and deal, because there is nothing I can do about it; and complaining adds additional stress to me. I see why people do it. Managers are more unappreciative than in the past. Also, regardless of what is rumored, nurses do not make a great deal of money, so, most of us have second and even third hustles just to make ends meet. Also, I hate to say it, but people calling in allowed me to get a great deal of per diem experience working on the floors, and people were more receptive to the presence of agency nurses because they were so bad off. I didn't experience too much of the incumbant nurses eating the young because they were in dire straits and since they wanted me to come back, they treated me really nice.

Last year, I did decide to severly lessen my call ins because I didn't want to be disciplined, and also, that sick time can be used during a real episode of illness, so, I trained myself to try and destress in other ways, such as taking a shower when I get home, get a good book or watch something distracting on television to wind down. I even go in early sometimes, in my clinic in order to build up comp time. After three months, our comp time converts to sick and we can build up a great deal of time, or even use that instead of vacation time.

I am not saying that it is right to call in, but with the conditions nurses are facing each day with unrealistic customer relations, regulatory agencies breathing down our backs and increased patient loads, people do strange things to take a breather. I just can't find it in my heart to get upset with them. I hope I can continue to hold out, myself.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Sep 1, 2008

There is nothing wrong with calling in sick. Our job is physical and there are things that can happen to us in which we can't work but in other professions could such as a sprained ankle, stitches on your hand, horrible cough. We can't be hacking all over and taking care of patients and sharing the phone with co-workers. On the other hand there are people who seem to be "sick" a lot. Our management tracks patterns. Such a those that call in sick on Fridays or Mondays to get a long weekend. But at my work unless they are getting close to their limit of occurrences in a year(ending June 30th) there is nothing management can do. Our hospital tracks occurrences not total days. If you call in sick 2 days in a row that is one occurrence. If you call in sick Monday and feel better Tuesday and workand feel bad again on Wednesday and call in sick that is two occurrences. So therefore a lot of people just call in sick on the Tuesday just to be sure. Also there is a rise in sick days as the end of that year approaches(June 30th), people want to get their allotment in. But again nothing management can do.
The staff without benefits tend to have fewer sick days because if they don't work they don't get paid.

It sounds like you work for one of my sister hospitals. We have a similar sick policy. We just try to avoid patterns. With the nursing burn out, I can see more coming, unfortunately. I do work for a union hospital, so, it takes a great deal to terminate someone behind sick alone, mainly because so many of the managers come and go that it takes too much time and effort for them to keep up with the patterns of their employees long enough to be effective. I am trying to avoid calling in sick for the heck of it, because I don't want to be disciplined. But, if I really need a mental health day so bad that I am pulling out my hear, I'd pick up that phone with a clear conscience.

Jules A, MSN · Sep 1, 2008

The younger generation has wised up a little. Yes, we call off when we are sick, or even just too tired and disgusted to make it in that day. I've been working every shift pretty close to burn out. If a day comes that I figure my mental state is going to make me an unsafe nurse that day, I will do my patients, colleagues, and the facility a favor and call off.

Thank you so much to everyone that replied! I love all the different views and am just a tad jealous that I don't feel comfortable calling out when I am "too tired or disgusted", although that might be every day, lol.

I am older but believe me I have no delusions that my facility is looking out for anything but their bottom line. :) My big issue with this is that for the most part it is me and/or my fellow unit nurses that bear the brunt when people call out unnecessarily. There are only a certain number of agency nurses that can step onto our unit so if we can't get one of them or another employee, who is already stretched too thin, its up to us. We can get mandated to stay an entire extra shift if there isn't coverage and I can't speak for anyone but myself but by about hour 14 I'm not operating at my full potential.

Thanks again to everyone for sharing their thoughts. :)