Calling in sick on 4th shift

Nurses General Nursing

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I so so wanted to call in sick tonight, but I agonized and agonized over it, and now it's only an hour till change of shift and I think it's not cool to call in sick on such short notice.

Do people ever call in sick for exhaustion? I had such a hard night last night and my whole body aches. Moving hurts. This will also be my 4th scheduled shift this week.

Specializes in Med Surg Tele.

Absolutely. Sometimes you just need a break! But if you need a break, you should call in no later than 4 hours before your shift.

I can't imagine crawling into bed with hospital germs on me, lol. Im usually smelly and sweaty and god knows what else by the end of the day. I'd never sleep knowing i was infested LOL

Thats just me though.

I do it all the time. Since I practice good hand hygiene and follow infection control protocols, I don't feel "infested" unless something unusual happens, like I get a 400lb patient with C-Diff or something. THEN I will definitely shower before going to bed. But the average shift, I generally don't have a lot of close physical contact with my patients, plus as I said I follow infection control protocols faithfully- so it gives me little to worry about. Since I work 12s and drive an hour each way, I'm usually too tired to worry about how I smell when I crawl under the covers.

As to the question of calling off, you definitely need to give enough notice that they can call someone in to cover the shift. I think it's really bad form to call in just because you're tired, although I do support taking a mental health day every great once in a while. Sometimes you just have to. But for me, every great once in a while is like once a year. I think that as a general rule, if you're on the schedule, you should work unless you are truly ill or having a crisis.

I do agree that working four 12s in a row is brutal. But that's what you signed on for, so if it's not something you are going to be able to commit to doing, then you need to rethink whether this job is for you, because it's not fair to the rest of the staff when you call in and you're not really sick.

If you are so exhausted that you fear driving to work that you might fall asleep at the wheel and cause an accident, then, by all means, call in. There is being tired, being dreadfully tired, and there is being too incapacitated to work safely. "Tired" won't cut it if something horrible happens because of your fatigue and then you have to face the consequences.

Well yes, there is that, but I didn't get the sense that that was the OP's concern.

I do agree that falling asleep at the wheel is a legitimate hazard that comes with working long shifts and driving long distances. I consider the drive part of my work day and prepare for my work day with the drive in mind. I also keep a sleeping bag in my car in case I need to pull over and take a nap. Haven't had to use it yet, knock on wood!

I have a difficult time going to sleep if I haven't showered. I practice strict hand hygiene, but I still feel dirty. My feet usually smell by the end of the night (it's so gross), and my nose is very sensitive. Out of the ordinary smells will wake me up.

Also, someone mentioned that 4 shifts was what I signed up for. Actually, it was mandatory to do an extra shift every other week. I didn't have a choice. Otherwise I definitely would not have signed up for it.

"You signed up for it" is an expression. It means that when you accepted the job, you accepted the conditions that came along with it, such as being mandated to work a 4th shift every other week.

Oh, I see. Even so, I was not told that it would be mandated until I got my schedule. When I started, people volunteered for extra shifts, then last month, they changed it to mandating that we do extra shifts. They changed it again this month to allowing people to sign up for extra shifts again. I don't know why they did that. A failed experiment, I guess.

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.
I do it all the time. Since I practice good hand hygiene and follow infection control protocols, I don't feel "infested" unless something unusual happens, like I get a 400lb patient with C-Diff or something. THEN I will definitely shower before going to bed. But the average shift, I generally don't have a lot of close physical contact with my patients, plus as I said I follow infection control protocols faithfully- so it gives me little to worry about. Since I work 12s and drive an hour each way, I'm usually too tired to worry about how I smell when I crawl under the covers.

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I know what you're saying because whenever I'd work as secretary I wouldn't shower when I got home. I just think that as a CNA I'm especially filthy by the end of the shift ;-).

Oh, I see. Even so, I was not told that it would be mandated until I got my schedule. When I started, people volunteered for extra shifts, then last month, they changed it to mandating that we do extra shifts. They changed it again this month to allowing people to sign up for extra shifts again. I don't know why they did that. A failed experiment, I guess.

Yes, but unless you have a collective bargaining agreement, then your employer can pretty much do what they want scheduling wise as long as it doesn't violate labor laws. So in essence, when you accepted the job, you signed up for whatever scheduling policies your employer either had in place at the time or would enact after the fact.

Specializes in Management, Med/Surg, Clinical Trainer.

The bigger issue that needs to be discussed is nursing working 12 hour shifts. I know there have been many threads about people who prefer them over 8's or 10's but greyl's post is a good reason to take another look at them.

And Stargazer is right once someone signs on upper leadership can make someone work as many 8's, 10's or 12's in a row as they need.

And greyL the change in schedules from voluntary to mandatory and then back to voluntary more than likely has more to do with the ebb and flow of patient admits and needing coverage versus a failed experiment. The hospital MUST have staffing for high census times, especially now with all the money that is being tied to hospital discharge readmits.

The bigger issue that needs to be discussed is nursing working 12 hour shifts. I know there have been many threads about people who prefer them over 8's or 10's but greyl's post is a good reason to take another look at them.

And Stargazer is right once someone signs on upper leadership can make someone work as many 8's, 10's or 12's in a row as they need.

And greyL the change in schedules from voluntary to mandatory and then back to voluntary more than likely has more to do with the ebb and flow of patient admits and needing coverage versus a failed experiment. The hospital MUST have staffing for high census times, especially now with all the money that is being tied to hospital discharge readmits.

Possibly, but peak season is considered November to March.

And honestly, once I have more experience, I won't mind doing 4 shifts. I find it difficult to do 4 shifts right now though because I'm a new grad, and I don't usually get to go home on time like the more experienced nurses do. Today I left at 8, which is the best it ever gets for me, and I usually come earlier to prepare everything because it takes me longer to do things than the other nurses. The other new grads are in the same boat as I am, so it's not just me. We rack up tons of overtime already without the 4th shift. =/

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