Calling in for no sleep

Julius Seizure · May 24, 2016

Dear Marcy from West Virginia:

It's up to you, but I would recommend keeping yourself a little more anonymous on here - including your user name. Welcome to AN!

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · May 24, 2016

Kooky Korky said:
How do you get those 6 or 7 precious hours of sleep? My sleep is messed up from years of Nights. I could use some help.

Turned out I had sleep apnea. I would startle awake multiple times just as I was drifting off. CPAP helped that. I also have regular insomnia, so ambien, though at much lower doses than before the CPAP. I'm hoping when I go to straight day schedule, I can reduce or eliminate the meds.

roser13, ASN, RN · May 24, 2016

Mhays said:
Hello, my name is Marcy and I live in Virginia. Yes, I believe that it is OK to call in due to lack of sleep for many reasons. Sleep is a major importance because it helps your body to restore itself and become better. It helps to keep a person healthy by the immune system restoring itself and making sure that it fights off any germs that come a person's way. Also, when you are sleepy on the job, the productivity can be low and negative things could happen. So, to answer the question, you can call in to your supervisor and tell them that you need a day for your body to rest so that the next time you work you will be in good shape. Good luck and if you cannot sleep, try meditating with soft music like the ocean or whale songs. That seems to always help me to sleep. Marcy

Marcy, all of the responses that I've read from you on this forum remind me of reading a Fundamentals of Nursing textbook. They're usually more lecture than your actual opinion on the subject. You do realize that the majority of us here are nurses?

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · May 24, 2016

If I called in every time I got only a couple of hours of sleep, I'd be calling in constantly. But I rarely work two consecutive days, so it's doable for me. If it's an ongoing problem, yeah, you need to get some help to get back on track. Sleep deprivation is horrible.

Marothk · May 24, 2016

I think the short answer here is no, it's not acceptable to call off for lack of sleep. If you are truly not able to function, call off, but I wouldn't dare say it's due to lack of sleep.

Did you schedule yourself this way, or was it forced? If it was forced then you need to discuss this type of scheduling problem with your employer, there are usually rules dictating the amount of time off between shifts, but I'm pretty sure this isn't a violation, but it's not ideal, and obviously it's not working for you.

I work nights and often have trouble getting some sleep before a shift, or more than 3-4 hours between shifts. I'm pretty sure if I called off every time I wasn't ideally rested I wouldn't have a job

Julius Seizure · May 24, 2016

Horseshoe said:
If I called in every time I got only a couple of hours of sleep, I'd be calling in constantly. But I rarely work two consecutive days, so it's doable for me. If it's an ongoing problem, yeah, you need to get some help to get back on track. Sleep deprivation is horrible.

I am the same. For a while, I had insomnia problems to the extent that I qualified for FMLA (there were contributing factors). After I figured out that I was going to continue to have frequent trouble sleeping, I began to intentionally avoid scheduling myself for anything more than 2 days in a row. That way, even if I can't sleep, I can tell myself "its only 12 hours and I dont have to go back."

jk2185, BSN, RN · May 24, 2016

Call out!! Please!! This is the path to burnout and mistakes. I hear what other posters are saying regarding having to stay late, etc...that is a system problem. This is what float pool is for and if your facility does not have a float pool, this IS what on-call is for. I'd say getting 1-2 or zero hours of sleep is a form of sickness. We just happen to work in a compassionless society that demands us to function as robots and one that really doesn't look out for our needs. The people on this thread that gossip about someone that calls in need to look within themselves and ask why they spread this toxic chatter around a workplace--IT DOESN"T HELP. So yeah, call out, it's totally OK. If it turns into a habit, it may mean you have to find a different job (later shift).

RNKPCE · May 24, 2016

At times I'm asked to switch a day for someone and if I can't and later see they call off sick on that day let's just say I know it's unlikely they are actually sick. So I'd never begrudge a co-worker needing to do call in for lack of rest on a rare occasion.

So if you haven't gotten enough sleep and need to call in do it, it is a legitimate reason. No need to say why you are calling off. If it becomes a habit that's a different situation requiring better time management, sleep hygiene or treatment for insomnia.

pixierose, BSN, RN · May 24, 2016

RNdynamic said:
To everyone saying that not enough sleep is an excuse, or that the OP is hurting her coworkers by calling out, or whatever else: It's none of her coworkers business why she is calling out. She could be calling out because she's having a bad hair day and it's still none of their business. Her PTO, her privilege. If she's still in compliant with the attendance policy, then it isn't any of her coworkers concern if she calls out for lack of sleep.
Truth.

Wait. Hold up.

(Rubbing eyes in confusion)

I actually AGREE with something RNdynamic said???

The world is spinning off its axis.

~Shrek~ · May 24, 2016

CountryMomma said:
I have had a coworker call out for not enough sleep. She wasn't punished... it was her PTO...
...but none of us felt very kindly towards her after absorbing her shift, her excuse spread through the gossip channels, and people stopped being willing to trade shifts with her, cover for lunch, etc.
You had time to sleep.

Good grief, that is a lot of drama over calling in sick. You don't know the whole story. Maybe her kid was throwing up all night? Maybe her mom died? Maybe she has personal problems that have been keeping her up all night for a long time and finally her body shut down?

It's not her fault your unit does not have enough backup staff that when one person calls in sick the whole unit runs haywire.

Moral of the story: never say why you are calling in sick. It's no one's business but yours. Unless you are making it a habit or something, no one should bother you for calling in sick once in a while.

CountryMomma, ASN, RN · May 24, 2016

~Shrek~ said:
Good grief, that is a lot of drama over calling in sick. You don't know the whole story. Maybe her kid was throwing up all night? Maybe her mom died? Maybe she has personal problems that have been keeping her up all night for a long time and finally her body shut down?
It's not her fault your unit does not have enough backup staff that when one person calls in sick the whole unit runs haywire.
Moral of the story: never say why you are calling in sick. It's no one's business but yours. Unless you are making it a habit or something, no one should bother you for calling in sick once in a while.

It was a habit, she flat out said she'd stayed up too late last night and didn't have enough sleep. When the rest of the floor absorbs an assignment because someone can't be bothered to go to bed in time.

Staffing is short housewide. We all know it. That makes it just more bitter when people call out for dumb reasons.

NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN · May 24, 2016

pixierose said:
The world is spinning off its axis.

I'm feeling a little dizzy too. :eek:

But really, if your attendance is exemplary and you're having a rare day when you don't feel like you could provide safe patient care, I don't see a reason not to call off and take care of yourself.