Calling in for no sleep

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · May 24, 2016

I have done it before and would do it again if I felt I absolutely couldn't function. I'll say it happened exclusively when I worked nights, because day sleeping was beastly. It was only a couple times but I tried every trick and medicinal sleep aid I knew and just could not fall asleep.

lmjsierra · May 25, 2016

If it were me I would definitely call in.

NurseRies, BSN, RN · May 25, 2016

I work 4 days shifts a week 6am-6pm. I am also scheduled an overnight on call shift once a week. I can't tell you how many times I have worked worked 6pm-6am while on call, went home at 6:30am, had all day, then had to be at work at 6am the following day. I will admit it is very rough! But I have functioned well off 3-4 hours of sleep many times. Drink your coffee, eat right, drink lots of water, and double check everything you do. I'll bet you'll sleep fine the night after that shift!! If you can't see straight, call in yes... but I think you'd be surprised how many of us are regularly functioning with very little sleep. People with babies???

canigraduate · May 25, 2016

Ick. The martyr brigade came out in full force on this one.

As someone who knew people who fell asleep on the drive home and died, don't you dare go to work when you are too tired to function!!!

There have been many studies on sleep deprivation and its effects on the body and the mind. You are putting your life in danger, and the lives of others, every time you go to work sleepy.

chloe8100 · May 25, 2016

roser13 said:
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?

Do you realize how belittling your comment to Mhays sounded? Most of the people on here are nurses, but some of them are nursing support staff. If what she said reminded you of a Fundamentals of Nursing textbook, and yet you disagree, then perhaps it is time to brush up on the fundamentals of nursing.

Its interesting how we as nurses can have all the compassion in the world for our patients, and yet, for each other, we tend to have very little. I had hoped that allnurses was a place I could come to share experiences and to give and receive encouragement. With most of the responses I have seen on this thread, both to the original poster and just now to Mhays, I fear I may be disappointed.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · May 25, 2016

nursel56 said:
First, I didn't mention anything about a requirement to do anything. For the rest, people can come to their own conclusions about whether or not "I will not be in today" in the absence of any other information will be accepted at face value by HR and staffing.
My suggestion regarding her specific verbiage is also based on the notion that an employer will most likely seek more information as to the reason for the call-off. "I will not be in today because I haven't slept for more than 5 hours since Friday" is, my experience anyway, not as good as, "I have a headache and GI symptoms" (for example).
Sounds like your staffers are exemplary, though.

This has nothing to do with "staffers" or required verbiage. The employer will NOT get my private health care information.

nutella, MSN, RN · May 25, 2016

You are not required to give a reason when you call out. Granted, there may be a policy that you have to call out at least 4 hours before your shift but other than that you do not give a reason. The only thing you have to say is "I am calling out for date" and touch base later about when you will be coming back. If your absence collides with the policy for unplanned call outs you may be called into the office to discuss attendance. Also, some places have policies about not working for so and so many days with illness like noro virus - in that case you may be required to report it to occupational health.

True is that if you give a reason that other people feel positive about you will get more sympathy.

I have worked as a supervisor and manager and one of my rules was that people call out timely if any possible so I can plan to staff the next shift but I never asked for any reason because that is none of my business unless it is related to infection control or safety. To be honest, I do not want to hear if you toilet is flowing over and you can't come or if you feel sick or if your child is sick. If you have earned time and call out occasionally - no problem. Is it annoying to try to get staffing last minute ? yes it is but that is part of the job when you work as a supervisor or manager...

I did write up staff for violating attendance policy when they called out unplanned more than allowed and attendance is always tracked. The reason for writing up when in violation is that if you have to fire somebody later for attendance issues or related you can show that you have gone through all the steps.

I left management for a variety of reasons. When I call out I do not give a reason because I do not have to. I once had a a manager who would try to press for a reason and I told her that per law I am not required to give her a reason. The worst was that this manager would further violate policies and law by gossiping to employees about the reason for a call out.

flymedicRN24, BSN, MSN, EMT-P, APRN · May 25, 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.

I don't think the original poster stated he/she didn't have time to sleep. It was that the sleep schedule was changed and there was an inability to fall asleep.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · May 25, 2016

NotAllWhoWandeRN said:
Employers cannot legally demand a reason for calling in. Employers and coworkers may find some reasons more sympathetic than others, but that's subjective and it can result in discrimination.

According to this employment law attorney, not true.

Quote
in general, employers are allowed to ask for the details of your illness. "It's reasonable for a manager to ask an employee what's wrong. Otherwise, it would be a no-questions-asked sick leave policy, and that would quickly be abused," says Bryan Cavanaugh, a St. Louis-based employment attorney."Asking what is wrong requires the employee to give a brief and general explanation about why he or she is absent, e.g., the employee's child is sick, the employee has a general illness or the employee has a major or minor injury."

This caveat into how much detail they can require:

Quote
However, there's a key exception to this: if the reason for your absence is a medical condition that's protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA offers protections to employees with physical or mental impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities,â€‹ such as seeing, hearing, speaking, walking or breathing. A person with, for example, epilepsy, HIV or a substantial hearing or visual impairment would generally be covered, but someone with a minor condition of short duration â€“ such as a cold, the flu or a sprained ankle â€“ generally wouldn't be covered.

What's Your Boss Allowed to Ask When You Call In Sick? | On Careers | US News

That said, I don't think that most employers care why you're calling in unless it's a habit that is causing problems. And I don't think that they are actually going to press people for exact details either if the employee doesn't want to give them, whether or not it is legal for them to do so.

Onc RN 1 · May 25, 2016

This is a slippery slope and a hot topic in nursing. Studies on nurse fatigue confirm decreased thought processes potentially leading to poor patient outcomes. If "something" untoward happened to a patient(s) the nurse is ethically and legally responsible for the "something."

On the other hand, patient care is affected when a call out occurs resulting in short staffing. Again, this places all staff at risk for "something" untoward" happening.

Ruby Vee, BSN · May 25, 2016

Pangea Reunited said:
I've done that once. My scheduled flight was canceled and I couldn't get another flight until the next day. So, instead of spending the day sleeping for my night shift, I spent it at airports and on planes. I was too tired to function and called in with no hesitation.
...but aside from circumstances like those, I make myself sleep (or at least rest).

WE have a number of new grads who have this problem frequently. Every weekend it seems that one of those new grads has had a cancelled flight, a delayed flight, a diverted flight or some such issue. It got so bad that my manager started counseling them not to schedule so tightly . . . and warned that there would be consequences for anyone calling in for a flight snafu.

I don't know how many faced consequences, but there was a significant drop off in travel-related call-offs. And I know that they time my flight was delayed due to a snow emergency, I was told "you're OK. You've always been reliable. So many weren't reliable we had to make a rule for it."

Ruby Vee, BSN · May 25, 2016

chloe8100 said:
Do you realize how belittling your comment to Mhays sounded? Most of the people on here are nurses, but some of them are nursing support staff. If what she said reminded you of a Fundamentals of Nursing textbook, and yet you disagree, then perhaps it is time to brush up on the fundamentals of nursing.
Its interesting how we as nurses can have all the compassion in the world for our patients, and yet, for each other, we tend to have very little. I had hoped that allnurses was a place I could come to share experiences and to give and receive encouragement. With most of the responses I have seen on this thread, both to the original poster and just now to Mhays, I fear I may be disappointed.

This isn't a support group. If that is what you were expecting, you are bound to be disappointed. We answer questions -- some of the answers are encouraging, others may be appropriately realistic rather than mindlessly encouraging.