Do you go to work when you have fever/cold?

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well, heck... I'm sitting here with a light fever and a runny nose, and a slightly sore throat....I'm off work today anyway,,,but,,,I got thinking,,, do you go to work when you feel like this? what's your workplace policy when you have fever? Scared you'll get fired if you call in sick?

Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

My answer is, it depends. I have been known to go to work with a fever--after I fell asleep in the sun for 6 hours. Woke up burnt to a crisp, but I had to go in to work--I knew we were short-handed and I wasn't contagious. Thought I was gonna die, though.

I have worked with low grade fevers, 99-100, as long as I had no other symptoms.

I have worked with minor colds, sore throats, and runny nose. If I'm coughing, it's usually just my asthma.

However, I have never gone to work with vomiting or diarrhea,significant fever,coughing a lung up, or hung over. If I have fever and cough or sore throat or nose just dripping like a faucet, I stay home.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Brings back memories for me mustlovepoodles. While I was still in nursing school I fell asleep in the sun with no sunscreen. I absolutely could not miss a clinical day so I somehow crammed my swollen feet into my shoes. The instructor actually did say "I'm surprised you're here!" after seeing it. When it finally peeled came off in sheets of skin. Yeah, I know. BAD. Wear that sunscreen!!

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Specializes in Acute post op ortho.

If we had a fever, we were told to take 2 tylenol & come on in. (cause tylenol's magic like that).

I worked a baylor weekend contract for several years in an acute in patient rehab facility. One afternoon I was grilling chicken & drinking beer....had company about to walk through the door at any moment....

When...ring...ring...ring....

"Hell-o"

"Hi, this is your supervisor calling, we need help tonight, desperately, can you come in??? There'll be a nice bonus in it for you."

"Um, well, I'm on my 3rd beer, the chicken's almost done & company is due any second.....so, no, I can't...."

20 minutes later.......

ring....ring....ring....

"Hell-o"

"Hi, supervisor again.....couldn't you brush your teeth, chew some breath mints & just do me this one favor.....please?"

"I'm 5 ft 2, weigh 110 lbs & at this point, have 4 ounces of etoh on board, I'm swaying in the breeze here....... & you want me to "brush my teeth & come on in???? Have you lost your %#$^& mind???"

So, there you have it. Not only was I expected to show up even when I was sick....they encouraged drinking, and driving to work....where peoples lives depended on me being alert & sharp.

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Specializes in PACU, CARDIAC ICU, TRAUMA, SICU, LTC.

I wonder what the DON's liability is by "playing doctor?" Practicing medicine without a license???

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EvaSanDiegoCA said:
As a CNA, unfortunately I do. :(

My DON insist we show up to work, and she will then asses the severity of the cold/fever and decide whether or not we are fit to stay. Unless the fever is over 101, she keeps us.

I work at a LTC facility, and 5/7 days a week we are understaffed.

Eva :uhoh3:

THATS THE SAD REALITY OF LTC...IT JUST SUCKS THESE FRAGILE PEOPLE HAVE TO BE EXPOSED LIKE THIS:crying2:

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ozoneranger said:
if we had a fever, we were told to take 2 tylenol & come on in. (cause tylenol's magic like that).

I worked a baylor weekend contract for several years in an acute in patient rehab facility. One afternoon I was grilling chicken & drinking beer....had company about to walk through the door at any moment....

When...ring...ring...ring....

"hell-o"

"hi, this is your supervisor calling, we need help tonight, desperately, can you come in??? There'll be a nice bonus in it for you."

"um, well, I'm on my 3rd beer, the chicken's almost done & company is due any second.....so, no, I can't...."

20 minutes later.......

Ring....ring....ring....

"hell-o"

"hi, supervisor again.....couldn't you brush your teeth, chew some breath mints & just do me this one favor.....please?"

"I'm 5 ft 2, weigh 110 lbs & at this point, have 4 ounces of etoh on board, I'm swaying in the breeze here....... & you want me to "brush my teeth & come on in???? Have you lost your %#$^& mind???"

so, there you have it. Not only was I expected to show up even when I was sick....they encouraged drinking, and driving to work....where peoples lives depended on me being alert & sharp.

OMG that is just not right

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dukemidwifeprof said:
not hardly....esp. If you are around patients with chronic illness and immunosupressed patients...and you have a temp! I would send you home if you came to my unit....and be rather straight and upset with you for coming in an exposing everyone.

Don's and manager want you to come in because you are a body...and filling a hole on their unit. Be real. Their staffing issues are "not your problem." if you are sick, gettting well is your issue. They will solve their staffing crunch..and if they do not, maybe they will have to put on scrubs and take care of patients. When are nurses going to stand their ground and do what is best for themselves. I hear nurses whine all the time...and yet, there are many nurses who do not have good "self-care" boundaries. Remember this...if the "well is dry there will be no water." if you do not care for yourself and I mean care for yourself well (exercise, eat well, sleep, spend time with family/friends, cultivate a life outside of nursing) you will eventually burn-out and be of no use to anyone, least of all yourself.

So, not just no to going in sick, but h_ _ _ no! Take a bubble bath, drink some fresh oj and snuggle down in your bed and read magazines for a day....and get well!

amen amen preach on sista LOL=d

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Specializes in mental health, military nursing.

Because individual temps fluctuate so much, I don't send anyone home with a "low fever" like 99.3 - if it's above 100.8, they get sent home automatically, and must stay there for 24 hours.

Nurses always seem to have colds or little subclinical illnesses. Sometimes it's hard to judge when we're contagious (and to remember that we're often contagious even when asymptomatic).

If I hear someone moaning to a coworker about how sick they are, and how they have a fever or have been in the bathroom all morning, I chase them down, check their temp, give them a stern talking to, and make sure they get home. I can make a pretty good mean face, so I've never had a supervisor or DON question my decision to send someone home :D

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I tend to follow the rules my pediatrician gave my mother for staying home from school: Fever, throwing up more than once, cloudy green sputum/nasal discharge.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

It is a hard call for me, because I am a school nurse and if I am not there, there is no one to take up the slack. I generally do not get a sub, and although the office staff and a few others are trained to take up the slack, they are not nurses and they have their own busy jobs to tend to. I have insulin-dependent diabetics, kids with daily catheterizations, and scheduled meds in addition to several other medically fragile kids to keep watch over. It is not a job a layperson can just step into.

That said, if I have a fever over 100 degrees, I do not go in. Anything else, and I am likely to drag my sorry rear in despite migraines, severe colds, heck I showed up once in the throes of kidney stone pain (literally on the way to the ED, I wanted to make sure all my meds were set up and the kids would be taken care of!) Basically unless I think I am highly contagious and would do more harm than good, I go in. I wish I had better coverage so that I could take a day when I need one, but that is not the situation in my district.

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