Does anybody else feel guilty about calling off?

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I was wondering if anybody else on here has call off guilt, my husband says I am crazy because of it. I am on light duty and had called off 2 days after sustaining a back injury moving a patient. My manager is great is accommodating with my restrictions so I am one day back to work and now I have 2 sick kids at home with what looks like strep throat, so obviously I will be taking them to the doc tomorrow. Is it ingrained in us in nursing school to feel guilty when missing work or is it just me?

Yes, I feel guilty. I feel guilty for the position I put my coworkers in b/c I know there's a good chance they will be working short. That's why I only call in when I am absolutely so sick I cannot function. As far as sick kids go, I'm blessed to have a husband who works straight days, M-F and I work weekend nights. I'd prefer not to work weekend nights but we've done this so that one of us is always available for our kids. However, If my kids were ever sick enough to require hospitalization, you better believe I'd call in sick to be at their bedside. I'd still feel bad for the position I put my coworkers in but ultimately my kids take priority over anything else in my life.

I can sympathize w/ the OP. If my husband were in a job where he worked swing shifts, it would be hard to always work out the schedule so one of us was always available. We have no family where we live.

OP....is there a childcare place that has a sick bay? There is a place here that specializes in caring for sick kids. It is run by nurses. I've heard good things about it. I know I'd have a hard time dropping my kids off w/ someone else if they were sick but if it came down to that or facing discipline at work, I might do it. MIGHT....

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

Sorry, I don't feel guilty calling in sick if I am really sick. How can I take care of sick patients if I am not 100%? And I am not talking about some slight sore throat or anything minor ... I'm talking about my back going out or a high fever or having something actively infectious. There's a reason we earn sick time and there's peace of mind knowing its there to use when we REALLY need it ... Not abuse it. I don't give staffing a second thought, and where I've worked they usually bring in a float to compensate. Even if they could not, I don't sweat it. When you're sick at work you are altered and endangering patient safety. I have to take care of #1 before anyone else, because once that breaks down nothing else matters.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Sorry, I don't feel guilty calling in sick if I am really sick. How can I take care of sick patients if I am not 100%? And I am not talking about some slight sore throat or anything minor ... I'm talking about my back going out or a high fever or having something actively infectious. There's a reason we earn sick time and there's peace of mind knowing its there to use when we REALLY need it ... Not abuse it. I don't give staffing a second thought, and where I've worked they usually bring in a float to compensate. Even if they could not, I don't sweat it. When you're sick at work you are altered and endangering patient safety. I have to take care of #1 before anyone else, because once that breaks down nothing else matters.

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THIS.

WHY would one feel guilty calling in sick?

We are grown adults; if one has to call in, then call in. The end.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
Do you think it's fair to leave your children home Ill and unattended so you don't let your coworkers down???? When push comes to shove my kids come before my coworkers.

At 12 and 13 yes, they are old enough to be home alone when sick. My mom was a single parent who worked two jobs, so we learned how to be self reliant at a young age. If they were elementary school age it's a bit different, but at 12 and 13 they are beyond being able to take care of themselves.

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Specializes in RN, CHPN.

Are you talking about calling in sick when actually sick?

Why in the world would you feel guilty? It's not your fault the company you work for doesn't have enough staff to cover inevitable absences. THAT'S the real problem.

I thought you were talking about so-called 'mental health days.' LOL

You have to think first of the toll it would take on YOU to go to work when you don't feel up to it. Acting out of guilt can only drain you further and ultimately make you a less effective helper. Guilt of this kind is related to burnout.

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Specializes in ICU.
At 12 and 13 yes, they are old enough to be home alone when sick. My mom was a single parent who worked two jobs, so we learned how to be self reliant at a young age. If they were elementary school age it's a bit different, but at 12 and 13 they are beyond being able to take care of themselves.

This is the 4th day sick at this point my thoughts are it's time for a visit to the doctor....do you have children???

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
This is the 4th day sick at this point my thoughts are it's time for a visit to the doctor....do you have children???

I didn't say anything about not taking them to the doctor, if it's strep they need abx. You specifically said you had to stay home with them and I'm sorry but at their ages they are more than capable of being home sick alone.

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Specializes in Family Medicine.

I don't even feel guilty calling in sick when I'm not even sick (mental health day).

You earn those sick days. They are yours to use. They belong to you. You are the owner, the boss, of that time off.

I understand not wanting to screw your coworkers over but it is your employer's responsibility to cover for employees that call in. No blood on your hands. Only theirs.

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Specializes in ICU.
I didn't say anything about not taking them to the doctor, if it's strep they need abx. You specifically said you had to stay home with them and I'm sorry but at their ages they are more than capable of being home sick alone.

My OP states I was calling off to take them to an appt. and as I suspected....rapid strep +. Typically if it is run of the mill sick I go to work and check in with them through out the day. The whole point of this post is as nurses I believe most of us are truly dedicated to our jobs and coworkers, but in some cases it's to our own deficit I have gone into work sick as a dog with a fever wearing a mask for 12 hours because I knew I was the only RN capable of doing charge or other times because our staffing was low. I know a lot of other nurses who have call off guilt as well even when it's for a valid reason, but we shouldn't feel guilty when we need to take care of ourselves or our families. Then on the other hand there are staff members who call off for bad dreams without a second thought...yes this has happened.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
I don't even feel guilty calling in sick when I'm not even sick (mental health day).

You earn those sick days. They are yours to use. They belong to you. You are the owner, the boss, of that time off.

I understand not wanting to screw your coworkers over but it is your employer's responsibility to cover for employees that call in. No blood on your hands. Only theirs.

How many sick days do you get a year? Every hospital I've worked at you only get three for the whole year, after that it's a write up. I would be scared to waste mine when I wasn't sick cause with my luck I'd then catch the plague and be up a creek!

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
My OP states I was calling off to take them to an appt. and as I suspected....rapid strep +. Typically if it is run of the mill sick I go to work and check in with them through out the day. The whole point of this post is as nurses I believe most of us are truly dedicated to our jobs and coworkers, but in some cases it's to our own deficit I have gone into work sick as a dog with a fever wearing a mask for 12 hours because I knew I was the only RN capable of doing charge or other times because our staffing was low. I know a lot of other nurses who have call off guilt as well even when it's for a valid reason, but we shouldn't feel guilty when we need to take care of ourselves or our families. Then on the other hand there are staff members who call off for bad dreams without a second thought...yes this has happened.

And as I've said calling off when YOU are sick is appropriate. Calling off to take care of people who are 100% able to care for themselves, well you'll have to make that decision and live with the consequences. I don't know where everyone works, but the hospitals I've worked at you only get 3 sick days a year. After that it's write ups, suspensions then termination.

Oh and in your OP you said you had to take them to the doctors (which if they'd been sick for four days prob could have been done on a non work day). Then you railed on me about leaving your kids "ill and unattended"!!! So it wasn't just taking them to the doc, especially with urgent cares open till 10 pm or later in some places. This was about you not wanting to go to work. Bottom line.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

The only time I've called in this year was when I had to take my husband to the ER at 1am... and that was to say I'd be in a couple hours late. Even with out hardly sleeping that night I didn't want to leave co-workers working short-staffed, because I've done it and it really, really sucks at our facility.

Coming from a non-healthcare background if I'd called in to say I'd taken my hubby to the ER and been up most of the night my manager would of told me to take the day off and she'd make sure I was covered. She likely would have urged me to stay home to take care of both of us. In health care it's "there is no one else, we need you here" no matter how sleep deprived and thus error prone you might be. I don't even want to contemplate being genuinely sick at my current job.

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