Fake call outs irritate me

[Emergent, RN]

So, Labor Day weekend is over. We had a couple of obvious fake sick calls, leaving the day shift short. Both of them were by people annoyed with management, nurses who constantly, self righteously proclaim their dedication to patient care and safety, and deride the hospital for understaffing.

I believe that we have a moral obligation to come to work if we are able. We signed up for nursing, knowing that we will have to work on weekends and holidays. How can anyone hold their head up and say they are dedicated to patient safety, when they leave their co-workers short because they want to play?

[Muser69]

I was dedicated for the first 42 years. Now not so much. I finally realized that I care more about me than my job.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

I don't call off on holidays 'cause I like my time and a half.

And, speaking of self righteous.... calling your coworkers that in a post like that is like the pot calling the kettle black.

So, if I call off when I'm not sick I'm putting patients at risk? Don't be so melodramatic. Employees have a right to use the sick time they've earned. Those who abuse it wind up getting canned. I'm a healthy person, it's been years since I've actually been ill. Sorry, I need an extra day off a few times a year, too.

So, yes, there have been occaisons where I call off simply because I want a night off. I always just say "I'm using a sick day" and leave it at that. Nothing "fake" about it. I do not make up sob stories about being sick because I am not a child. I am a grown man and if I am going to use the sick time that I have earned and is part of my compensation I do not need to play out some silly soap opera charade.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Your colleagues can call off if they want. It is up to the facility to cover them.

The dedication to patient safety lies with the hospital.

[Dranger]

I work on holidays like yesterday out of pure financial reasons, it's not my job to figure out staffing. If people want to call out who cares? Staffing goes home every night to sleep in their nice beds while I work my tail off, it's their job to figure out staffing shortages not mine.

If I want to fake call out because they scheduled me 6 out of 7 days for 12 hours shifts, it's not a me problem

[Caffeine_IV]

Working short is working short whether someone is ill, had an accident or they have a hot date. I honestly don't feel anything about it. If someone has a problem with absenteeism, it's up to management to handle it. Sometimes it catches up to them and sometimes not.

[Emergent, RN]

Well, maybe I'm just hung up based on my upbringing. My mother was a teacher and didn't call in sick unless she was really sick. I guess that value was drummed into me while growing up. So, you all don't feel let down by your co-workers when they call in sick on a busy weekend?

I feel an obligation to my co-workers, to not leave them in the lurch and leaving them understaffed. It's not always possible to fill last minute holes, we all know that. Maybe I should let go of my mother's attitudes and loosen up?

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

If one call off is enough to create the hardship you describe, then maybe something is wrong with the way they staff the facility.

Chronic absenteeism catches up with those who abuse it, as another poster pointed out. We will be obliged to provide perfect attendance the day our employer guarantees they will never lay employees off. Or cut our benefits.

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Well, maybe I'm just hung up based on my upbringing. My mother was a teacher and didn't call in sick unless she was really sick. I guess that value was drummed into me while growing up. So, you all don't feel let down by your co-workers when they call in sick on a busy weekend?

I feel an obligation to my co-workers, to not leave them in the lurch and leaving them understaffed. It's not always possible to fill last minute holes, we all know that. Maybe I should let go of my mother's attitudes and loosen up?

i am with you. I have to be really sick to call in on a long weekend. I had to call in last New Years Eve because my Father was in ICU 200 mikes away. I called in 5 days in advance and still felt bad. We used to have a nurse that every year when it was her turn to Christmas would " get sick" or "injured" on the 23 and need until,the 27 off. One year it was her knee. Couldn't walk on it on the 23. Left for a golfing week on the 27.

Managemnt never caught on.

[Emergent, RN]

I suppose I feel that, if I call in sick, I actually enable my employer to save money on staffing. I get the feeling that they don't really mind the rest of us being left in a lurch. They can then force everyone to take heavier patient loads, and not take the rap for it. They especially don't seem to mind on holidays, when they are coughing up more money by paying time and a half. I think they like to make us sweat for that extra pay.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

It is nearly impossible to cover sick calls on a holiday and yes they irritate me.

[heron, ASN, RN]

Me, too. I inherited the immune system of a tank, so I seldom use sick time anyhow, which probably skews my perceptions. This was a good thing since, as a single mom, I could use the time when my son's asthma kicked up. Now, though - I just don't use it.

Let me be clear, though - I agree that staffing is a management problem and that workers have a right to use the time they've earned, for whatever reason they see fit. However, the special snowflakes who seem to think they deserve more holidays off than the rest of us have to take some accountability, too.