Fake call outs irritate me

[Emergent]

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?

[Stephalump]

One of my agencies was really bad about calling out though.

You had to call out 12 hours before the shift started,or else get written up.

I was written up for calling out 5 hours before the shift started.

That was a little bit extreme to me.

Uh yes, I'd say that's a little extreme, to the point where I'd probably call in MORE, not less, just to be safe. I'm sick right now. Will I still feel too sick to go into work in 12 hours? Dunno, so I'd better call in. My car isn't starting. Will I be able to fix it or get a ride in 12 hours? Dunno, better call in!

[seanynjboy, BSN]

I partially agree with this. Every now and then (very seldomly) I call out when I am not sick. Sometimes I just need a day off. I have not taken a real vacation that was longer than a weekend in almost 8 years. When I traveled back to NJ from AZ, it was during a holiday to see family & friends. It felt like work because I always had so many people to see and such a sort time to do it in. "So much time, so little to do. Strike that...reverse it...Thank you"

However, the one thing I NEVER did was call out after a holiday. I always new those were tough days because there were a lot of people that called out. It happens everywhere.

I also believe people have a moral obligation to come to work, but a lot of times I think my own mental health is more important.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

I don't care who calls and why. However, it is a bit irritating when people do claim to be sick but their facebook shows otherwise.....

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

When I started in nursing, I was given 2 personal days a year. It was understood that they were to be used for unforeseen obligations such as Drs appointments and family emergencies. You didn't have to lie to your supervisor you just said why you needed the personal day and that was respected, even on short notice.

We were paid time and a half for national holidays plus we had 6 days of holiday pay. Vacation hours were earned according to years of service.

I had 400 hours of sick time accrued when I left that position.

The hospital was self insured, employees and their dependents never received a bill. It did not cost me a penny.

We were vested in the retirement plan after five years. It will pay me 1200 per month when I retire. It also did not cost me a penny.

Little by little hospitals have chipped away at and eliminated all of these benefits. Any yearly increase does not even offset the increase in health insurance.

I think it is entirely appropriate to use your PTO as you need to. If I need a mental health day, and I do about every six months, I call out.

I would love to work in a union facility and have the benefits that I used to have as described above. If anyone reading this has a benefit plan similar to this please pm me. I am willing to relocate.

[azhiker96, BSN, RN]

I've worked places where it was a "me versus them" atmosphere. I didn't really care for that much.

Where I work now it is a small, cohesive, supportive environment. Our manager spends a lot of time when she makes the schedule so that people's wants/needs are fulfilled as much as possible while still meeting the needs of the department. If someone calls off, it is rare to not find someone who will come in to cover.

If a nurse wants a shift off, we can trade shifts to allow that. Several times we've traded to allow one of the younger nurses who had been asked out on a night that she worked. I've covered for many other nurses for things like a sick child, sick pet, hot date, tired, doctor's visit, family outing. Others have covered for me to do a half marathon with my daughter and when I've been sick.

We do this because our manager helps us in so many ways and it would be unconscionable to abandon her when she needs help with staffing. In simpler terms, we play well with each other.

[duskyjewel]

Sounds like an awesome workplace azhiker. Wish more were like it.

[MunoRN, RN]

I think my main problem with fake call outs is that you're taking advantage of other nurses. It is possible for management to create a situation where people can just come to work when they feel like it, but that would require have much more on-call/extra staffing ready to go, which nursing staff's are generally opposed to; nobody wants to spend most of their days off tied to your phone and ready to go work.

So to avoid having to that we agree to limit the potential for call-outs by limiting it to actual illness, which then limits the need for back-up/on call staffing. 'Mental health days' are still available, you just have to take them when you're not needed. So what annoys me is that when it's my turn for low census somebody else comes along and snakes by low census by calling out fake sick, which is basically saying they shouldn't have to wait in line like everyone else.

[heron, ASN, RN]

I think my main problem with fake call outs is that you're taking advantage of other nurses. It is possible for management to create a situation where people can just come to work when they feel like it, but that would require have much more on-call/extra staffing ready to go, which nursing staff's are generally opposed to; nobody wants to spend most of their days off tied to your phone and ready to go work.

So to avoid having to that we agree to limit the potential for call-outs by limiting it to actual illness, which then limits the need for back-up/on call staffing. 'Mental health days' are still available, you just have to take them when you're not needed. So what annoys me is that when it's my turn for low census somebody else comes along and snakes by low census by calling out fake sick, which is basically saying they shouldn't have to wait in line like everyone else.

BINGO!

[smartnurse1982]

Sounds like you need to find a new agency.

We had this same discussion about nurses calling out on the Pdn forum.

Most Pdn agencies are worse than the one i described above.

Come to think of it,I do not think i know of one that does offer sick days.

The LTC facility i used to work at got rid of sick,personal,vacation and bundled it into 2 weeks PTO.

The Cna's were in SEIU 1199 but the nurses were not. Strange

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

I couldn't disagree with the OP more. Nursing is a job. We don't have a moral obligation to show up for our jobs any more than stock brokers or waitresses or plumbers have a moral obligation to show up for their jobs.

No one should be asked to work when they don't want to. If people are calling out on holidays and weekends, it is because there isn't adequate incentive to put off play for work on those days. You don't blame the nurses for that. Instead, you should blame their employer for not being worthy enough that people want to avoid calling out. They need to provide a greater incentive for nurses to work on holidays or weekends, or they need to close down beds on those days so that less staff are required. People should be able to work when they want. Period.

Umm, the hospital didn't drag people off the street and demand a person works for them. You sign up for a job/career that mandates holidays, then YOU suck it up and work. It's not rocket science.

How would you like to call 911 and be told that a cop or medic didn't want to work on a holiday so they didn't show up for work?

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

Wow. Just wow.

He is a pot stirrer...

[toomuchbaloney]

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?

Your co-workers are not leaving you understaffed, your employer is leaving you understaffed.

You are fine having that sort of a work ethic, it is not fine to impose it upon someone else and then assign some responsibility to them that is not appropriate.

Our paid time off is part of the compensation package.

As others have said, if a nurse is a habitual call off it will catch up to said nurse eventually. If it doesn't, that says something about your management staff.