Feeling sick but don't want to call out on first day of orientation

[NurseLoveJoy88]

Just need to vent- I feel sick as a dog and today is my first day of orientation for a new job in LTC. I'm supposed to go in at 3pm but debating whether I should call out or request to leave early. I just hate to have a call out on my record so soon.

[leslie :-D]

If I were a patient and had a nurse come in to take care of me looking sick as a dog, I would ask for another nurse. I'm immunocompromised; I don't need your germs.

i would hope a sick nurse would know enough, to refuse an assignment w/an immunocompromised pt.

leslie

[OCNRN63, RN]

i would hope a sick nurse would know enough, to refuse an assignment w/an immunocompromised pt.

leslie

Patients deserve to be taken care of by nurses who aren't ill. Co-workers deserve to work with colleagues who aren't ill. Someone once insisted on coming to work hacking and coughing. As a result, I got her germs, got really sick and wound up with asthma. And that was before I became immunocompromised.

[46oldnewrn]

Hmmm..... look at all of the posts of other nurses not getting a job ANYWHERE and then make your decision.

[SweetseRN]

I am surprised by how many people are telling this poor nurse to suck it up and go to work "sick as a dog." It's unsafe to go in that sick. Not only are you putting your patients and coworkers at risk for contracting your illness, but who can think straight when they are that ill? I hope you are home resting in bed right now. Feel better.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Most facilities have attendance policies; is it worth using up an inexcused absence on your FIRST day?

Of course it's better to not work sick. Anybody work somewhere where they support that? Are concerned for YOUR health?

GO in, let them decide. Wear a mask.

[Hygiene Queen]

I am surprised by how many people are telling this poor nurse to suck it up and go to work "sick as a dog." It's unsafe to go in that sick. Not only are you putting your patients and coworkers at risk for contracting your illness, but who can think straight when they are that ill? I hope you are home resting in bed right now. Feel better.

We all know this, but gee... some employers just don't care.

And who hasn't shook their heads with a "tsk tsk" when the newbie calls in. You know they are thinking, "sick, my butt!".

I'd go in and let them send me home.

Sad but true.

[46oldnewrn]

Sorry, just have to say, If you are well enough to post on allnurses.com I think that you would be alright to go to work. I only call off if I think I am on my death bed, or if I thought I would infect someone. If I were that sick, I would not be on the internet. Just my two cents.

[noahsmama]

Sorry, just have to say, If you are well enough to post on allnurses.com I think that you would be alright to go to work. I only call off if I think I am on my death bed, or if I thought I would infect someone. If I were that sick, I would not be on the internet. Just my two cents.

Have to say that I disagree with that. I'm quite capable of posting on the Internet with a fever of 103 in between bouts of vomiting or diarrhea -- takes about two minutes and I can go right back to bed afterwards, take a nap, and check for responses when I wake up. Can't really go to work in that condition, though.

Apples and oranges......

Just my two cents.

(ETA: And yes, sometimes I am on the Internet when I'm that sick -- when I'm home sick I get bored easily, and the Internet is one of my main sources of entertainment.)

[wooh, BSN, RN]

In the perfect world of textbook nursing, of course you should call in and not expose your patients and coworkers. In the real world? In this job market? With the reality of hospital call-in policies that punish you for doing the right thing? Created by hospitals that care more about profit than patient safety and would rather have sick nurses making patients sicker than pay for a relief nurse? Heck yeah, I'd be pulling the IV pole behind me.

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

I would go in unless you are contagious with the flu, stomach bug, strep, or something else you REALLY wouldn't want someone to get. In that case, go to the dr. so you can get a note. If you are coming down with a cold or just generally don't feel well, go in. Calling off is something that REALLY doesn't go over well in health care. If you aren't going to the doctor for it, I honestly wouldn't call off. I don't call off without a dr.'s note to go in my file. I called off in 2009 when I had H1N1, but other than that, I haven't ever called off.

What is this people say if you are well enough to post, you are well enough to work... You can post from a phone, Ipad, or laptop while in bed between barfing episodes or trips to the bathroom. You don't have to be totally knocked out to be too sick to work. What about those who are hospitalized but posting from their smartphones? I was posting while in transition during labor, and again as soon as baby was taking his first nap. Should I have been at work, knowing a baby was going to pop out of me within minutes?

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I remember doing an internship my junior year of college. I had a week worth of orientation where I was barfing everyday. I pretty much didn't eat or drink anything that full week. On Friday afternoon I drove myself straight to the ER after work ended, was admitted, and left Sunday afternoon to go back to the internship on Monday. Good times.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

i would hope a sick nurse would know enough, to refuse an assignment w/an immunocompromised pt.

leslie

So what if all your patients are immunocompromised? And really, anyone who is sick enough to be in the hospital probably has some degree of immunocompromise (?) due to age, drugs, pre-existing illness, etc. Long term care is full of older adults who can't fight off infections well and get more seriously ill when exposed to germs. Just playing devil's advocate here. When I did my internship ill I was doing classroom work.