Afraid I might get fired

[britpanda]

I've been working at my first nursing job since October 2014...on a fast paced, high patient turnover, observation telemetry unit. I knew pretty quickly that it was going to be a stepping stone position for me but that I would need to stick it out for as long as possible (preferably a year).

Fast forward and now I'm almost five months in and I'm afraid I'm going to get fired because I've had to call out several times. The hospital policy is no more than 5 call outs in a 12 month period and I'm about to go over that because I'm sick and the doctor doesn't want me going to work (for my health as well as for the health of my patients). I have a doctors note but I don't think it matters.

One of the times I called out was because I agreed to stay until 11pm one shift (even though I was supposed to work the next day at 7am) and then ended up having to stay until almost 1am because I was given an unstable patient who I ended up having to call rapid response for and who ultimately was transferred to ICU. I told my manager I would come in the next day but asked if I could come in late given the extenuating circumstances - she said if I want there on time for my shift it would be considered a call out for the whole shift - I decided to do that because to me it's not safe for me to take care of patients on such little sleep.

We have lost 9 veteran nurses over the last 3 months on the unit and are ALWAYS short staffed. Even today when I sent in my doctors note and told her I couldn't come in tomorrow, my nurse manager have me a huge guilt trip about how short they were going to be.

On the upside, I have been recruited by an obgyn office and had an interview there earlier this week so it might all work out ok. If I don't get that job, however, I'm afraid I will be fired from this position and that it will hinder me from finding another job. I have never in my life had to call out so much in a short period of time however my immune system has had a hard time adjusting to life in the hospital and I have been legitimately sick each time I've called out (with the exception of the above situation).

Sorry for the long rambling post...I just wanted to see if anyone has any advice or could provide any guidance in this situation.

[forgivenfaith119]

Is it possible you could afford to go to PT or even PRN until you can find a different job?

I always have advocated trying to stay at a job as a new nurse for at least a year but it sounds like your body is trying to tell you this is too much stress.

What do you do in your downtime? Do you have hobbies?

[britpanda]

Thanks for the reply. I really do need to work full-time in order to avoid having to take out additional student loans (I'm currently in school online for my BSN), however going PRN or PT could be a short-term fix. I'm just concerned that I might not find another FT position that easily and will put myself in a financial bind.

I don't really have any hobbies, other than watching tv and spending time with the family and our doggies. I have always suffered from fatigue which I have learned to live with for the most part but between the switch to 12 hour shifts and the general stresses of hospital nursing, my body isn't reacting too well.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

Any options to transfer to a less hectic unit so maybe you won't get sick as often?

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

Attendance policies such as this one are punitive, not out of any concern for the well-being of staff. Nurses are in intimate contact with SICK people every time they work, and stress levels are very high on most shifts; short-staffing ups the injury risk exponentially. To suggest that they should never be sick/injured themselves is simply ridiculous. But these policies exist all over the place. Having a doctor's note should be a mitigating factor for employers. Obviously, if a nurse catches a communicable disease from a patient (or even from the cashier in the supermarket) s/he should NOT be at work sharing with the rest of the staff and patients. If a nurse suffers a rotator cuff tear and is at high risk for life-long disability with continued lifting and repetitive motion, s/he should not be at work. How long does it take to rack up 5 call-outs in scenarios like this? Don't blink... And don't be guilted into anything. Good managers don't do that to their staff. Does your hospital have an occupational health, safety and wellness department? (It definitely should!) Have your physician contact them directly as soon as possible to head off the possibility of losing your job over legitimate absences. If they're not willing to go the distance for you, there's little else I can suggest.

Do you work in a right-to-work state? If so there might be little you can do about any of it. As for the utterly ludicrous insistence that you appear for work at 7 am after being at work until 1 am of the same day, I would think there are labor laws that cover that kind of situation. It might be worth looking into. You may not be able to get that time back, but you'll know for next time. Also if there's an employee handbook for your workplace, get your hands on a copy and read it through carefully; then there would be no more surprises.

I'm very sorry this is happening to you.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

We get an occurrence whether we have a doctors excuse or not...

[morte, LPN, LVN]

check labor law, about the time required between shifts. i know in one state that i have worked, they can't require you to come back in less than 8 hours...

[lovinglife2015]

What are you doing to boost your immune system? Supplements of Vitamin C, D3, zinc along with kefir and other fermented foods should be taken daily if you hope to improve your immune system. A high quality probiotic wouldn't hurt either along with clean eating.

[britpanda]

Thanks for all of the input. I appreciate it. I'm in Florida and I'm not sure about the labor laws, etc. but I will look into it, as well as the employee manual.

As for my immune system, I'm taking vitamin B13 and vitamin D (more for energy than anything). I'm going to make an appointment with the doctor to discuss any other supplements they would recommend.

To make matter worse (well, more frustrating anyway) is that my drug test for the new position just came back positive because I was stupid enough to take cough syrup with hydrocodone the night before my interview because I'm sick. The prescription was more than a year old so they had to report it as positive. I don't know if that will stop me from being offered the position but I wouldn't be surprised.

I

[lovinglife2015]

When it rains it pours. Why would you need a cough syrup with hydrocodone? Were you that sick?

Anyway, perhaps you would be more suited to a less hectic position such as School Nurse or something similar.

[BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN]

Have your current illness issues been chronic or ongoing? Is it for something, such as asthma exacerbation, that your physician would be able to fill out FMLA paperwork for you on? If that's the case, that may be an option for you to pursue. Having it on file would make it possible to take off the sick time when it has to do with that issue without the employer being able to discipline you for it.

I don't really know what to say about the cough syrup. I know that I take a medication that makes drug screens pop positive but when asked if I have a prescription (and I'm 100% up front about my medications when filling out paperwork) I just say yes. I've never had to prove it.

[britpanda]

I agree that a less stressful position would be the best for my health. As for the cough syrup, yes I was that sick - coughing uncontrollably and I had that from a previous illness. I was completely upfront when the drug screen people called me (a third party) and they called the pharmacy to verify it was a legit prescription (albeit from a whole back which is why they report it as positive because the rx was over a year old). Anyhow, that's neither here nor there. Lesson learned. Now just have to refocus the Job Search, although there's always a chance that the new prospective employer will be understanding.

Each period of illness was a separate event and not a chronic condition. On top of that, since I haven't been there a year I wouldn't qualify for FMLA anyway. Good thought though!

Thanks again for all of the input. I appreciate each and every one of you brainstorming ideas with me!! Now I just have to hunker down and continue the job search!! In the meantime, I'm going to do the most to maximize my health and minimize stresses and I will speak with my manager about whether it is possible to reduce my hours.