Co-worker hitting up the Dr.s for meds during shift?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

The other day, a new nurse in our dept. (well-baby nursery) came to work sick (elevated temp and sore throat). The charge nurse wouldn't tell her to go home (didn't want to hurt her feelings :rolleyes: ). She said she was going to ask the Dr. to give her a Rx when she made rounds. I thought this was inappropriate, and I told her so. Our unit director came in later in the morning and sent her home.

Am I the only one who feels it is unprofessional to come to work sick and then hit up the docs for an exam and some meds?

Specializes in Emergency Nursing, Endoscopy Nursing, me.

I do not see it as a drain if someone legitimately does not feel well..i have known of people who had to go because they didnt feel well..just vague symptoms and upon investigation it turned out to be a more serious matter..now if they were just allowed to go home without being seen they may have never followed up or worse..now I know this is the exception rather than the rule but its jmo...

Specializes in ICU,ER.

I just never have felt right about asking for an RX. It's just my personal issue....but it is one of those humbling experiences that I just don't do too well with. I guess I have too much silly pride.

was dx with pleuritic chest pain and told to go back to work. i even wrote it in her dc instructions, and did not give her a work excuse. however, she chose to go home anyway. there was no way i could tell the admin supervisor what her dx was or that she was told to return to work.

in our er if an employee is given time off for any reason, the staffing office is notified by the er. not the diagnosis or even why the employee was seen, just that s/he will not be back to work until such-n-such date. this is also done if a child of an employee is seen and the parent needs time off, so the parent doesn't get hassled by staffing.

professional courtesy would be great. as long as youre not bothering a doctor, such as in asking something so trivial or asking him while hes busy with rounds, then i dont see why not. a simple ailment that can be remedied at work can take out unecessary absences. in fact, it would be better for the hospital to provide such feature in their system. like an employee clinic, one that employees can go to prior to a shift in case they feel sick. this will ensure that each that all types of employees go to work healthy, as you know, infection can be so easily transmitted.

im sure there are some doctors that also do informal consults with their colleagues. one might just think that they dont want consults from us bec, u know, were just nurses.

but the feverish nurse is a different story. she should not have gone to work without a doctors permission as she was in the well baby unit.

Specializes in OR.

Ironically, this happened to me today. I have pinkeye(lucky me!):eek: and since I am orienting and we've been short staffed, I went in. I think I was in a little bit of denial too(thought it was allergies. Turns out a coworker had it last week.) They took one look at my eye and told me to go home. One of the docs overheard and offered to write me a prescription for drops but they ended up sending me to employee health and they gave it to me free.

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I worked for 10 years in a big ER. In the beginning, docs did write scripts as professional courtesy. However, in the last five years, it is now policy to not write scripts and both MD and employee are subject to disciplinary measures.

There is sound reasoning behind this: once a script is written, that establishes a doctor/patient relationship. This is not something our MD's wanted or needed.

I am now finding as an APN in outpatient dialysis that I am hit up daily for scripts for UTI's, flu, n/v/d, etc., plus hypertension med refills, etc.. I don't want to refuse, but have so far because its just not safe practice.

IL is one of the highest litigation states and I don't need my name on the list.

At the hospital I worked at, it was very much against the rules to ask for a "hallway consult." The biggest reason is the paper trail...there is no place for the doctor to document that he wrote you a script, there is no assessment, no history, and no $$$ for the doctor. It also puts the doctor in an awkward position if it is something he doesn't want to do...not fair to them. It can distract the doctor from what he is supposed to be doing...teh one I worked for said it bothered him because he would be thinking about another patient and then a nurse came up and started asking him about something else, and he would forget what he was doing before.

It still happens once in a while though...when I had West Nile, one of the doctors heard me throwing up and offered to give me some phenergan supps...I declined, but called my doctor the next day and he wrote the script for me. I used to see a lot of staff hitting doctors up for refills...not a big deal but again, no documentation...and if they tell someone the see in the hall they will call something in and they forget, the nurses catch it when the patient finally calls the office! :)

I worked at one place where if someone called in sick and the shift was already short, staffing would tell that person they HAD to come in. One nurse was puking and pooping and was told to come in anyway.....she spent most of her shift in the bathroom.

Where I am now, there was a house supe who would ask what was wrong. Most times people answered automatically, then she would say "Why can't you work with that?"

That's why when I call in sick, I don't ASK...I TELL them, " I am sick, I won't be in today!" Don't give them the option and I would have told them, no, I am not coming in because I'll be spending all day in the bathroom!

It does burn me that nurses are not allowed the same privileges of being ill like the nonmedical person is.

Specializes in ED.

If it were me I wouldn't come to a well baby or any other nursery sick. We tell family members all the time not to come to the hospital to see newborns when they are sick, same applys don't it?

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Don't give them the option and I would have told them, no, I am not coming in because I'll be spending all day in the bathroom!

I dare work to ask me why i won't be in, because i'll get graphic. Chunks, color, smell, burning, TP and trashcan usage, i won't care.

Specializes in CT ,ICU,CCU,Tele,ED,Hospice.

i agree a nures with temp and in well baby should not go in .but there is pressure to work even when sick .it has happened to me .it bothers me alot that just because we are nurses we are not allowed to be sick .(and by sick i mean really sick).few yrs ago i worked in er .i had to call out 3 days in a row because i am asthmatic couldn't breathe was having freq asthma attacks and running fever >102 i had seen my dr was on meds and using inhalers i had bronchitis i had to speak with my boss each time and on the 3 rd day i called out she told me over the phone and i qoute" i think its time you find another job".i gave my 3wks notice and i left .when i went back to work she only spoke to me 1 x before my last day.she knew she had been wrong .

Specializes in OR, MS, Neuro, UC.

Was this new nurse on probation and afraid to call off sick? Had her health insurance kicked in yet?

+ Add a Comment