To provide an introduction and some background, I am a 23-year old nurse who works in NC at a nationally-acclaimed Magnet hospital and this month marks 13 months that I have been practicing in the nursing profession. I have spent all of this time working on a cardiac telemetry unit, however, I am slated to start my new job in the Neurosurgical ICU in just 11 days.
The company I work for has a very specific, linear absenteeism protocol for supervisors to follow regarding, well, employee absences. You are allowed 3 without any reprimand whatsoever, and any absences taken in consistency (Ex: calling out all 3 days in a week) are considered a single absence "event," which is essentially one absence in the eyes of the employer. The 4th absence or absence event results in a simple informal verbal warning with no real consequence; however, the following absences result in a formal verbal warning, written warning, a final warning, and termination.
My question is: I have just called out for my 5th time and I am afraid this will affect my job status and/or will cause my manager to place a freeze on my already-approved transfer to NSICU. How serious is a formal verbal warning? I am a diligent and reliable employee who has never been reprimanded for anything, and often regarded with a high degree of respect and warmth by my all of my colleagues, including my supervisors and manager. Taking this into consideration, am I in trouble next time I go to work? Should I be concerned for my job? I have a lot of anxiety, so I am already giving myself a stress ulcer.
