Is leaving before hurricane abandonment?

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

Hello all, so I am located at the very end of south Florida near the keys! My question is simply this, I'm supposed to work weekend during this hurricane which some are saying could be deadly. I have a small child and his safety is my priority. I want to evacuate but my job is saying that they could report me for abandonment. I really don't understand how because if I leave from my house, how have I abandoned their residents?? I am an LPN btw

I think the abandonment thing keeps coming up because people use the term as it relates to two different things:

- job abandonment (failure to report for work - which has its own set of related regulations)

- patient abandonment (already described above, different regulations).

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It's called sarcasm

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CNAbutLPN2be2017 said:
It's called sarcasm

What is? To whom are you replying? The quote function is your friend here.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

No, not patient abandonment, but job abandonment, which will likely cost you your position. It's up to you whether it's worth it to not go in.

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vanilla bean said:
What is? To whom are you replying? The quote function is your friend here.

She's responding to me. Pretty sure I'm not the only one who missed the sarcasm.:whistling:

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Specializes in SCRN.

It can be a life or death situation, no job is worth it. They cannot "report" you to nowhere, it is NOT a patient abandonment if you are gave report to other nurse, and went home after the end of your shift.

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CNAbutLPN2be2017 said:
Everyone's situation is different and I'm not gonna sit on here and argue about that. They put out schedules out at the end of last month for this month. Had I known about a hurricane at the time the schedule was made, I would have requested off. Also, my job is very unorganized, and I dint have time for that! Especially if my child is involved

Some places are evacuating if they're right near the coast. I guess yours isn't?

Any chance you can take your little one to work with you? Lots of employers encourage workers to do that.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
CNAbutLPN2be2017 said:
My husband is a correctional officer so he Might have to stay until this thing is over as well. My closest relative lives in Atlanta but I'd have to drive up there and drop him off. I'm supposed to work tomorrow so I pretty much I have to make a decision now because I won't be driving bs k if I do

You live in an area that has hurricanes, you've accepted a job with 24/7 staffing requirements, and your husband apparently has as well. So why haven't you discussed prior to this evening what the two of you will do to protect your child in this situation? It isn't as if Irma popped up last night. You knew you were scheduled to work; surely your husband must have known that he would also need to be at work. The time to be making this plan was back in June, but five days ago would have been better than tonight.

I must be cranky after all those hours of hurricane prep in the past two days.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
dishes said:
This why all employers should have a disaster plan prepared well ahead of time. The employer is responsible for creating a list of employees who agree they can make it into work and the amount of time the employee would need to prepare to come to work.

And all employees who accept jobs with hospitals, nursing homes and any other 24/7 facility should have their own disaster plan in place that they can execute well in advance of when they'll be needed at work. Honestly, this comes up before any "weather event." Snow storms, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions . . . even riots . . . and immediately after tornadoes and earthquakes. If you're going to take the job, have a plan. Most employers tell you right up front that you WILL be expected to work.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
Ruby Vee said:
You live in an area that has hurricanes, you've accepted a job with 24/7 staffing requirements, and your husband apparently has as well. So why haven't you discussed prior to this evening what the two of you will do to protect your child in this situation? It isn't as if Irma popped up last night. You knew you were scheduled to work; surely your husband must have known that he would also need to be at work. The time to be making this plan was back in June, but five days ago would have been better than tonight.

I must be cranky after all those hours of hurricane prep in the past two days.

Maybe cranky, but you're not wrong. When I lived in Florida, all the nurses knew that hurricane duty was a risk of their 24/7 job and that they needed to have a plan for pets, kids, etc. If OP didn't realize this (a new nurse?), then its unfortunate nobody told them sooner. Every place that I worked at had staff fill out paperwork about hurricane plans yearly.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
CNAbutLPN2be2017 said:
Everyone's situation is different and I'm not gonna sit on here and argue about that. They put out schedules out at the end of last month for this month. Had I known about a hurricane at the time the schedule was made, I would have requested off. Also, my job is very unorganized, and I dint have time for that! Especially if my child is involved

Before Irma was even a named storm, we've been watching it develop. We've known for days that it was coming. Why haven't you already figured out that your child would need to be taken to a place of safety so you and your husband could work? Why haven't you already done so?

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Wuzzie said:
Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!:roflmao:

wait...what?!!:down:

Yeah, that one got me, too. Is it possible she's serious?

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