Snow emergency excuse?

Nurses General Nursing

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so, here in nyc, we're expecting a big one this weekend. my friend is working tomorrow night, and is anticipating a problem getting in to work already (they're saying it's going to be at it's worst during her commute in).

so here's my beef: although she is my good friend, she lives 35 miles from work, as do many of the others (some live further than that). i, on the other hand, live about 5 miles away. every winter, i hear about how these people can't get to work because of the snow, or their mother, father, husband or dog will not let them drive in the snow to work. am i the only one who feels that we, as health care professionals, have an obligation to get to work?? and also, isn't this something you need to consider when you decide to take a job that is so far from your home?? now, i'm talking about nyc/long island, where there is a hospital every 5 miles, not the boon docks (where some of you may be). and i'm also not talking about a school nurse job or a doctor's office, where no one would be there anyway if the weather is bad. it's a hospital, where sick people are, and will stay, until they get better.

i just can't bear to listen to the complaining anymore, especially when i don't agree with their rationale. i can get into an accident on my way in, too. i can't not say anything (i'm just not that type), so i know i'm not going to be popular when i get into work tonight. speaking of tonight, i'm working overnight. so my friend calls me up and says "they might start holding people over before it snows, so you might have to stay". my shift ends at 8 am, and the snow is supposed to begin in the afternoon. i can't imagine that they would hold the entire night shift over in anticipation for a storm.

As an admnistrator, we know who is going to make it in to the hospital, and we know the nurses who aren't even going to try. The longer we have to prepare for the snow emergency, the more that we should be doing for our staff, that always support us.:nurse:

Last winter I worked 75 minutes away, here in NY, by the lake we get snow, snow, snow!!! There were many mornings I had to get up at 330am to snow blow my driveway to get out and give myself enough time to get there at 7am. Then I get to work to find that the locals couldn't do it... while i had been "plowing" through 3 feet in places (before the plows were out)! Now, that got old real quick and in the spring I did change to something closer.

but you can't live in NY where it snows and not know it's your responsibility to get up early, dig yourself out and have plenty of time to drive in at a very safe and slow speed and have an overnight bag ready in your car because ya just never know when the snow won't stop falling :uhoh3: :uhoh3:

Now, those that are dealing with ICE storms.... forget it !!! if you're at work... you're stuck until the clean up crews make it safe.... hence the overnight bag!!!!

right now I'm sure some administrative idiot is telling an employee to brave the ice and get in. Sure I will when I can put blades on my tires and skate in :rotfl:

As an admnistrator, we know who is going to make it in to the hospital, and we know the nurses who aren't even going to try. The longer we have to prepare for the snow emergency, the more that we should be doing for our staff, that always support us.:nurse

I had an CNA trying to call in at the last minute today ,because of snow It was not that bad yet ,saying her car had slid off I told her I would come and get her and take her to the clients home I had a snow shovel .She went (ugg ugg )My brothers coming to get me so he can take me to work . I said great Thanks have a nice day.

:rotfl:

Last winter I worked 75 minutes away, here in NY, by the lake we get snow, snow, snow!!! There were many mornings I had to get up at 330am to snow blow my driveway to get out and give myself enough time to get there at 7am. Then I get to work to find that the locals couldn't do it... while i had been "plowing" through 3 feet in places (before the plows were out)! Now, that got old real quick and in the spring I did change to something closer.

but you can't live in NY where it snows and not know it's your responsibility to get up early, dig yourself out and have plenty of time to drive in at a very safe and slow speed and have an overnight bag ready in your car because ya just never know when the snow won't stop falling :uhoh3: :uhoh3:

Now, those that are dealing with ICE storms.... forget it !!! if you're at work... you're stuck until the clean up crews make it safe.... hence the overnight bag!!!!

right now I'm sure some administrative idiot is telling an employee to brave the ice and get in. Sure I will when I can put blades on my tires and skate in :rotfl:

Thats funny you mentioned skating into work. Where I live you can actually do that on the canal. The longest skating rink in the world! So whenever a manager says "So what if the car won't start..you got skates!"

The mean it... :chuckle

so, here in nyc, we're expecting a big one this weekend. my friend is working tomorrow night, and is anticipating a problem getting in to work already (they're saying it's going to be at it's worst during her commute in).

so here's my beef: although she is my good friend, she lives 35 miles from work, as do many of the others (some live further than that). i, on the other hand, live about 5 miles away. every winter, i hear about how these people can't get to work because of the snow, or their mother, father, husband or dog will not let them drive in the snow to work. am i the only one who feels that we, as health care professionals, have an obligation to get to work?? and also, isn't this something you need to consider when you decide to take a job that is so far from your home?? now, i'm talking about nyc/long island, where there is a hospital every 5 miles, not the boon docks (where some of you may be). and i'm also not talking about a school nurse job or a doctor's office, where no one would be there anyway if the weather is bad. it's a hospital, where sick people are, and will stay, until they get better.

i just can't bear to listen to the complaining anymore, especially when i don't agree with their rationale. i can get into an accident on my way in, too. i can't not say anything (i'm just not that type), so i know i'm not going to be popular when i get into work tonight. speaking of tonight, i'm working overnight. so my friend calls me up and says "they might start holding people over before it snows, so you might have to stay". my shift ends at 8 am, and the snow is supposed to begin in the afternoon. i can't imagine that they would hold the entire night shift over in anticipation for a storm.

when all three hurricanes hit here in florida 6 months ago we were expected to pack a bag and come in to work. not one person complained.

we are a level 1 trauma center and we had patients flying from other hospitals to ours because the smaller hospitals were closing their doors.

i believe that we an nurses owe it to our patients to be there for them whether it be rain/sleet/snow/hail/tornadoes/hurricanes/earthquakes.

denise rn, bsn, ccrn

When all three hurricanes hit here in Florida 6 months ago we were expected to pack a bag and come in to work. Not one person complained.

We are a level 1 trauma center and we had patients flying from other hospitals to ours because the smaller hospitals were closing their doors.

I believe that we an Nurses owe it to our patients to be there for them whether it be rain/sleet/snow/hail/tornadoes/hurricanes/earthquakes.

Denise RN, BSN, CCRN

Well said. :)

Isn't that when we could be needed the most?

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
last winter i worked 75 minutes away, here in ny, by the lake we get snow, snow, snow!!! there were many mornings i had to get up at 330am to snow blow my driveway to get out and give myself enough time to get there at 7am. then i get to work to find that the locals couldn't do it... while i had been "plowing" through 3 feet in places (before the plows were out)! now, that got old real quick and in the spring i did change to something closer.

but you can't live in ny where it snows and not know it's your responsibility to get up early, dig yourself out and have plenty of time to drive in at a very safe and slow speed and have an overnight bag ready in your car because ya just never know when the snow won't stop falling :uhoh3: :uhoh3:

now, those that are dealing with ice storms.... forget it !!! if you're at work... you're stuck until the clean up crews make it safe.... hence the overnight bag!!!!

right now i'm sure some administrative idiot is telling an employee to brave the ice and get in. sure i will when i can put blades on my tires and skate in :rotfl:

i lived and worked in wisconsin for years -- always made it to work in the snow, even if i was 90 miles away at my parents' house the night before. but you're right -- i'd drive 90 miles to work in a snowstorm only to find out that the folks who lived within walking distance didn't even bother to try. :angryfire if you live where it snows, you'd better figure out how to get to work in the snow, because it's your responsibility. i have to have a tad bit of sympathy for the administrative supervisors who take the call-ins and know that so-and-so lives a half mile from the hospital and "can't make it in." i can understand why they're suggesting you "skate in."

while i've never actually skated to work, i have cross country skiied in more than once!

The ones that call in are the ones that live within 5 miles of the hospital.

Although don't have snow emergencies here in Savannah, last year we were on hurricane alert multiple times. We have teams that alternate being in the hospital for alerts so no one person is supposed to get stuck with being at the hospital for extended periods. The only persons in my area were nurses with families that had to be with them during the alert so the single staf were stuck there.

I am wondering what the single parents did when they work 7-3p, storm comes in, and they mandated you to stay, no family in area, child in daycare that will close, how have you handled that??? Daycare isn't staying open, you don't know anybody.....and manager doesn't care its not her problem....

You have to get to know people in your area, plain and simple. I have a spouse, but he is in the medical field and not available either, so I've found other "medical families" (as I call them) that we have made emergency plans with. Over the years it has worked out to, if someone calls needing a child/children watched, the answer is yes, no questions asked. No one (fortunately) has ever abused the system and our families have seen each other through many types of major and minor disasters. (We have no family in this area, one family has a large extended family, but choses our little "medical family" due to the "no questions" policy.)

If you have no family, I encourage you to build your own support system.

so, here in nyc, we're expecting a big one this weekend. my friend is working tomorrow night, and is anticipating a problem getting in to work already (they're saying it's going to be at it's worst during her commute in).

so here's my beef: although she is my good friend, she lives 35 miles from work, as do many of the others (some live further than that). i, on the other hand, live about 5 miles away. every winter, i hear about how these people can't get to work because of the snow, or their mother, father, husband or dog will not let them drive in the snow to work. am i the only one who feels that we, as health care professionals, have an obligation to get to work?? and also, isn't this something you need to consider when you decide to take a job that is so far from your home?? now, i'm talking about nyc/long island, where there is a hospital every 5 miles, not the boon docks (where some of you may be). and i'm also not talking about a school nurse job or a doctor's office, where no one would be there anyway if the weather is bad. it's a hospital, where sick people are, and will stay, until they get better.

i just can't bear to listen to the complaining anymore, especially when i don't agree with their rationale. i can get into an accident on my way in, too. i can't not say anything (i'm just not that type), so i know i'm not going to be popular when i get into work tonight. speaking of tonight, i'm working overnight. so my friend calls me up and says "they might start holding people over before it snows, so you might have to stay". my shift ends at 8 am, and the snow is supposed to begin in the afternoon. i can't imagine that they would hold the entire night shift over in anticipation for a storm.

i worked in a hospital that did not/does not allow anyone to miss b/c of storms. we had a devastating ice storm in the ne, hubby's chain saw'd their wives to work. if you can not make it to work, they will send security for you, if security can not make it to your house you are excused from work. during this ice storm, we lived without electric for days, some for weeks, but only one was unable to make it to work. the hospital did provide scrubs and a place to stay but since i only lived 35 steps from the hospital door, i did not need the assistance.

i think your friend is thinking this is like school.........whoopee, a snow day! some one should share the fact, this is real life, co-workers are ready to be relieved and the ill, injured and dying are waiting. just how dedicated is this person?

Specializes in Home care, assisted living.

We recently had an icestorm here in Georgia. It was anticipated to happen overnight, so those on morning shift, including kitchen staff, were offered the option of sleeping at work overnight. We had a vacant retirement apt. available with air beds, washer and dryer, bathrooms, tolietries and a TV and DVD player. Not bad accomodations! :coollook:

Well, several of them declined and decided instead to try the roads in the morning. Surprise surprise! They called in. The maintenance director was screaming at them on the phone because they were clearly warned about the weather and encouraged to come to work early. Then they were told that if they valued their jobs, they would find a way to work. One of those who tried to call in ended up in the ditch with a flat tire. (She was unhurt.)

I'm just thankful that I already had to work 11-7, although I had failed to bring a change of clothes or tolietries. Thankfully my co-workers who stayed over had provisions. It was an interesting two days, and I learned how to walk on ice using a bedsheet (otherwise I would have broken my neck).

I don't mind staying if the weather is bad, but the hospital should make some accommodations for staff.

I remember being mandated to stay during a bad snowstorm. The hospital let us sleep on the floor in a conference room...no pillows, no blankets, nothing. That really cheesed me off.

I won't try to kill myself to get to work if there's bad ice...sorry, but no job is worth losing your life (or killing someone else in an accident).

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