They called the cops!

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

You are home from work today and you and your SO are having a lovely, relaxing time together when suddenly, the doorbell rings. You go to the door. A policeman is there. You open the door and he informs you that your co-workers called him to check on you because you were a no-call, no-show for your shift today!

It is exactly 1 ½ hours into your shift. You check and sure enough, there are messages on your phone from work. You apparently did not get the latest version of schedule changes.

How would you feel?

Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice.

Like they care about me, but totally overreacted!

Specializes in LTC, med-surg.

:eek:Wow, I would be shocked.

But if you are never late, don't call out a lot and return calls on a regular basis I can see why people at work would be worried about your safety. I had a charge nurse go as far as looking up my neighbors number just before I finally got home ad called back (i was convinced I had the night off). I'm always 15 min early, never call out and return calls promptly.

What a way to ruin your day off though.

Diana

My schedule had a split weekend (off Sunday and Monday). So when I looked at it and saw what I thought was the weekend, it just messed me up for the whole week and I ended up being a 'no show/no call'. I had even told some of my friends at work how much I was looking forward to that night off :stone

I had stayed up through the day and went to bed extra early, and was soon fast asleep. Because of my two (yeah, two) stalkers, my co-workers were afraid something had happened and were on the verge of calling the cops... I just happened to see the phone flashing when I woke up to use the bathroom.

I was soooo embarrassed. They told me they were so glad I was alive they weren't angry about me not showing up :lol2:

Specializes in OB.

Happened to me once also - schedule was changed while I was off, then when the house super tried to call me the phone was busy, busy, busy. (Talking with a long winded old friend). He finally decided to have the operator break in on the call, which happened just as I hung up the phone. The operator told him there was no one on the line, he called the local police who showed up in full force, lights flashing :redlight:as he was at this point sure that someone had knocked me in the head and I was lying on the floor with the phone off the hook (quite an imagination this guy had!). Being in a small town, half the neighbors had police scanners, so I not only got the police at my door, but half the neighborhood in my yard!:imbar

Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
Happened to me once also - schedule was changed while I was off, then when the house super tried to call me the phone was busy, busy, busy. (Talking with a long winded old friend). He finally decided to have the operator break in on the call, which happened just as I hung up the phone. The operator told him there was no one on the line, he called the local police who showed up in full force, lights flashing :redlight:as he was at this point sure that someone had knocked me in the head and I was lying on the floor with the phone off the hook (quite an imagination this guy had!). Being in a small town, half the neighbors had police scanners, so I not only got the police at my door, but half the neighborhood in my yard!:imbar

Everyone in your neighborhood showing up is one of the reasons I don't like my daughter to call 911. Rescue squad, fire truck and a police officer is generally the response. And it pulls out all the neighborhood, who stand and stare, then come up and want to know what happen. I really don't know what is so interesting to my neighbors.

Now, when three police officers cars, plus three fire trucks arrived at my front door, it was a good thing the neighbors turned out. I set fire to something on my stove, a month after I moved into my new apartment. It gave one of the chief's to give a lecture to my neighbors about the danger and foolishness of leaving something on the stove cooking. I wanted to die. The cops put the fire out. The fire department just set up a big fan to blow all of the smoke out.

Woody

Specializes in ER.

OverKill!! all i can think of is how i would do that to this person when they are a no call no show... hee hee hee jk.

Specializes in Emergency.

One of my co-workers missed work one day, and phone calls to her home went unanswered. She then missed the next day, so the charge nurse sent the police to her home. From what I understand, she was found unresponsive and ended up spending some time in ICU.

If the police were sent to my home under similar circumstances as yours, I'd feel glad knowing that my co-workers got my back even if nothing is truly wrong...

Specializes in Jack of all trades, and still learning.
One of my co-workers missed work one day, and phone calls to her home went unanswered. She then missed the next day, so the charge nurse sent the police to her home. From what I understand, she was found unresponsive and ended up spending some time in ICU.

If the police were sent to my home under similar circumstances as yours, I'd feel glad knowing that my co-workers got my back even if nothing is truly wrong...

this comment makes one realise that, funny as it seemed, it shows that your colleagues care about you. Not only that, this is not a normal behaviour of yours not to turn up. It may be a little embarrassing, but I think it is lovely...

Specializes in LTC/Rehab,Med/Surg, OB/GYN, Ortho, Neuro.

Slightly off topic, but along the same line of thought...

I lived in a small town before moving to Texas. One night, I worked 7P-7A, and didn't get out of there until almost 12P (the night from h e double hockey sticks, that I still have nightmares about). Anyhoo, I made it home and crashed and burned. At that time, my kids were being driven to and from school, so w/ school letting out at 2:45, I would get there around 2, because the line was horrible if u showed up after that. Anyway, I did set the alarm on my phone and my clock so that I would be up in time. Lo and behold, I woke up to someone pounding at my door and the phone ringing. At the door was the secretary from my youngest's school and on the phone was the office from the older one's school. I look at the time it was almost 4P!!! The secretary told me that they were getting concerned because I hadn't showed up to pick up the youngest and couldn't get a hold of me, so they called the other school to see if I had picked up her sister. When they found out I hadn't, they called my work, who in turn called my mother, who in turn called the cops, because they knew I worked nights and was always there to get my kiddos on time. I didn't hear the alarms go off, the numerous times the phone rang and all the messages left on the machine.

Yeah, it annoyed me to no end that all that fuss was made, but I'm very grateful for all of those that were watching out for my girls and me.

Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, Home Health, Oncology.

Hi,

We called for a well-being check on one of our Day-shift Nurses who did not show up; she was always there about 30 min. early. Well, of course, we waited a couple of hours & then called. She had been off for 2 days prior to this day.

The Police went over to her apartment. They found her dead. She had committed suicide --they estimated--on the first day she had been off. She was a wonderful, thoughtful young woman--no one would have ever thought she would have done this. We were all quite broken up about this.

We were so saddened that she hadn't felt comfortable enough with any of us that she could have talked & shared with us.

This happened several years ago, & I still remember it as if it was just yesterday. That's why I still get a bit freaked when people don't show up when they normally do.

Never got the cops called on me, but I did have a co-worker banging on my door getting ready to call the cops one time. I had went on a blind date :uhoh3: and was late for work first time in the four years that I had worked there... My co-workers knew what was I was doing that night and thought for sure that I had been murdered. Needless to say I hadn't been murdered, but I wasn't use to being at work at 4am in the morning when I got home at midnight/one am!

I guess, it shows that they care about you and that you are diligent to be on time, but geez I'd be embarrassed!!

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