Getting sick when your a NICU nurse?

[cherokeesummer]

What is the policy around your NICU for nurses that are sick? I worry because I have a 22 month old son and he is in daycare. He is sick right now, this weekend and I worry because I am diabetic I do often get things easily and keep them longer. Thankfully I've been pretty solid recently but you just never know. Anyway his recent getting ill has made me wonder, what do you do when you are a NICU nurse and you get sick? I mean I don't want to miss work, its my new job LOL I'm in orientation but at the same time you don't want to bring any germs into the NICU. I dont' think we'll do too much patient contact this week (week two of orientation) and I'm not sick or anything now, just thinking of the future and what kinds of things to think about. I've always worked an admin type job, HR work for almost 10 years so I didn't have as much worry and was in the office unless it was really bad.

Thanks in advance for your input!

[JVanRN]

Well our hospital policy for calling in sick is the same as the rest of the hospital. But I find my fellow staffers in NICU seem to be much more understanding about calling in than other areas of the hospital even when short staffed. If you are sick, no one wants you near already immuno compromised babies.

[dawngloves, BSN, RN]

If I am sick, I call out. Just because I am a nurse doesn't make me less infectious or less of a threat to those around me. It is more dangerous for me to go to work sick than it is for Jane Smith, Office Worker, who probably gets less grief for using her sick time.

[palesarah]

When it's a case of "maybe I have a cold, maybe it's allergies, my nose is a little stuffy but not runny if I take Dayquil" kind of thing, most people on my unit will just work through it. Mask on at all times in the unit, gloves & gown for patient contact.

Anything worse, I call out. It's not worth it. I actually had strep throat last month- what 30 year old without kids, gets strep in the summer? It was really weird, no idea how I got that (I was probably 5 the last time I had it!), but I did, so I stayed home until I'd been on antibiotics for 48 hours.

[Jerico, BSN, RN]

If I've got sneezes, sniffles, sore throat and I don't feel like "hell" I go and just wear a mask. If I'm dragging I call in.

If I'm not feeling at least 98% I may make mistakes, and I can't do that with a 780 gramer.

[BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN]

If I am really dragging butt or have a fever I call off, otherwise I wear a mask. We have an unforgiving point system where I work.

[LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP]

Depends on how sick - like most others , if it's just a cold/sinus etc., mask all day. fever/pneumonia/strep etc - that's a call off. You just have to, though you should be as kind about it as possible and do it as soon as possible so it's not left to the last minute!