Help, I'm a new nurse....worried about losing licensure constantly..

agldragonRN · Mar 23, 2011

you should go to your primary doc tomorrow and get a note if you still need more sick days. oh why would you lose your license? you got your permission from your supervisor to go home and gave report to another nurse, so i don't see any problem.

i hope you feel better soon.

new_worker · Mar 23, 2011

no you should not be worried about loosing you license--- their is nothing to worry about. their is a reason why places have casuals or call-ins. Someone would be happy if they only get call-ins because that's their time to shine lol . BUt seriously you did nothing wrong. If i was manager i would approve of you leaving so that you WONT make a med error or get someone else sick.

QMAN · Mar 23, 2011

I agree. There isn't any problem as long as you get permission from your supervisor and of course, give report to another nurse that is taking over. So, it sounds like you have nothing to be worried about. I wouldn't make a habbit of leaving in the middle of shifts but if your sick, your sick! Hope ya feel better!

AntMarchingRN, RN · Mar 23, 2011

Try looking up your state's regulations on nurses.

That way you know what reasons a nurse could loose a license and you won't be afraid of things like getting sick ending your career. Something like that has no bearing on a license, your job maybe, but not your license.

Being scared like that everyday is asking for trouble. A healthy amount of fear is good so we watch for mistakes, but a constant worry of unrelated things will only continue to make things difficult for you.

Hope you can relax

backatit2 · Mar 23, 2011

i think i must be lucky because i rarely get sick to the point where i can't work. of course i've not felt well, had a cold, and then i threw up daily when i was pregnant - all of which i sucked it up and continued working through. but i can honestly count on one hand with 2 or 3 fingers to spare how many times i've had to call into work for being sick. so naturally when people call in "sick" i'm skeptical - especially since it always seems to be the same people. i don't think if you were throwing up that you'd have any reason to worry about your license! but if you are new on the job i think it would be worth taking a trip to the doctor so your manager will see that you're not someone who abuses the sick policy. my first two weeks of my new job my kids had strep throat (my son had it twice bc the penicillin didn't work on the particular strain) and then he got pneumonia! i was so afraid i'd get sick and it would look bad being as though i was new, but luckily i didn't. had i gotten sick, i would've gone to the doctor bc i wouldn't want to be labeled as one of "those people." unfortunately, so many people are "sick" so often that those of us who really don't abuse the sick policy have the need to defend ourselves when it happens.

KayDubb · Mar 23, 2011

Try looking up your state's regulations on nurses.
That way you know what reasons a nurse could loose a license and you won't be afraid of things like getting sick ending your career. Something like that has no bearing on a license, your job maybe, but not your license.
Being scared like that everyday is asking for trouble. A healthy amount of fear is good so we watch for mistakes, but a constant worry of unrelated things will only continue to make things difficult for you.
Hope you can relax

thanks so much...this did help me a great deal. Ive heard all the horror stories and I guess I got scared. One of the workers called me and said i left the facility short...so I could get into trouble. I told her I got permission from the supervisor...but all she could say is dont count on that helping you. I felt hopeless...like what else could have been done. But even the hubby said "if they take licenses for nurses going home sick, then there sure isnt gonna be many nurses left...people get sick period." Maybe I do worry excessively...maybe nursings not for me....or maybe im still to sick to think clearly.... thanks everyone.

DizzyLizzyNurse · Mar 23, 2011

thanks so much...this did help me a great deal. Ive heard all the horror stories and I guess I got scared. One of the workers called me and said i left the facility short...so I could get into trouble. I told her I got permission from the supervisor...but all she could say is dont count on that helping you. I felt hopeless...like what else could have been done. But even the hubby said "if they take licenses for nurses going home sick, then there sure isnt gonna be many nurses left...people get sick period." Maybe I do worry excessively...maybe nursings not for me....or maybe im still to sick to think clearly.... thanks everyone.

What? Do not listen to this worker.

Fly Guy JB, MSN, RN, EMT-P · Mar 23, 2011

This is a continual worry for nurses and especially new nurses. In nursing school and now in practice I hear almost everyday, "It's your license", which is true, however, they use this for everything! Nurses run scared for their lic. To those nurses I say, "STOP!" You are paralyzing our ranks with unfounded fear!

Our BoN sends out a newsletter that lists all the reasons RNs and PNs lose their license, the usual suspects: 1) Drug/ETOH abuse/failed diversion (a runaway winner), 2) Moral turpitude, 3) losing your lic. in another state for 1 or 2, 4) Practicing w/o a lic./Failing to have enough CEUs. Though it has not been seen in the last 3+ years gross negligence of course is a reason, that is willfully doing the wrong thing.

To all my brothers and sisters I say, "Stop running scared!"

~Know your job and do the right thing

~Drink responsibly, don't use or divert drugs

~Don't sleep with your pt. or their family members

~Get your CEUs/renew your lic. on time

Stepping off of my personal soapbox....

rn/writer, RN · Mar 23, 2011

AntMarchingRN said it well:

Being scared like that everyday is asking for trouble. A healthy amount of fear is good so we watch for mistakes, but a constant worry of unrelated things will only continue to make things difficult for you.

We should all stay alert and aware so that we practice well and don't fall into any rabbit holes, but the kind of anxiety you are describing can prove to be a distraction, making you more prone to making the very mistakes you seek to avoid.

It also turns you into someone who is easier to manipulate. The fact that your manager tried to guilt you into staying after you'd thrown up several times is appalling. Where is her concern, not only for you, but for the residents who probably don't want a side order of stomach virus with their meds?

You have to go to work every day believing that you're going to give it your best and that has to be good enough.

If you find yourself in tough or scary situations often enough, it may be that this particular job is the clinker in the equation, not you.

Whatever you do, please, find a way to discharge this crippling anxiety and build some confidence into yourself.

Keep a small notebook for quickly jotting down questions/problems during your shift so you can address them when you're not under the gun. Also write down small successes so you can remember them when you're feeling inadequate.

Do your job. Connect with your patients. Be kind to yourself. Believe you can do this. Breathe.

SeeTheMoon · Mar 23, 2011

I see posts like this all the time. As a student, I'm starting to get scared. It seems as though it is always such an issue for a nurse to be (gasp!) Sick! Are most places really this harsh on justified absences? The poor OP, sick as all get out, and the supv doesn't want her to leave? What about those w/ small children? I guess my question is, are nurses really reprimanded so harshly when they TRULY need to ne out?

Heidi the nurse, BSN, RN · Mar 23, 2011

RIGHT ON PA ED!

I am rarely sick, but am a single mom with 3 school aged children. For the last 5 years that I have worked at my current job I usually have to call in at least once a month due to someone being sick. If someone gave me any flack about it, I would quit.

My health and that of my children is more important than my job or even my license. Guess I just am jaded after 20 years of having to put up with attitudes from co-workers that you are faking it if you call in sick. Or that you are somehow not a good nurse. I worked in a hospital with mandatory overtime when I was pregnant with my first child 15 years ago. I was the next one in line to do mandatory overtime and of course someone called in that day. I got about 2 hours into that shift when I noticed I was bleeding. They were reluctant to allow me to go home. I was about 6 months along at the time, I ended up being on bedrest for a couple weeks and he was born 10 weeks early. Working overtime wasn't the reason, but I still got sideways looks when I needed to go home. Needless to say I didn't return to that job.

We are the front line in keeping people well. Look at the swine flu pandemic last year - what would have happened if it had been as bad as they feared and a slew of sick nurses had shown up because they were afraid to call in sick. No wonder people don't want to become nurses :crying2: