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

[KayDubb]

Tonight was a bad night at work...I got some kind of stomach bug or something and had to constantly leave the med cart to go throw up. I contacted my supervisor for permission to go home...I was so afraid of making a med error....well she didnt want me to leave...but I told her no way was I able to stay. So finally she agreed and got someone to come over to help about a half hour later. They made me feel so guilty for being sick. I didnt want to have to leave...but there was no choice. Now being a new nurse I'm worried...did I do something so wrong that I could risk losing my license? I asked for permission to leave...on top of still being sick....I'm over taken with fear....are we not allowed to be sick??

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Barf on your supervisor next time and maybe then they will see the need to send you home....:smokin:

[Altra, BSN, RN]

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?[/quote']

Only if you allow it.

I would never work anywhere where a call off produced anymore conversation than, "hello this is Altra, I'm not feeling well and won't be at work today." Supervisor: "OK Altra, take care."

Period.

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

Your boss does not get to tell you when you are too sick to work, that's your decision. It's also a health risk with you vomiting all over the place. Don't feel guilty because your boss sucks. This has nothing to do with your license, unless you just leave. You call your supervisor and say "I have to leave, I'm ill". You must stay and keep your patients safe until relief arrives. Any reasonable employer in health care wants their sick employees to stay home so as to not infect their patients.

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

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?[/quote']

Only crappy employers will give you a hard time about being sick.

[retiredlady]

Forget it, you did fine. You can't work when you are so nauseated that you can't think, that's when you will make mistakes. I say if they don't believe you, throw up in front of them and they will then, lol. That might be the only way, just make it look like you couldn't get to the bathroom in time. You are probably in LTC, but in the hospital, we were sent to the hospital nurse or ER at eves and nights and they would say go home. No, it won't go to the BON. You told the supervisor and reported off. No abandonment. Co-workers are making you feel guilty (they had to work a little harder) , if it were them they would do the same thing (probably with more whining, lol)

[DizzyLizzyNurse]

AntMarchingRN said it well:

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.

That is very true.