I'm just curious. Currently in my area we just had a huge snow/ice storm. Its unsafe to drive in this weather. Since I work for the school system so for the last two days I've been off from work, due to inclement weather. However, what is the policy for nurses at the hospitals or other facilities ?
My mom is a nurse, and today she was scheduled 7a-3p. I was worried for her. She told me that she ended up being 2 hours late due to the weather. Of course there was nothing her boss could say, because saftey is first.
So what is your hospitals policy for inclement weather ?
We are expected to come in, even when the roads are closed. We drive carefully. I can't imagine anyone calling in, living in Central NY - because of snow. Hell, you are living in the wrong place if driving in snow bothers you!!
here in central NC, bc the instance of snow is so rare and often not predicted correctly...... they don't prepare the roads well.
the last snow we had, they predicted 1-2 inches and we got 6-7, the roads were not salted or brined and there was thick layers of ice underneath all the snow. they did not plow very much either. i was sliding everywhere even with 4wd!
it was crazy. i passed atleast 5 accidents on the way to work on the highway! one girl in the hospital parking lot did not put her e-brake on and her car slid down into two other cars which then slid into the railing and one into the street. it was a bad situation, but thank god no one was hurt.
I don't know where you live in CNY, but snow is anything but "rare" where I live. I agree with the road situation though. Some counties just do a better job at plowing and salting than other counties. Where I live, I seriously wonder if the DPW even owns snow plows or salt trucks. The streets are just horrible.
1. My area which hardly ever gets snow or ice nor is it prepared to deal with snow or ice (see previous post)
2. My car also is appropriate for my geograhical area which hardly ever gets snow or ice.
3. I suck at driving in snow or ice (see #1)
As you can see I'm a menace on the road in snow or ice and should be REQUIRED to stay home
Could y'all give us southerners a break??
Here's a general suggestion for you and others who are leery of driving in winter weather, or inexperienced at it: The next snowy day you have that you are scheduled off, take your car (or have someone local take you) to the nearest large empty parking lot (high school or colleges when closed are good). It's great if you can find one with "grades" or hills. Try out various driving maneuvers in this safe area - sharp turns, fast braking, etc. to see how your vehicle responds and try out various corrective actions, try putting the car in low gear and feeling the difference in control with this. Note that this is best in a parking lot with no or few light or power poles...
I did this with my son before I allowed him to get his driver's license in Colorado and it really seemed to help him (and reassured me!)
we have had >87 inches of snow this year. i work nights (usually plows are off the roads > 3hrs before i leave) & am a hour away in good weather! I leave alot earlier. some times i am alittle late, but, those i am coming into relieve dont really care, cause they dont have to stay! I have slept over in an empty bed, more times than i care to admit, because someone who lives 10mins from the hospital "cant get out of their driveway/the roads are too bad" etc...and i drive little 5 speed grocery getter! i wont drive during an ice storm, however! i refuse!
Here's a general suggestion for you and others who are leery of driving in winter weather, or inexperienced at it: The next snowy day you have that you are scheduled off, take your car (or have someone local take you) to the nearest large empty parking lot (high school or colleges when closed are good). It's great if you can find one with "grades" or hills. Try out various driving maneuvers in this safe area - sharp turns, fast braking, etc. to see how your vehicle responds and try out various corrective actions, try putting the car in low gear and feeling the difference in control with this. Note that this is best in a parking lot with no or few light or power poles...
I did this with my son before I allowed him to get his driver's license in Colorado and it really seemed to help him (and reassured me!)
I don't think so. I drive a cadillac. Great idea, though :)
Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.
This Southern gal chose to move from a subtropical climate to a temperate one and so I have to learn to either adapt or hibernate. Note: snow was only something I saw in pictures or magazines for 50 years of my life. I fear losing control of my vehicle and next time, I'll know better and choose a 4WD vehicle over my current sports sedan.
I continue to learn winter driving skills by studying the internet and practice. I also talk to myself out loud A LOT reminding myself to brake gently, break the skid by steering into it and DON'T PANIC AND HIT THE BRAKES. Drive slowly, gain traction using manual transmission. Don't hold the wheel too tight. Pray.
Most of what I've learned is actually from the internet. I've been putting those techniques into application a lot. I'm pretty proud of myself. But still, snow is much easier to deal with than ice.
It's a terrible shock for a southerner to have to drive in ice and snow. Do not try this at home.
in nsg school, it was drilled into our heads, that we were to show up for work- no matter what.
and so, when i was a spanking new grad and held 2 jobs, there was a horrific blizzard.
plowers hadn't been out, public transp wasn't even running except a bus q 3 hrs...it was nuts.
knowing that my car would never make it, i decided to walk.
and i trudged through thigh high snow to work, some areas up to my hips.
i think i was getting hypothermic because at one point, i remember feeling this 'calm' and looked up to the sky, thinking i might start losing consciousness.
3-4 hrs later, i showed up.
drenched, chilled, numb...w/the don waiting at the door.
she looked at her watch, then at me and said, "it's about time".
in nsg school, it was drilled into our heads, that we were to show up for work- no matter what.
and so, when i was a spanking new grad and held 2 jobs, there was a horrific blizzard.
plowers hadn't been out, public transp wasn't even running except a bus q 3 hrs...it was nuts.
knowing that my car would never make it, i decided to walk.
and i trudged through thigh high snow to work, some areas up to my hips.
i think i was getting hypothermic because at one point, i remember feeling this 'calm' and looked up to the sky, thinking i might start losing consciousness.
3-4 hrs later, i showed up.
drenched, chilled, numb...w/the don waiting at the door.
she looked at her watch, then at me and said, "it's about time".
:stone:stone:stone:stone:stone
that was my last day there.
leslie
Please tell me you at least hit her with a snowball!!
Please tell me you at least hit her with a snowball!!
seriously!
my boss, as much of a butthead as he can be, called me at home when it snowed and said if i showed up by 0900, i would still get a full days pay (i drive a good ways to work). i was able to get there a little after 0730, but atleast i wasn't trying to fly down the highway. one of the nuclear techs i'm friendly with spun off the highway and lost a tire, her hubby is a pediatrician @ my hospital and i helped him go pick her up, i wasn't about to let him drive his little tiny car in 7 inches of snow and ice.
i think the climate in NC is so erratic (one day it's 20, the next it's 70), that people really panic when the snow comes. it snows, then it warms up and melts a little, and then theres ice everywhere when it freezes again a few hrs later.... i know how to drive in snow quite well.... i'm worried about the other ppl on the road. i drive as far away from other cars as i can.
i think the climate in NC is so erratic (one day it's 20, the next it's 70), that people really panic when the snow comes. it snows, then it warms up and melts a little, and then theres ice everywhere when it freezes again a few hrs later.... i know how to drive in snow quite well.... i'm worried about the other ppl on the road. i drive as far away from other cars as i can.
If you see a navy caddy on the road stay even farther away!!
That's the thing..when an area doesn't usually get much snow they don't have the equipment to deal with it nor are the residents accustomed to driving in it. I think the only people out on the roads here when it snows are the transplants.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
hmmm, i wonder how well you will sleep that day in your future....
you are the nm. your staff *knows* this about you. your nurses do arrive....one at a time, in pieces and dead. the nurses who didn't want to stay any longer come back.....in pieces and dead. how would you live with yourself then?
or that day your arrogance gets you in that accident with your child(ren) dead in the back seat!
there *are* times where it is absolutely too dangerous. i remember that 5' deep snow on my driveway and the radio announcements that anyone on the road would be arrested.
physicians routinely do 24+hr shifts in a hospital. there are times when the best decision to make is to keep the nurses on shift there safe and caring for patients and tell the other nurses to stay a home where they will live to care for patients another day!
i get that you, for whatever reason, feel you don't need to make it to work during inclement weather. but the previous poster you were chastising with such drama is correct. you choose your career. then you choose a job that requires you to show up whatever the weather. you choose where you live . . . long driveway, country road or a block from the subway that will take you anywhere you need to go. you choose whether to drive a sexy sports car of a four wheel drive. if you've chosen to work somewhere with sick people 24/7 (a hospital for example) then your other choices ought to reflect an intent to actually get there. even if that choice involves staying in a hotel down the street the night before your shift when you know there's snow coming.
Babs0512
846 Posts
We are expected to come in, even when the roads are closed. We drive carefully. I can't imagine anyone calling in, living in Central NY - because of snow. Hell, you are living in the wrong place if driving in snow bothers you!!