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 ?
There are no snow days for nurses-hospitals are 24/7...so is staffing. Plan accordingly...carry a packed bag...you should always have some provisions, and a blanket in the car. I work less than
Understand that you will stay (why you have a bag) but eventually your relief will come.
If the highways are closed it is usually for non-essential personnel, like police nurses and doctors are considered essential.
In the even that a storm is coming, you are expected to get there....leave early, leave late, stay over, we have even had managers, security, police and others pick up nurses in inclimate weather so that patients are care for.
Understand that someone needs you, that is the job you signed up for, someone is waiting for relief, someone is waiting for care, and as an employee of a hospital it is expected.
then who will staff your presumably southern hospital when a freak ice storm hits your area? you can't all get a pass for being southern!
actually ruby i have seen situations when they all do "freak". about 11 years ago i was doing a contract at a hospital in southwestern va. one day about noon got a call from the head nurse asking me to come in early as it was snowing and some staff had started calling in. (i wasn't due in until 2000). i looked outside, saw about 2 inches of snow, assured her that as i had recently moved from colorado and drove a 4wd i would definitely make it in to work. (only 10 miles from work, all but 3 miles interstate). went back to sleep and she woke me again at 1500 to tell me the whole night shift had already called in and to ask me to please come in and sleep on the unit so she could be assured of having someone from nights there. at this time there were about 5 inches on the ground.
the upshot was that i did go in early, but got the phone number and addresses of the other night shift nurses on my unit and picked them up on my way in. wasn't about to do it alone!
just this winter i was in las vegas when they got "real snow" - 4-8 inches depending on location - and they practically shut down the city! airport closed, interstates closed, people abandoning their cars on the surface streets! apparently there is not a snowplow in all of southern nevada. did have fun in the middle of the night on break helping one of the native las vegas nurses build her very first snowman.
Specializes in Geriatrics, Cath Lab, Cardiology,Neuro.
I live outside of Boston and work at one of the major hospitals in Boston. I will leave my home early, drive slow, and hope I make it in safe. Usually the staff here are understanding when it comes to the weather. Also if it is deemed too dangerous, I have been allowed to leave work early. If it is too dangerous, the hospital here will provide a place to sleep and food for the staff. I keep an "emergency bag" with a change of clothes, something to sleep in, snacks and non perishable food in my locker.
Almost forgot, make sure you have a full tank of gas if you know snow is on the way. One time it took me 5 hours to get home on RT 80, a drive that would normally take 30 minutes! People ran out of gas and were stranded!
Another reason to have food, clothes and GAS! My SIL and family were on their way home from Ohio and were trapped in their minivan for 24 hours due to a freak snowstorm in the Poconos, PA. Rt 80 was shut down and there was nowhere to go!
Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice.
I used to drive 40 minutes from urban area to a rural hospital. One weekend it snowed about a foot in a few hours. I got out on the highway and due to thier being no wind, the snow completely covered the road and I felt like I was driving through a wide open field. I made it one exit before pulling off completely sobbing with fear.
The following night I figured I would leave early, so I did, NINE hours early. I drove 15 miles an hour, down backroads (figuring I could drive slower there than on the express way) where I could only see the road marker for the shoulder when the wind blew the right way. It took me over 2.5 hours to get there and I was nearly hit head on once. I then spent $80 to sleep in a hotel for a few hours before work.
I feel that weather, especially snow that I spent over 10 years driving in, is a very dangerous condition. I think it deserves some teamwork and empathy. If someone is calling out everytime a flake hits the ground, yeah its an issue, but if conditions are tantamount to potential DEATH I think we need to have an open heart and mind.
We are required to get to work on time if we are scheduled. I never think about it, I just go, I adjust my departure time accordingly. I honestly get quite peeved at people who think that snow is an excuse not to come to work, if I can manage to get to work in my car (I don't have 4 wheel drive), and you know that snow is coming you should make the necessary arrangements to get to work to relieve your coworkers. It's a team effort and everyone has their part.
Now I'm all for coming to work, I am the one who is always at least 15 mins early. The one morning I was 3 hours late was a very bad blizzard, those of you who don't live in Montana, Wyoming or North Dakota don't really know what that is. I work 50 miles from my home, down a two lane highway. This particular morning there was so much snow and visibility was so bad I had to call my fiance to come pull me out because I had got stuck in a snow drift in the middle of town. After that I tried to make my way down the highway but with the snow coming down sideways in the dark and the wipers not being able to keep up, and the wind piling the drifts in the lane and the visibility so bad I couldn't see the hood of my car through the windshield I turned around and went home. So no, a little snow is no excuse not to come to work. But putting your life in danger is not worth the risk, and thankfully the nurses I work with all understand that as we all deal with it and cover for each other when need be.
EDIT- I waited at home for the sun to come up. Once it was light it wasn't nearly as bad, although it was still bad. Before leaving for that shift I packed a bag, knowing that I had to work the next morning too and there was no way I was coming home in the dark after my shift, then back again the next morning. And I don't care who you are, 4 wheel drive may work great in snow but it does not work on ice. And it certainly will not help you see when the blizzard is blowing in your face, in the dark.
I haven't seen any, just honest answers to the question. Unfortunately caring for patients 24/7 requires staff and places us in that category of public servant. Police officers don't stay home due to inclimate weather no matter how horrendous, and fireman can't say it's too cold to get wet while putting out their fires.
My point is that as many have pointed out, choices were made to live, work, own a certain kind of car, and whatever else. Before I was a nurse I was in technology and a boss, I made decisions whether or not my people should be on the rode. However I drove first, left 2 hours early and would determine during the day whether I thought life and limb were more important than customer service. Life and limb always won. BUT our service involved equipment and computer networks, not LIVES AND NOT THE NEEDED RELIEF FOR TIRED CAREGIVERS!
For those who live on mountains, you are right it is life and limb-HOWEVER, YOU KNOW when the weather is expected and I am sorry you shouldn't get a free pass-make other arrangements to stay close to the hospital or offer those suggestions that a hotel or accomodations be made for you to stay so your shift and relief can come. I'd love to live off the beaten path, but knew it wasn't practical for my husband who is still a field engineer driving all day to customers locations, and to me who must be at work regardless of the weather.
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Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
then who will staff your presumably southern hospital when a freak ice storm hits your area? you can't all get a pass for being southern!