Inclement weather conditions...mandatory to work?

tmartin19 · Sep 16, 2018

hi there, well i live in florida and have experienced a boat load of hurricanes, how our hospital operates is pre season we are put on teams. and the teams get rotated so that you arent required to come to work for each hurricane. once it is announced that we are in the path of one. the hospital requires us to show up 12-24 hours before the hurricane and we are released as soon as the city/county says it is ok to drive the streets. generally we are there 2-3 days. we bring blow up mattresses and sleep in conference rooms, break rooms, empty patient rooms etc. yes you have to make arrangements for personal life however we have single moms or those nurses taking care of elderly relatives that make it impossible. so each situation is handled case by case. we have had nurses come to the hospital with kids in tow with an extra adult to supervise. yes if you dont show its grounds for dismal but we all work together as team and figure out how to have the coverage and make sure everyone is safe.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 16, 2018

Actually I'm not living in a place known as hurricane risk. We haven't had an hurricane since 1989. Thats why I asked for opinions of others.

What about Mathew? Or Sandy? Seems that a hurricane was definitely foreseeable; something you should have had time to consider. Just like snow in Iowa.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 16, 2018

I'm going to say something different here. Being a nurse does not come before being a mom to a 2 year old.
Protect yourself and your family at all costs.
During hurricance Sandy, a nurse in Staten Island set off in her SUV with her 2 small boys in the car to drop them off at daycare. En route, there was a storm surge, think ocean waves crashing in the street. Her car began to fill with water. She unstrapped her kids from their corificeats and put them on top of the car. Then suddenly, a wave came and swept her children away. They were both killed. She survived, swimming and walking the streets for hours looking for them.
Do not be her. If you can't go in, other people will have to stay which isn't the end of the world. If your employer fires you for it, at least you and your family are safe. You can always get a new job. My love and prayers to you.

If you think being a Mom comes before being a nurse, then plan ahead rather than waiting for the last moment. Taking your child to daycare when the storm has already started is not safe. Plan ahead or plan to lose your job. I've always planned ahead.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 16, 2018

I see some of you have taken this the wrong way as if I was looking for a cop out or just now planning for myself. It was a friendly posts about tips and to share some of your experiences. At the end of the day my family comes first. Sorry I won't be super nurse. The site isn't for me as well. I've read slot of forums and a lot of rude and smart mouth comments. I won't be coming back on here or using it again. Yes everyone have opinions but just smart ass ones I can't deal with. I will not be using this site again.

OK. Thanks for sharing.

Missingyou, CNA · Sep 16, 2018

I have learned in my 25+ years of working in a variety of healthcare settings that the facility will do what they feel is best for the facility. ...and not only expect but, require you to do the same. YOU have to do what you feel is best for your family.

When I first started out, I made the mistake of doing as I was told in fear of my job at the risk of my personal safety, as well as missing special family events because I couldn't get time off. I do not make that mistake anymore.

jaderook01, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2018

How do you more seasoned nurses deal with this?
I'm in the path of hurricane Florence, scheduled to work this weekend and honestly don't know what to do.
I love my job and appreciate my patients, but my job sent out an email saying we have to be to work. I have a child to think of, so I'm clueless. I'm trying to wait until it happens to see if the conditions are actually drivable but at the same time plan ahead.
So what are your thoughts on Nurses having to chose between their jobs and safety of themselves and family??

So, I've gotten e-mails like that regarding inclement weather, as well (snow and ice storms). You have to engage in a sort of cost-benefit analysis. Is the job more important than your (or your family's) needs? In my case, I have all wheel drive, no kids of my own, and am willing to go in if need be. If it were a hurricane and things were projected to get bad and I had a family to consider? I'd put them over my job any day.

guest940422 · Sep 17, 2018

I have learned in my 25+ years of working in a variety of healthcare settings that the facility will do what they feel is best for the facility. ...and not only expect but, require you to do the same. YOU have to do what you feel is best for your family.
When I first started out, I made the mistake of doing as I was told in fear of my job at the risk of my personal safety, as well as missing special family events because I couldn't get time off. I do not make that mistake anymore.

True, even hospitals in known disaster zones won't call in essential staff every time they should. It costs too much. They wait and see often far longer than they probably should and end up waiting until it's too late for the "ride out" team to get there. This leaves people stranded at work and others unable to safely get there. I have an article posted about when I had to swim out of my car in Houston when I got hit by a flash flood. no hurricane involved. They never called a carla. We got more rain in 24 hours that night than we did during the week of tropical storm Allison.

Hindsight's 20/20 they weren't sure the storm would hit and didn't want to drag hundreds of staff members in just to send them home and make them mad.

Each time something like this happens we learn (I did). Now I hope you will have time to weigh risks and benefits, talk about it with your family (when you aren't in crisis mode with an immediate looming threat), and know without hesitation what the plan is if this ever happens again.

HomeBound · Sep 17, 2018

EXACTLY!!!! You have a duty to you patients but not at the costs of safety to you and yours. Get another job if necessary but take care of you and yours. You have a higher duty to your family then your patients. Jobs are replaceable. Loved ones are not

OP...you did a wrong thing here. Don't you know that when this question, which has been posed here for what....since the dawn of time....the only answers you're going to get are:

Suck it up! Adulting is hard!

Plan ahead, what are you, a moron?

How DARE you leave me here on shift and not at home to protect MY family. MY family is most important, after all!

I once snow shoed to work naked during a sharknado while rabid badgers were nipping at my heels!

Just don't. Don't ask. You won't get a coherent, well thought out and rational response. There are these RNs who once upon a time were okie dokie with entering nursing school and not being allowed to be MARRIED. My best friend's mom and another retired RN told me those stories. This is their brainwashing...i mean mindset.

The hospital will not come tow you. They won't pay for your kids' extra daycare expenses, IF you can find someone to keep them for 3+ days. No other employee will do it for you, either.

This guilt tripper who said, "and what would you expect the RN to do if it was your child in the hospital"? Um....the RN that stays there takes care of the pt's child, that's what. I would never, ever expect someone to risk their life...and maybe lives of MY LOVED ONES ON THE ROAD by attempting to drive in a disaster.

What the hell is wrong with people. Yes, it's a critical staff type job. But guess what. The RNs already there ALSO KNOW that they are "critical staff" and may just have to hunker down and deal with it. Next time, it might be opposite and I get the unfortunate task of staying for 4 days.

OP, this is why the same old people are answering this question for you. They all have the same mantra---and most are either Nurse Managers or some type of "removed from bedside" type of classification, where they have a vested interest in the workers showing up.

I was threatened several times to drive 32 miles during an ice storm and I stand by my choice to tell my RN Mgr...."nope. not risking my life." There are good lawyers out there for the purpose of defending a workers' right to stay safe as opposed to die for an employer, and the one time I appreciate lawyers, it's right when my employer threatened to fire me.

My kids need me and I am not going to die for an employer. If they want to pay for my extra child care, dog care, house care, senior care, gas money, hospital bill, full pay disability if i get injured....then I'll be right there.

There are ENOUGH stories of RNs dying on duty because these employers "just care so much about their welfare", or being assaulted, or dying on the way to the oh-so-important shift. I don't have to justify my prioritizing my family and my safety over that of a stranger who would probably run me over in the parking lot to get home to make sure THEIR family was safe.

It doesn't make me a bad nurse. It makes me a human that has a very healthy life and I want it to stay that way.

middleagednurse · Sep 17, 2018

OP...you did a wrong thing here. Don't you know that when this question, which has been posed here for what....since the dawn of time....the only answers you're going to get are:
Suck it up! Adulting is hard!
Plan ahead, what are you, a moron?
How DARE you leave me here on shift and not at home to protect MY family. MY family is most important, after all!
I once snow shoed to work naked during a sharknado while rabid badgers were nipping at my heels!
Just don't. Don't ask. You won't get a coherent, well thought out and rational response. There are these RNs who once upon a time were okie dokie with entering nursing school and not being allowed to be MARRIED. My best friend's mom and another retired RN told me those stories. This is their brainwashing...i mean mindset.
The hospital will not come tow you. They won't pay for your kids' extra daycare expenses, IF you can find someone to keep them for 3+ days. No other employee will do it for you, either.
This guilt tripper who said, "and what would you expect the RN to do if it was your child in the hospital"? Um....the RN that stays there takes care of the pt's child, that's what. I would never, ever expect someone to risk their life...and maybe lives of MY LOVED ONES ON THE ROAD by attempting to drive in a disaster.
What the hell is wrong with people. Yes, it's a critical staff type job. But guess what. The RNs already there ALSO KNOW that they are "critical staff" and may just have to hunker down and deal with it. Next time, it might be opposite and I get the unfortunate task of staying for 4 days.
OP, this is why the same old people are answering this question for you. They all have the same mantra---and most are either Nurse Managers or some type of "removed from bedside" type of classification, where they have a vested interest in the workers showing up.
I was threatened several times to drive 32 miles during an ice storm and I stand by my choice to tell my RN Mgr...."nope. not risking my life." There are good lawyers out there for the purpose of defending a workers' right to stay safe as opposed to die for an employer, and the one time I appreciate lawyers, it's right when my employer threatened to fire me.
My kids need me and I am not going to die for an employer. If they want to pay for my extra child care, dog care, house care, senior care, gas money, hospital bill, full pay disability if i get injured....then I'll be right there.
There are ENOUGH stories of RNs dying on duty because these employers "just care so much about their welfare", or being assaulted, or dying on the way to the oh-so-important shift. I don't have to justify my prioritizing my family and my safety over that of a stranger who would probably run me over in the parking lot to get home to make sure THEIR family was safe.
It doesn't make me a bad nurse. It makes me a human that has a very healthy life and I want it to stay that way.

I love this post like 1000000 times.

middleagednurse · Sep 17, 2018

IMO, there are several examples of bullying in this thread. . I won't name names, but you know who you are. You can make your point without attacking others.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Sep 18, 2018

I have thought about how to prep for emergencies. I have a teen child at home. If there was an emergency, I have a friend who lives within 1/4 mile who I've asked to care for the child. I also prepped the kid on what to do in an emergency. I would plan to bring him to work if I had to. I live about 15 mins from work.in a pinch, I'd call my ex's family to watch the kid.

allnurses Guide · Sep 18, 2018

I'm sitting here trying to decide what I would do if faced with

this type of situation.

I suppose if my family and I were in the path of a hurricane...

well, hopefully I would still have family living somewhere

inland where I could send the kiddos for a few days. Then

I guess I'd get to the hospital and plan to stay there until

things calm down.

Not sure what I would do if I did NOT have family to send

the kids off to. I would honestly be a bit afraid to keep my

kids in the area with me if there were a Category 5 headed

our way. I would rather have them somewhere safe. It has

been mentioned, the possibility of taking the kids to work

with you... but again, if THAT bad of a storm is headed

our way... I want my kids completely out of the area. Which

means, if necessary... I'm leaving the area with them.

I fortunately live in an area that gets the very occasional

ice storm, snow storm... that's it. And of course the occasional

tornado, but you know, you can't really predict those days

in advance. :)