I called in sick last night at 2:25pm for my 7p-7a shift last night. Now, I just checked my cell phone and there's a message from the shift supervisor saying it's imperative that I call her back. She left the message on my cell phone at around 4pm yesterday. I was home and sleeping and as far as I know she did not attempt to call my house since I still do have a land line because my husband would've woken me to tell me. She made no further attempt to contact me last night so I have to guess she probably wanted me to reconsider my sick call as they probably had NO ONE to fill my spot since I work in ICU and you can't just put anyone in ICU. Really, though, that isn't my problem.
Who gave her my cellphone number is beyond me. Must've been one of my coworkers because as far as I know, they do not have it. If they do, then I will have to change it (AGAIN). And as far as I also know, I am not in trouble for anything.
So, do you think it's appropriate for them to call me after I called in sick, within the guidelines of having to call off(for 7pm-it has to be before 3pm) to try to get me to "un-call" off sick?
I mentioned to another coworker that I have an interview at another facility next week. Apparently someone can't keep their mouth shut because one of my friends tells me that I'm in trouble since I called in last night. Guess it goes to show that I'm better off keeping my mouth shut.
I had my fingers burnt many years ago, a newly qualified nurse i worked with called in sick with stomach ache. She lived in the nurses home and nobody checked on her. By the time her family became concerned she had developed peritonitis secondary to a burst appendix. I think as long as staff know a call is out of genuine concern rather than a big brother watching you mentality then it is accepted in the ethos it is made. :)
I am just going to have to say no, it is not ok for them to call. If she had some other type of question she should have made it present in the voicemail.
I do agree with others though, be careful not to burn any bridges - the world is definitely way too small for that.
Maybe they needed you to come in and cover the L&D, as they did not have anyone at all to work it. Hell I delivered a baby in the parking lot one day by myself, I don't work L&D either, but when you are the only thing the patient has going for them you do your best. You should be proud that the hospital where you work puts as much trust in you as it does, they don't want a lawsuit either, so they are going to put the best they have in the game. From the sounds of it you do have some L&D experience so you are who I would want in my delivery room if I were having a baby over someone who has never done it ever. ICU nurses can usually think well on their feet and make things work even without knowing all the names for things and procedures, so be proud of the confidence and trust they have in you. You may be uncomfortable for a while but that is what makes us grow and be better at what we do. As for the call back thing it was probably a call of help out of desperation. Jeff
No, actually I DON'T have any L&D experience. I can't put a mom on the monitor...couldn't tell you anything about what the waveforms read..wouldn't know about decelerations or if/when a baby needs to get out NOW...I don't do vag exams.. so NO I really don't have L&D experience.
Why make so many assumptions about the call before speaking to the person? You have no way of knowing why she called until you talk to her.
Why couldn't the nursing supervisor just TELL me what she wanted instead of being so vague? Knowing that I would be fretting until I DO get a chance to speak to her which won't be till Tuesday. I have to assume it wasn't that important because I have yet to receive any further phone calls from work.
Just a different view - if one of my nurses calls in sick and I don't personally take the call I always call them back to:
1) make sure they are ok and have everything they need.
2) to check they are not on their own.
3) to reassure them it's not their fault they are unwell and if there is anthing we can do to help then they only have to ask.
I would hate to think of one of my nurses being unwell and isolated so this is why I always call. I am not checking up on them and the last thing on my mind would be pressurising them to come back. I just think we are in the caring profession and this needs to be from within.
just a thought :)
You are a gem of a nurse manager. My NM doesn't give a crap. I had a miscarriage last November and not ONE person from my place of employment called to check on me or see how I was doing. Not one person.
Well Snoops, I'd love to work for someone like you :). I don't think that the OP is so lucky.
No, I'm not. We really don't even have a nurse manager. The director of nursing is our acting nurse manager because they fired the last TWO people who had the job and to save money, since the hospital lost 3 million dollars in the stock market last year, they never replaced him. We also didn't get our raises this year either. Heck, we haven't even had our yearly performance evaluations yet...guess we won't since we aren't getting a raise.
Why couldn't the nursing supervisor just TELL me what she wanted instead of being so vague? Knowing that I would be fretting until I DO get a chance to speak to her which won't be till Tuesday.
Maybe she just figured you'd call her back, as she asked.
Why couldn't the nursing supervisor just TELL me what she wanted instead of being so vague? Knowing that I would be fretting until I DO get a chance to speak to her which won't be till Tuesday. I have to assume it wasn't that important because I have yet to receive any further phone calls from work.
I don't think she'd figure you'd be fretting, especially if she callled about something mundane. Please consider that you may be reading too far into this. You don't want to allow the worst case scenario to take over your thoughts this weekend.
It was inappropriate and foolish for her to call you. Did you know that in some states, there are actually labor laws that prevent employers from calling you at home after you call in sick, or on a vacation day? Ohio is one of those states. It has to do with the idea that even a casual conversation between an employer and an employee is "off the clock work" -- big no-no. Yes, this is true.
I only know this because I had to work at Wal-Mart a few years ago (!!) and they are sooooo scared of any third parties poking their noses into their business, that they flat out told us all the things they could NOT do and made us sign paperwork that we would come to internal HR if anything wrong happened! So anyway, she was foolish and out of line to call you.
It seems like a lot of people posting here criticizing your reaction have not heard of this.
When I am sick, I am sick and when I am in bed sleeping, I am sleeping, something that is rare since I work at night. It is not funny how employers don't seem to think that night shift workers ever need to sleep.
snoopy29
137 Posts
I had my fingers burnt many years ago, a newly qualified nurse i worked with called in sick with stomach ache. She lived in the nurses home and nobody checked on her. By the time her family became concerned she had developed peritonitis secondary to a burst appendix. I think as long as staff know a call is out of genuine concern rather than a big brother watching you mentality then it is accepted in the ethos it is made. :)