Not falling for that old trick

Nurses Relations

Published

You know when they beg you to come in sick making all kinds of promises. You can leave if it is too much, we won't give you a big assignment, the charge nurse will help you. Just for a few hours, or just until 11. Well you know what? I fell for it once before and you know what i got? Berated for being too slow, admissions dumped on, and when I started vomiting I was not allowed to go home because "there is no one else you just have to stay". 12 hours is just TOO long to suck it up when you are not well. The person on the phone that makes all the promises, well she leaves at 7pm. We have all witnessed this happen to each other time after time and well, it does not give you incentive to try to suck it up.

Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

Some managers do act as if your sick time is negotiable.

If you do not abuse your time off you should not be hassled.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

My work place's view is that it is their own best interests to encourage sick people to stay at home. They don't want us spreading it to other employees or patients.

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Specializes in LTC, Education, Management, QAPI.

You know, I'm sorry that some workplaces try to get you to come in sick. I'll tell you from being the "them", when someone calls out, it makes it difficult for everyone. Yes, I know you know that. I work crazy long hours in management. When a nurse makes an error, she usually writes a statement. I end up with hours of investigation reports, QA's, calls, etc. That's my job. So when I have to call around to get coverage for a nurse calling out *FOR A POOR REASON* it really hurts. It makes my other nurses tired and kills morale. Now here is my long-winded point- it's VERY difficult to know when the ones that call out are truly sick. I always give the benefit of the doubt, but I know there is some advantage being taken. I'm not saying that you should come in sick, you shouldn't. But know that as a manager, sometimes it seems like I'm being hard or mean, but I'm not trying to be. I just want everyone to come to work when they are supposed to; I have to trust your word and that can be hard. We're not all trying to pull one over or dupe you into coming in to work. I'll end on disclaimer- I dont think my words here are accurately portraying what I want to say :-(

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Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

I agree that it is difficult from a management perspective. And short staffing takes a very serious toll on the remaining staff AND the patients.

We have to develop better mechanisms to deal with chronically absent staff rather than to adopt a style of nagging.

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Specializes in MCH,NICU,NNsy,Educ,Village Nursing.

Ah, yes....reminds me of the time I called in because I had fever, chills, a bad cough, difficulty breathing, etc. I went to the doctor and was told I needed to stay home as I had a very bad case of bronchitis/laryngitis. I called in plenty of time to cancel myself. Wellll....I was called with a verbal reprimand after I missed work later due to a slipped disc (again, I had a doctor''s note stating I was not to lift ANYTHING heavier than 5-10 pounds) and had given plenty of notice---more than a day's notice because my doc had put me on "indefinite status for return to work". That was the 3rd of "any more than 3 within a year and you are in trouble" absences (my mom died unexpectedly & I had missed; the upper respiratory infection: and the slipped disc). The response I got regarding my illness and the fact I didn't want to spread my germs to fellow workers & the patients and I stayed home was "You do what you gotta do". I told the nm that well, I had to stay home to protect my patients and fellow workers. Anyway, I also turned in my resignation shortly after.

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Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.
So when I have to call around to get coverage for a nurse calling out *FOR A POOR REASON* it really hurts. It makes my other nurses tired and kills morale. Now here is my long-winded point- it's VERY difficult to know when the ones that call out are truly sick. I always give the benefit of the doubt, but I know there is some advantage being taken. I'm not saying that you should come in sick, you shouldn't. But know that as a manager, sometimes it seems like I'm being hard or mean, but I'm not trying to be. I just want everyone to come to work when they are supposed to; I have to trust your word and that can be hard.

Often I have to wonder how some of these chronic caller-outers ever made it through nursing school. Of course they made us come in sick too, or else be cut from the program.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

I just called off for a week with the flu, accumulated all those sick points and am the proud owner of a written discussion for sick points. And flu is not covered under FMLA unless you have an underlying condition that makes it a severe respiratory illness or have complications after. So, if we don't have a fever we go to work. Hello, hack hack hack, I am you nurse for your little immunocompromised preemie, but don't worry I have on a mask.

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.
You know, I'm sorry that some workplaces try to get you to come in sick. I'll tell you from being the "them", when someone calls out, it makes it difficult for everyone. Yes, I know you know that. I work crazy long hours in management. When a nurse makes an error, she usually writes a statement. I end up with hours of investigation reports, QA's, calls, etc. That's my job. So when I have to call around to get coverage for a nurse calling out *FOR A POOR REASON* it really hurts. It makes my other nurses tired and kills morale. Now here is my long-winded point- it's VERY difficult to know when the ones that call out are truly sick. I always give the benefit of the doubt, but I know there is some advantage being taken. I'm not saying that you should come in sick, you shouldn't. But know that as a manager, sometimes it seems like I'm being hard or mean, but I'm not trying to be. I just want everyone to come to work when they are supposed to; I have to trust your word and that can be hard. We're not all trying to pull one over or dupe you into coming in to work. I'll end on disclaimer- I dont think my words here are accurately portraying what I want to say :-(

I truly get that absences make life difficult on management, I really do. But I've worked places where nurses are treated well and morale is high, and I've worked places where management treats nurses like crap and morale is low, and it seems that absences are more a problem where nurses feel disenfranchised. So while treating nurses well will not prevent all absences, it will go along way to preventing call ins for a poor reason. When I had a manager that cared about us, worked with us, worked as harder or harder than we did, and defended us like a lioness would her cubs, I and my coworkers worked unholy hours if the need arose. When I worked in a unit with a manager who really didn't like us, didn't respect us, and couldn't keep up with us, I and my coworkers were less than eager to work extras. And I heard many times around the unit (and I said and did it myself on occasion), "I'm not even going to bother asking for time off, she won't give it to me (or the manager would keep you hanging out there wondering if you would get it when you were trying to make reservations or buy tickets), I'm just going to call in." Or, the last shift was heck, I can't do this another night. Or, She's never here, why should I be.

There will always be people who abuse the system, no matter how perfect the environment, but I'm sorry, management causes a lot of these problems themselves by creating a work environment where the nurse feels downtrodden and disrespected, and therefore cannot work up the energy to respect the hospital or her coworkers.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

No one gives you a badge for coming in sick. If you come in you'll be expected to work just like everybody else.

If you're sick, stay home. The patients don't need your germs, and neither do your co-workers.

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Per the policy at my facility, if you miss one of your scheduled weekend days you have to make it up at the director's discretion. Before this policy was implemented we had issues with people calling in on the weekends. Now, no one will call in on the weekend...we've had staff work while sick with the flu and management gladly let them:no:

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.
Per the policy at my facility, if you miss one of your scheduled weekend days you have to make it up at the director's discretion. Before this policy was implemented we had issues with people calling in on the weekends. Now, no one will call in on the weekend...we've had staff work while sick with the flu and management gladly let them:no:

Same policy at the local hospitals, and I've seen the same thing. Nurses vomiting in garbage cans at the desk, or falling asleep over their lunch because they are so sick and fatigued. I understand the need to cut down on unnecessary call ins, but that's preferable to exposing vulnerable patients to all sorts of new illnesses.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

If you're sick, stay home. I wouldn't want a nurse with the flu or who knows what taking care of me, and I wouldn't want to expose my patients to germs like that if I were sick. I consider myself pretty healthy and I very rarely call in...I feel guilty when I do, because I know it sucks to work short, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

As for work trying to call me in, I just don't answer my phone. I the nursing supervisor's number in my phone (saved as "nursing supervisor") so I always know when they're calling. Otherwise, if it's an "UNKNOWN" number, I can guarantee that's work, too. They leave a message, I ignore it lol.

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