Sick Of Co-workers Calling In ALL the Time

Katie5 · Dec 14, 2009

My philosophy is this- if you have it, then why not use it? It makes no sense to continue to accumulate hours and not use it.

At the same time too, it's all about balancing act- are you the kind of employee who cares about her fellow workers and wants to be seen as reliable without leaving her colleagues short-staffed. Or you just don't plain care?

If you're the former, then you do want to show consideration sometimes and if you're the latter, then you already know- you just don't care.

Nursing pretty much has odd hours, so sometimes one may just want to be a part of the regular house. Don't try to be too hard on them and yourself.

Do your best and leave the rest. Life will go on with or without you and if you choose to burn yourself out doing the work of two in a limited amount of time, another will take your place when you do finally burn out.

I empathize with you, but I also empathize with your colleagues too.

qaqueen · Dec 14, 2009

Skittlebear,

First and most important, I apologize for being crabby! :imbar

Most facilities have rules about the number of allowed unplanned absences in a given period of time. I have noticed that management tends to apply these rules to suit their whims.

At our facility, if you accumulate too much PTO, you stop getting it until your balance is down. Truly ridiculous for those employees who have worked for many years and are now getting the shaft.

The bottom line is that management is responsible for ensuring adequate coverage. I am aware, however, that management at some facilities does not step up. This seems to be a universal problem and one that goes beyond chronic call outs.

When management cares about our patients as much as we do, the staff to patient ratios will be appropriate, until then, we just try to keep our heads above water.

Again my apologies for being crabby.

Best Regards

zuzi · Dec 14, 2009

Is a very "hot" subject for me. Call in is a HUGE issue in any health care facility.

Is a subject that need to be analyzed very careffuly by management team if they really want to deal with it.

The study is like this:

1. What is the policy for call in?

2. Why people call in?

3. How management team is prepared to deal with call in situations?

Ignoring "call in" situations is like we try to hide our heads under sand and pray to not happen.

Call in is a reality and each and every facility need to have a REAL policy for it.

Is about money and how we deal with it? NO.

Is about people and how we deal with them!

Pushing hard someone to accept an extra shift just because someone call in is a dangerous area. And I will explain why....

1. People could be agree to work extra for much more money....ignoring them tiredness.... a tired nurse is a dangerous one!

2. Working an unexpected shift, different floors, is dangerous.... the nurses who asumme this risk are from agencies or float polls and them was agree previosly with this work style !

3. Some people could make a habit, picking up extra shifts...for more money... big dangerous habit, for anyone, special for patients.

3. People could make a habit, calling in.

4. Numerous calling in, pop out a question... WHY PEOPLE CALL IN so often there?

My response to your posting... you have the right to refuse the assignment if you want. Accepting each time an extra assignment you will let them to step on you and take advantage of it, but be sure that is not in your work contract this issue. The management need to find the solutions for it!

Up2nogood RN, RN · Dec 14, 2009

We get awesome PTO leave (I'm getting 6 weeks/year) but it's our vacation AND for short term illness. I request a week or so off about every 2 months to keep my sanity but what drives me nuts is when a nurse will tell us in advance she's calling in for the next night just because. Why don't you just request PTO ahead of time so at least there's a fighting chance in covering the shift by rearranging the schedule? Argh.

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Dec 14, 2009

What ticks me off is when you have a policy that says everyone will work one weekend a month (rotates weeks). We've got two who will find a reason not to work weekends -- not a child care issue, not a illness, they just want their weekends off. Seriously, it's gotten to the point where when dayshift sees that person's scheduled, they go ahead and work among themselves to find a pitch hitter and tell the admin rep, "when (not if) X calls out, Y said she'd work."

Yes it's a management issue. But this person is also the boss's buddy/snitch/enforcer on dayshift, so nothing's done, and a lot of time that weekend runs short; I'm a night shifter, and that means we spend the first part of our shift cleaning up the mess because day shift didn't have the hands they needed. We have found stat meds that were written at 0900 not given at 1900, labs not drawn, radiology not ordered because the short shift was going crazy just putting out fires and didn't have time to chase down the chart and see the doc had written orders and not told anyone.

So, yes someone taking off because they don't want to work and get PTO for it cause a mess when you already run short. I've already got burned once because a med was dc'd at 0900 and it was still in the MAR -- so I gave it, since I didn't know an order written 12 hours earlier hadn't been done; luckily it was just a PO gabapentin, not a cardiac med; and why? They were two nurses short and their "on call" nurse didn't answer her phone, and the nurse I picked the patients up from said "no new orders since you left this morning." So nobody had time to check, I believed the dayshift nurse and I ended up committing a med error.. Now I go in early and check my charts before I even lay eyes on anybody.

Calling out makes a difference. If you KNOW you're going to be out, schedule it. That's just common courtesy.

skittlebear · Dec 14, 2009

If a person reads these posts it becomes clear that this is another way in which nurses have been taken advantage by their employers. The lack of regard and respect results in nurses feeling angry with their peers for "calling in sick" when they should be angry with their employers for not planning for those days.
As a manager of a very busy PICU I did the math...how many FTEs of vacation, sick, and maternity time did I anticipate within my department? That was what I planned for in maintaining contingent or per diem staff. If unplanned absences could not be covered by the float pool we called a contingent, if they could not cover it, we called a part timer who might want an extra shift, then we asked for OT, if no volunteers I worked it. It was that simple. People who abused their sick time were reprimanded in a specific and time sensitive fashion. Patterns of call ins were addressed matter of factly.
As was eloquently stated before...staffing shortages because a nurse has called off is a management issue and problem period. It does not matter why the nurse called off, at all. The fact that someone has been granted this time by their employer to use at their discretion when they feel that they should not come to work is reason enough. The fact that our peers work their butts off when we are sick should make us furious with our employers, not our coworkers, especially considering the number of nurses out there looking for work.

Great post! Here I was getting angry "deep down" at my co-workers for calling in sick because I (and other nurses) had to pick up their slack. I should be angry with management instead! You know...come to think of it, management has NEVER EVER offered to help when someone is out sick. They do their best to find relief but if they can't...they say, "Oh well, we are short again", and here then the poor nurses who are left short-handed are busting their butts trying to get everything done. GRRRR

zombie · Dec 14, 2009

Join the military. We don't call out sick unless your at sick call. So if your not at sick call and your not on duty...... they come for you and its not pleasant.

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Dec 15, 2009

I had a job at a coffee shop that gave employees a bonus if they accumulated a certain amount of sick time in a quarter. It's a nice way to reward people who don't call in frequently.

KeechieSan · Dec 15, 2009

I guess I'd be one of those nurses who abuse the system...or at least the only one who will admit to it, lol. I get 5 sick day per rolling year and you better bet I use them all. It's either use them or lose them, it's almost like free money for me. I'm not saying I use them after a night of partying (too old for that), but I do call in sometimes when I probably could work. I just used one last month after two truly terrible shifts in a row, and I just couldn't face going back to those same (6) abusive patients. Big deal, its a personal day rather than a sick day. I have also been known to use them when I've not been able to sleep before a shift. I don't really feel very safe administering versed and fentanyl after having not slept for 28 hours.

That is just my philosophy on it, and I don't fault others for using their time for whatever they please. I don't go over policy, I never have more than 5 call outs, usually one every two to three months. I guess that really doesn't make me much of an abuser.

I do work with one girl who has FMLA for "back pain" who calls out at least 4 times a month which really drives me NUTS. It wouldn't be so bad if she really was calling out to stay home, but I'm pretty sure she has a per diem job in another state that she goes to instead.

vivacious1healer · Dec 15, 2009

Yep, we have PCTs and RNs that call in frequently!

One particular PCT that calls in for her migraines...nearly EVERY weekend. And she is in nursing school right now. Can't imagine her getting a job at our hospital when she graduates with that attendance record and that she is no longer protected by her UNION!

That's right, our hospital doesn't have a union for nurses!

caliotter3 · Dec 15, 2009

Join the military. We don't call out sick unless your at sick call. So if your not at sick call and your not on duty...... they come for you and its not pleasant.

When I was in the military there was always one or two who were experts at "disappearing". The supervisors would get on to them but often were too caught up in what needed to be done versus chasing down the elusive service members.

zuzi · Dec 15, 2009

Nursing life is not at all a MILITARY LIFE and in school a nurse was teached to "take care" and not to please, jeez.....people minds start to be twisted....

You wish to be in in military why you don't go back there!

Acting in civil life like in military life.... is a dysfunction!

And if one of the managerial team members, from everywere, even believe one moment of it...is for sure a big huge mistake....

We need to have rules, fallow the rules...COMMUNICATE on normal paths!

And even then....military life has at lest clear rules, knew it by everyone...looool.... everythink beewten, what is real and how we personalize the reality....... is a mess.....