Chronic Tardiness

SmilingBluEyes · Jul 21, 2003

THANK YOU FOR THAT KTWLPN....you SAID it. To all chronically tardy people, I say, GROW THE HECK UP. Do not waste MY time with YOUR lateness. Nothing will grind my teeth FASTER than this. NO EXCUSES are enough for chronic lateness, period.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2003

ktwlpn, as always I love your posts!

glascow · Jul 21, 2003

Defense of a chronically late person:

Shift starts at 7:00, ends at 7:30. I am usually punching in between 7:01-7:03. On the ride up to the unit, I get my pen and paper out and don't dally around. My relief is always out by 7:30.

While I'm clocking in on the phone, at the nurse's station, I shove my bag under the desk and promptly get report. No dilly dallying on the phone or going for coffee. (Because then I might need to pee during my 12 hour shift, and there is no time for that!). I listen to report without interruptions, and save questions for the end of report. I've long ago found out if you keep your mouth shut and listen, they'll eventually tell you what you need to know. If you notice in my confessions that the night before I was 15 minutes late, this is unusually tardy for me, and I did call to tell them I was on my way. I'm usually there around 7:03.

I agree this is disrespectful, but after reading the post of people chronically being 30 mins or more, I wanted to let you know I'm not that bad. I have noticed that the people who do report to work early take there time in the break room and often don't get to the station for 7:00.

BTW: I probably would be late to pick up my check if I won the lottery, but only by a few minutes, do you think they would still give me the money? :)

Good_Queen_Bess · Jul 21, 2003

Lateness is one of my pet hates. I think it's rude and disrespectful. I have to rely on buses to get to work, and have only been late about 2 or 3 times in 3 1/2 years qualified due to buses not turning up/being late. On each of those occasions, I have rang up my place of work to explain, and then only been at the MOST (once) 20 minutes late. It's about being organised! eg Get things ready the night before. DON'T do laundry, DON'T mess on PC. Just GET TO WORK! If I am on nights/late shifts, I don't want to miss my bus to go home because YOU are too bone idle to get there on time. What I find most frustrating is that the people who are late often have CARS, and there is no traffic around at 6.45am, so there is NO EXCUSE!

flashpoint · Jul 21, 2003

I just don't understand how someone can always be late. Once in a while is understandable because sometimes things just happen, but every single day? Come on...if you're ten minutes late every day, shouldn't you be smart enough to realize you need to get moving ten minutes sooner? It's not that hard. We have a couple of nurses who are late almost every day...I think I know why they don't bother to show up on time. When we give report, our heaviest, most critical patients are nearest the nurses station, (the rooms with the lowest numbers), so since logically when we tape report, we start with those rooms. They miss report on those patients and therefore are not assigned those patients. Most of our easier patients and in the higher numbered rooms. A few of the RNs have started giving report backward and it seels to help get people there on time...sigh.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2003

Tardiness is a trained behavior and can be un-trained given the right motivation, like no raise or progressive discipline. If you overlook tardiness in one person you ought to overlook other faults in others, IMHO

Katnip, RN · Jul 21, 2003

It's true, things do happen, an accident on the highway or whatever, but being late as an every day event is inconsiderate.

I didn't read every bit of every thread, but I noticed that those of you who are stuck waiting for someone to come in puts it down as OT. Since nurses are hourly wage earners, can't they be docked for every half hour they're late? Those daily half hours will really start adding up and that could cure at least some folks. You'll need a supervisor that will do it, though.

essarge · Jul 21, 2003

Thank you for this thread!!! I am a nursing student working as a nurse extern full time on the 3p-11p shift. I am always relieved by a a CARDY (chronically tardy) person. About two weeks ago, I'd had enough! I had an exam to study for and this person was late yet again. When I told her that her shift started at 2245, she confronted me and stated that I had other problems and that I never did my work. I was livid!! I handed her the assignment sheet (I had already written pertinent info on it) and told her to get her report from her nurse. I went home and instead of studying for my exam wrote everything in a letter to my nurse manager and called my manager the next morning.

It has not changed this persons behavior but now, I write pertinent information on the assignment sheet, hand it to the Charge nurse for night shift and state *******is late again and I am leaving. This putting the responsibility on the other shift.

I realize that when I graduate I will not be able to do this but, unless management steps up to the plate and does something about it (maybe transfer that employee to an "undesireable" floor after chronic lateness) it will continue. It's really agravating!!

mattsmom81 · Jul 22, 2003

I feel that chronic lateness is a passive aggressive form of arrogance.

Now everyone is late once in awhile, I'm talking about the nurse who is 1/2 hr late every day.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2003

Originally posted by glascow
Defense of a chronically late person:
Shift starts at 7:00, ends at 7:30. I am usually punching in between 7:01-7:03. On the ride up to the unit, I get my pen and paper out and don't dally around. My relief is always out by 7:30.
While I'm clocking in on the phone, at the nurse's station, I shove my bag under the desk and promptly get report. No dilly dallying on the phone or going for coffee. (Because then I might need to pee during my 12 hour shift, and there is no time for that!). I listen to report without interruptions, and save questions for the end of report. I've long ago found out if you keep your mouth shut and listen, they'll eventually tell you what you need to know. If you notice in my confessions that the night before I was 15 minutes late, this is unusually tardy for me, and I did call to tell them I was on my way. I'm usually there around 7:03.
I agree this is disrespectful, but after reading the post of people chronically being 30 mins or more, I wanted to let you know I'm not that bad. I have noticed that the people who do report to work early take there time in the break room and often don't get to the station for 7:00.
BTW: I probably would be late to pick up my check if I won the lottery, but only by a few minutes, do you think they would still give me the money? :)

Sweetness, you are definately not the type of person I'm speaking of. Clocking in a 7:01 to 7:03 is not late IMHO. I confess, I am rarely if ever early, I'm clocking in a minute or two early or right on time, often a minute late. Showing up early isn't in my job description, but being on time is. I'm talking about the one's who show up 15 to 30 minutes late on a consistent basis, and our response to them (which is more often than not a form of gratitude that they have the grace to actually show up.)

Kudos to you for not dillydallying. I'm like that too. I want to get report over with because there is too much to do.

hoolahan, ASN, RN · Jul 23, 2003

I also hate the lateness, or the Cardy people. I love the giving report to the chair idea.

We had one nurse who LIVED ON CAMPUS and was always late. I lived 45 minutes away and was late maybe once or twice in 13 years! Anyway, it got to me, so I decided if she arrived 15 min late, she got a 15 min report, if she was 20 min late, a 10 min report, 25 min late, a 5 min report. If it was 25 min past her arrival time, I wrote a brief synopsis and handed it to her w/o a word when she arrived...at the coffee pot. It didn not change her behavior one bit, until other nurses saw what I did and followed suit. You know when she stopped being late? When she moved 30 minutes away!!! Management never did a thing! Not even when she was in charge and held up the charge nurse and the posting of assignments!!

This is a subject that just reading it I feel my BP going up. There is NO EXCUSE for chronic lateness. It is RUDE, arrogant, and it IS passive aggressive. It says "I am more important than everyone else here." Not a professional or decent message to send your co-workers!

mattsmom81 · Jul 23, 2003

Hoolahan, I LOVE your idea and will try it next time. I will make it a one minute report and hand her a sheet of paper! And yes, no matter how late they are, they still start at the coffeepot....LOL!

Strange story: A nurse on another unit was let go primarily due to chronic tardiness. She found out this ICU nurse was allowed to be chronically tardy, and filed a lawsuit. Administration stepped in and asked the ICU nurse for her resignation during this time, to make themselves 'look' fair.

When the suit was settled, they hired the ICU nurse back. and we STILL deal with 1/2 hr late....every XXoo## day.....

Of course, the 'troublemaker' was NOT hired back. And I'm sure she is Group One'd in our area, making it difficult to get a job.