keepongoing

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback. I made an appointment to talk to someone in HR this week, and I will discuss this matter with them. When I wrote my post, I made a mistake in that I didn't miss 10 days of work. Instead, I meant to write that I was sick with an elevated fever for 10 days. I think that I missed around 7 days total. And, this strain of influenza was very wicked. It took almost everyone that had it at least 7 days to get over it. I agree that I will just do whatever it takes to let this blow over. No matter what, you can't win with this boss. Ultimately though, it has just made me wonder why there are no infection protocols for influenza when there are such strong protocols for MRSA, C. Diff, and other very dangerous bugs. If I had been able to drag myself to work when I had the high fever, I would have been very contagious. It just seems very dangerous to work around patients that may be immunocompromised. I realize influenza doesn't fall into the same class of superbugs as MRSA and the others I listed above, but it's still a very contagious and potentially dangerous bug. There is a lot of pressure for staff to come to work when they're sick, and it's common to see another staff member coughing or sneezing with a bad cold. Ultimately, we all worry about our absenteeism rate. I suppose that this hits very close to home because I lost a very dear friend to pneumonia last year after she was admitted to the hospital for a simple problem. I had befriended this elderly lady at the nursing home where I volunteer, and over the course of 5 years, she became like a grandmother to me. Last spring, she broke her leg, and they admitted her for a few days to watch her. I ended up staying with her at night, and I was bothered by the fact that one of her CNAs had a bad cold. Every time she entered my dear friend's room, she was coughing and sneezing. Then, just a couple of days later, my dear friend started developing signs of a bad cold, and it then progressed into double pneumonia. She went downhill fast, and I held her hand as she took her last breaths. I will never know for sure if she contacted this virus from the CNA that was sick, but I can tell you that I will always remember what happened. When I think back to when I was sick with the flu, I know that I had no choice but to call out sick. There is nothing I could have done differently. I don't remember when my fever was really high, but my family and doctor told me that I was hallucinating and "out of it." Obviously, I couldn't have done my job like this. I will just have to somehow deal with the wrath of my boss. Thanks again, and stay well. Have a great remainder to your week! Best always :heartbeat

Hello everyone. I have worked in a hospital for over 3 years. I just have a question, and I'm wondering if anyone has any feedback on how I should handle a stressful situation with my supervisor. Back in the winter, influenza was rampant in my community, and I took care of several patients with diagnosed influenza. I had received the flu shot, so I felt somewhat secure that I wouldn't catch it, but I still wore a mask while in the room. Unfortunately, in the middle of March, I caught a strain of influenza that hadn't been covered by the flu shot, and I became very sick within a few hours. Over the first 5 days, I had a constant fever of 104 to 105, and when it reached the higher end of the spectrum, I was hallucinating. I was so sick that I had to call in sick. There was no other option. I was tested for influenza, and it came back positive. The fever began to lower on the 6th day to around 102, but because the hospital has a policy that an employee cannot return to work until a fever is below 100, I had to keep calling sick for several more days. I ended up missing 10 days of work, but there is no way that I could have worked those days. I was too sick, and also, I consider it unethical to go to work with a communicable disease like influenza. My doctor wrote a note that I was sick with influenza, and I gave it to my supervisor. When I was sick, I had also informed her of my illness, but she never returned my call or e-mail. I thought that the matter was resolved, but last week, I learned otherwise when she called to tell me that I was in trouble for having an "unacceptable" absenteeism rate. Because of the 10 days I missed in March when I had the flu, it drove my absenteeism rate up to 15% for the first quarter of the year. I tried to explain to my supervisor that I had been with diagnosed influenza and couldn't work, but it's like talking to a brick wall. She just replies that a doctor's note doesn't excuse an absence, and she keeps repeating how critical it is that I never miss a day of work. I am so frustrated that I am about to burst! I couldn't help catching influenza, and I'm worried greatly that I may lose my job over the time I had to miss while out sick. I don't know what to do about this problem. I have asked my supervisor if she expects her nurses to come to work if they have influenza, and she skirts the question. I am now losing sleep about this because I can't lose my job. Other than this time that I missed with influenza, I only have had to call in sick one other day when I got a bad migraine. I work 40 hours a week, and it seems like I live my life at the hospital. I'm a very hard worker, and it frustrates me that she is punishing me for catching the flu. Has anyone else ever experienced a problem like this one? How do your workplaces handle it when employees catch the flu? Does anyone have any ideas on how I can handle my boss? She's the type of person that can be very argumentative. Thank you so, so much!! Wishing all of you the best :heartbeat

Hi - This is my first time here. This thread caught my eye because I have been dealing with similar concerns. My area got a lot of snow last week, and I felt like I had to get to work because of an e-mail that was sent by my supervisor. This e-mail was sent to everyone, and basically, it said that we had to get to work despite the weather conditions with no exceptions. To make a long story short, I tried my absolute best to get to work but ended up in a bad wreck after my car skidded in the snow. At first, I didn't think anything was wrong with me and decided to not go to the ER. All I kept thinking was, "I've got to get to work or I will be fired." So, a neighbor ended up taking me the rest of the way to work. My car was totaled in the wreck. During my shift, I began to get really sick, and I ultimately ended up in the ER. I was dx'ed with a closed head injury - a cranial contusion. All week long, I have been having a rough time, dealing with the bad headaches and related problems. I've been out sick all week long, but I have a doctor's excuse. I hope to return Saturday, but it's pushing it to go back so soon. But, I fear what will happen if I don't return. Times are tough now for me, and I need this job. I can't lose it. This thread raises interesting questions, and it has helped me to read through everyone's responses. This past week has been stressful beyond description. To everyone out there, if you feel uncomfortable driving to work because of heavy snow fall, listen to your gut instinct. On the morning before my wreck, my gut was telling me to not take a chance and stay home. If I had listened to my gut, I would have saved myself a lot of problems. Before today, I couldn't hardly write, so my brain is healing. Thank goodness. I still am having problems talking though. It's frustrating. Be safe. That's the lesson I learned last week.