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Nurses General Nursing

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I work 32 hours in 3 days every weekend as a GNA while going to nursing school. I get off of work @ 730 am on Sunday morning and have to be back @ 3pm Sunday afternoon. I usually wake up around 130pm to try to get as much rest as I can. When I woke up this past Sunday I felt kinda sick. I still got myself ready for work. As I was getting ready I felt worse and worse but by this time it was 200pm and I had to be there in 1 hour. I didnt want to call out so I decided to go in to work to talk to my supervisor face to face so she could see that i didnt feel well and then let me go bk home. Well when I go there she was nowhere to be found so I had to wait for her to call on my unit to check staffing. The charge nurse told me to wait in the back because she could visibly see that I felt terrible. So when the supervisor called she said YES!!!sounding very irritated...I told her that I didnt feel well and that my temp was 99.7. She begin to tell me that is not an extremely high temp. I told her my temp usually runs low so 99.7 is high for me. She says "Did a doctor tell you that your normal temp is low cuz thats sounds abnormal to me."...She says y didnt u call out. I said cuz it was so late and I didnt wanna call out an hr before the start of my shift so I thought it would look better if i showed my face. Then she goes on to tell me that calling out with my symptoms would have been better (this i know is false because she wouldve been giving me this same attitude). I told her I dont feel well and she asked "So what u wanna go home?"...I said yes i do and she said "BYE" and then hung up the phone. I was so upset because I have been working every weekend at this place for the past 3 yrs without any problems and rarely call out, if so only for my daughter who has major health issues. I mentioned the conversation to my charge nurse and she said she talked to her like that too when she called out and I should report her...What do u think?

Specializes in LTC.

Callitoer your post cracked me up because I'm that type of nurse to say that and give tea and crumpets.

Callitoer your post cracked me up because I'm that type of nurse to say that and give tea and crumpets.

Hey, once and awhile there will be a nice nurse who is a joy to be around!

Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).

So, what exactly is a crumpet, anyway?

Stuff happens, and anyone can get sick. Coming in to work to show how sick you are in the expectation of getting sent home is a bad way of handling it. It suggests you are putting your own interest in not looking bad ahead of the needs of your unit and your patients. It isn't brave, it's selfish. If you can't work, letting your supervisor know in time to find a replacement--or even just plan on not having you--is the conscientious thing to do. Playing the martyr just makes it worse for everyone, and as you've seen, doesn't please your boss.

Eh, well, mistakes happen, too, and the best you can do is learn from it and move on. Reporting your boss for being ticked would just compound the situation.

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

First of all, I hope you feel better soon.

While you may have thought what you were doing would look better, it doesn't. In addition to possibly spreading illness to other staff as well as the patients, by showing up with the intention of being sent home right away, not only do you leave them short staffed on ZERO notice, you just screwed over the staff member you were supposed to be relieving, because now he/she may not be able to leave on time until a replacement is arranged. CNAs can get dinged on patient abandonment too, you know.

At least if you had called out an hour prior, the manager would have had an hour to arrange coverage for your absence before shift turnover. She may have been able to find a PRN staff member, get extra staff from another unit to float, and/or ask current staff to stay later.

As far as the manager being rude...while there's never an excuse for rudeness, IMO can you honestly blame her for being ****** at you? From a manager's point of view, what you did was neither professional nor responsible. If anything, it's possible she may be the one who writes you up, and not the reverse. I sincerely hope she doesn't as your intentions weren't bad...but if you do this again, she probably will.

I hope it all works out for you.

As others have said, it's kind of expected that she was irritated by this. People get sick, though, and at least you know for the future that she'd prefer a phone call. It's pretty hard to get people lined up to cover employees where I work, so if I'm starting to feel bad, I try to pay close attention to how sick I am, if I'm getting worse and how I might be feeling in a few hours because I know that I've got to make a decision early on about whether I'm going in or not!

Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.
crumpet2.jpg

Darn you, madwife. Now you've made me hungry. :lol2: I LOVE crumpets but they're hard to find where I live.

To the OP, I would not report the supervisor. I agree with other posters who think she may have been frustrated and taking it out on her. She should have acted more professionally but I do understand why she might have thought you were exaggerating when you said you felt that you had a fever and it was 99.7. (I'm like you and if I run a temp that high, it usually means I am very sick.)

In this case, reporting her could have more repercussions for you than either calling in less than an hour prior to your shift or going home sick. You could end up making an enemy and health care has enough inherent drama that you really don't have to make it worse by alienating a supervisor.

Thanks for the input eveyone...I will use better judgment if the situation ever arises again.

Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.
IMHO you should have called in even at one hour. Now you have left them with no time to get coverage. A temp elevation of 99.7 is not a fever (no matter what you average temperature is). I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but you are an adult now and if you are sick stay home. If you come in and we send you home, it will still count against you as an absence.

I agree, their is no benefit in your supervisor "seeing" that you are actually sick... if you call and say your ill they should be able to trust that your telling the truth. Leaving the unit short a staff member with no time to find a replacement buts both your supervisor and your coworkers in a bind.

I would report, I know my job you have to give at LEAST 2 hrs notice if not coming in or its a write up. ANd just because you showed up or even if you called in NO supervisor is allowed to treat you with such disrespect. It is not appropriate.

Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.
I agree, their is no benefit in your supervisor "seeing" that you are actually sick... if you call and say your ill they should be able to trust that your telling the truth. Leaving the unit short a staff member with no time to find a replacement buts both your supervisor and your coworkers in a bind.

I once had a supervisor argue with me over whether or not I was too sick to come to work. I had symptoms of a migraine and called in several hours before the shift (policy was to call in no less than two hours prior to the shift) and the supervisor argued with me. She told me that "plenty of people come to work when they're sick". Yes, and plenty of people who work when they're sick, at least with something contagious, spread their illness to their patients, many of whom may be immunocompromised, and to co-workers, who then get sick and need to call off themselves. I was not given the luxury of being able to determine if I was too sick to come in, and I'm an experienced RN. BTW, yes, I went to work. angry-smiley-005.gif

Specializes in Health Information Management.
I once had a supervisor argue with me over whether or not I was too sick to come to work. I had symptoms of a migraine and called in several hours before the shift (policy was to call in no less than two hours prior to the shift) and the supervisor argued with me. She told me that "plenty of people come to work when they're sick". Yes, and plenty of people who work when they're sick, at least with something contagious, spread their illness to their patients, many of whom may be immunocompromised, and to co-workers, who then get sick and need to call off themselves. I was not given the luxury of being able to determine if I was too sick to come in, and I'm an experienced RN. BTW, yes, I went to work. angry-smiley-005.gif

I agree with the general consensus on short notice being better than no notice and the at-work martyr routine - but Moogie, I've been there with ya! What really drives me crazy is when HR and management make a huge deal out of the "stay at home to protect your coworkers" sick day policy and then when you're sick, your supervisor gives you the third degree and then guilt-trips you about calling in sick. :down::down::mad:

And what are crumpets? They're YUMMY!! Although I probably prefer scones with my sympathy tea.... ;)

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