Self scheduling and sick calls!

SouthpawRN · Jun 28, 2017

Do you have access to professional journals/databases via your school or workplace. My guess is that if RN's scheduled themselves, the patients would be taking care of themselves on the weekends!

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Jun 28, 2017

I don't know of any articles. I do know that nurses are people who work with patients who are often contagious. If a patient is coughing in our face and goes home on Tamiflu but was never tested or on isolation there is a good chance we just got a hefty dosing of a strand of the flu that was not included in our vaccine. A few days later we go to work when we don't feel so great because we are scheduled (God help us if it's a holiday when we get sick) we are coughing all day and go home to find out now we have a 102 fever. We call out for the next day (because WE need tamiflu and are contagious. Policy stated to NOT come in if we have symptoms of the flu). We are now sick, most likely from occupational exposure, and calling out counts as an occurrence. Sick policies for nursing STINK. We do not PLAN on getting sick. There is no calendar that our immune systems report to. I despise when employers say that someone took "a mental health day" because they didn't want to work that day.

I would hope that being professionals, self scheduling would have nothing to do with absences. We know we have to work on holidays, weekends, etc. In 16 years I have only called out when very sick. There were many days I went in sick because I was sure no one would believe that I had the flu on a holiday. I worked the holiday because it would count as a double call off but called out the next day so I could get medical treatment and a positive flu test (and it would only count against me once, since it then was not a holiday). Feels great to be an adult treated like a teenager trying to skip school when I can barely breathe and in no shape to care for patients.

Self scheduling would not effect my attendence. I would hope that my coworkers were mature adults that would come to work too if they were in good health and not call out if they had better things to do.

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 28, 2017

I worked in a self-scheduled unit and it worked very well. We all knew we were on every other weekend and the senior nurses signed up first, then on down. PRN took what was left. It worked very well. Everything was covered and very few sick calls.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Jun 28, 2017

Do you have access to professional journals/databases via your school or workplace. My guess is that if RN's scheduled themselves, the patients would be taking care of themselves on the weekends!

This would be the case for many. However, some of us can only work weekends due to child care issues. Usually this was no problem for part time employment but occasionally I had employers that would not allow working every weekend and I had to turn an offer down because I was not available during the week.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2017

I don't have any research, but speaking personally: for me, self-scheduling wouldn't reduce my sick calls. I am not a liar, and call in sick when I am sick. I've said similar to NurseSpeedy: the immune system can't read the calendar. Nor does it care who decided six weeks ago I would work that day.

Mandychelle79, ASN, RN · Jun 29, 2017

i could see how self scheduling could reduce calloffs. Depending on the units policies. At my last place of employment when I was hired we were allowed to request it's less than 3 days per year. Now where I am we are allowed to request 7 days off every 6 weeks and we have "self scheduling" I have that in quotes because the higher ups can change/deny my schedule requests. If I want more than those 7 requests I purposefully schedule myself off the days that I would like (I say my requests for drs appointments and things that are a need off vs a want). If my request off was denied, I couldn't find a person to switch and couldn't change/find a family member to help, I'd be calling off.

NICUmiiki, DNP, NP · Jun 29, 2017

Do you have access to professional journals/databases via your school or workplace. My guess is that if RN's scheduled themselves, the patients would be taking care of themselves on the weekends!

Not really. I've only ever worked in units that self-scheduled. We do have weekend requirements that we must schedule (or they will change it for us).

We schedule about 2 months out, so we can schedule around pre-planned events. But if I'm sick, I'm sick.

duca · Jun 29, 2017

I believe that flu-related call outs should not even count against an employee as we are required to get the vaccine (that we may not want), but get sick anyway. If an employee has a doctor's note that specifically states the flu as their cause of illness, it should not count as a call out.

SouthpawRN · Jun 30, 2017

Not really. I've only ever worked in units that self-scheduled. We do have weekend requirements that we must schedule (or they will change it for us).
We schedule about 2 months out, so we can schedule around pre-planned events. But if I'm sick, I'm sick.

Being able to schedule a couple months out seems like a nice idea.

LovingLife123 · Jun 30, 2017

My unit self schedules. There are just guidelines to it. The only time I ever call out sick is if I'm actually sick.

FLO4Life · Jul 2, 2017

You would think, right? While not the case in every instance, the battle of sick time vs. attendance control policies vs. federal, state, and institutional infection control polices is a common example of how a healthcare employer will talk out of both sides of their mouth.

"Oh, your rapid flu is positive for influenza A, and you've got a temp of 103?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're right; you can't work tomorrow. Per page 10, paragraph 2 of hospital policy IC 101, and the OSHA online annual competency that you completed last month. Yeah, you're not allowed to work until you've been fever-free without any antipyretics for 24 hours. You know, for the safety of our patients and colleagues. Feel better."

"Thank you."

"By the way, this is your third occurrence in the last 12 months which'll put you into a verbal warning.... Get well soon!"

Six months later during a JC reaccreditation visit:

"Joint Commission, see-this facility is 100% compliant with all state and federal regulations; nor do any of our practices or policies punish, deter, or interfere with employee compliance."