don't get me wrong, i have been known to show up to work sick only to regret it later! my gripe is not only is it not good for my health to show up to work sick, it endangers the health of my patients, it tells the patient subtly to not take my words as a knowledgeable health worker too seriously, because i don't follow what i preach, plenty of rest, push fluids, and stay at home when i'm sick.
i do know that if everyone, earlier in the month of february at my hospital called in sick, we would have been struggling on my floor with tones of patients each! so i find this topic controversial and i don't have all the answers, do you?
It just seems ridiculous for supervisors expect you to show up when you are truely sick. Why would you want to put your patients in jeopardy. I work on a NICU and certainly don't want to put them in any more danger than they already are.
Specializes in Diabetes ED, (CDE), CCU, Pulmonary/HIV.
well, you're mostly right. i do decide when i'm sick. but, they won't find staff. especially if i'm out only a day or 2. then i have to find a way to see my pt's in less days. there just nobody to cover the occasional sick day. now if it goes on for a week then they have to divvy up the caseload. we don't have prn staff so it gets divided up between regular staff. it usually ends up working out okay and when an emergency pops up, everyone pulls together.
[color=#483d8b]we're a small office, only 4 staff/field nurses at the present. we have to find a way to work as a team:nuke: . even the supvr's will do visits if the need arises.
is this a small home health agency? i still don't see how they can expect you to work sick. if you're sick then of course the supervisor, owner, or whoever else is available should make the visit. if you don't work sick, they'll have to make some arrangement for pt to be seen--or they will lose the case, and possibly other business from that source.
Specializes in cardiac, med-surg, some critical care.
In my facility, we are allowed 6 call-ins in a certain period of time.....a year. We are treated like little children. If we dare to be sick that 7th time in a year....we start w/ one verbal warning......the 8th time we get a written warning and G-d forbid you call in that 9th time. Then we are suspended for three days w/o pay. We are allowed 12 sickdays a year. Now tell me why we don't call in sick when we really need to!
Specializes in TCU,ICU,OHRR,PACU,5Solid Organ Transplan.
Maybe if those of us who become ill stay home, then when we are well, do a few extra hours until the time is "made up" so that others won't have to struggle?
I have no idea if this is feasible, it's just a thought.
This is a great idea. Unfortunately, most of the people I work with would agree to do it until it came time for them to do the hours. How would you hold people accountable? Let's say they sign a verbal contract. If they do not follow through, you are SOL. I've been there and it ain't easy.
Specializes in ER,Neurology, Endocrinology, Pulmonology.
As crazy as my floor is, as many problems as it has, my boss does a really great job at making sure we are staffed no matter what. she doesn't like having sick people come in to work and will do everything she can to send them home. What we don't like in general is having a person call too late - like..6:45 for a 7 o'clock shift or showing up at work obviously ill, dragging their feet and complaining that they don't feel well.
Most of the staff are very glad to come in and do an extra shift or work for someone, because in turn they will be able to call in on a sick day and not feel guilty, not be penalized for calling in when your child is sick and not given a speech about how you should " take your medicine and see how you feel" even though you are already telling them you are sick.
Maybe if those of us who become ill stay home, then when we are well, do a few extra hours until the time is "made up" so that others won't have to struggle?
I have no idea if this is feasible, it's just a thought.
???
What is the point to having sick time if you do this? If you're sick, you're sick. Stay home...don't come in and infect the rest of the staff or the pts. (hospital/home care, it's all the same).
Just throwing this out again: How often do you see patients coming down with common cold symptoms? So far I am not hearing anybody say " all the time". (except peds). i.e. if you have a cold and feel well enough to get thru the shift I wouldn't worry about the pts.
In my facility, we are allowed 6 call-ins in a certain period of time.....a year. We are treated like little children. If we dare to be sick that 7th time in a year....we start w/ one verbal warning......the 8th time we get a written warning and G-d forbid you call in that 9th time. Then we are suspended for three days w/o pay. We are allowed 12 sickdays a year. Now tell me why we don't call in sick when we really need to!
I lost a job with one of these so called "ocassion policies". If you called in within a 90day period you recieved a verbal on the 3rd, written on the 4th and termination on the 5th. Then you had to go 90 days without a call in to drop 1 "occasion" after the 3rd. If you were out for say 2 days came back and relapsed having to go home that was considered 2 occasions. It was a no tolerance policy even with a physicians excuse. I had mono of all things which they didnt determine until I had my 4th occasion. When I had to be off the 5th as I had been hospitalized twice during this time and had an emergency appendectomy so I was fired. It wasnt until they removed a "healthy" appendix they found mesentric adenitis secondary to mono LOL and in thier hospital at that. Pretty much they didnt care if you were sick, coughing, puking or anything else if you were on your 3rd you came in sick. I worked CVICU at the time.
(Something I've noticed since I entered nursing--healthcare workers "call out sick" while those in other lines of work "call in sick" Anybody else notice this?)
I have never heard one call out sick. However, many a time someone will show up for work under the weather (why s/he shows up I'll never know!). Then during the shift, say at 0300, the shift leader will send that person home and we'll end up with that person's patients between us adding on to our own case load LOL. So people at my work do come into work and call out sick and it's definitely no fun!:smiletea2: :smilecoffeecup:
I've never had anyone question whether I'm really sick or if I'm sick enough when I've called in or asked for symptoms except for at one facility, where the shift coordinator has to fill in a reason for the call-in on the form they fax to nursing administration. The only time I ever got yelled at for calling in was when I didn't have child care and I told the nursing supervisor that was the reason (my babysitter had gone out and gotten drunk then had one of our friends call me at 4am and tell me she couldn't watch my son that day because she was still drunk). If I'd had it to do over I'd told him I was sick.
I was sick on Christmas one year but I dragged myself to work anyway. Luckily, every one who walked past me went and told the shift coordinator I didn't look so good and to send me home. His patient died and he took over mine so I could leave. But I knew I'd never live it down if I called in on Christmas.
I still remember the flu epidemic that ran rampant through our ICU when I was a new grad because people wouldn't call in sick until they were practically dying. I don't remember necessarily passing anything on to the patients, but most of the staff got sick. I ended up with pneumonia and trying to take care of myself and my four-year-old son who also had the flu. My husband was out of town, came home to take care of us, and ended up getting sick the day after he went back out to the job. He spent a week trying to take care of himself with the flu in a motel room hundreds of miles from home.
If you're sick, call in as early as possible. If you know before you go to bed that you're too sick to work, call then. And if you're taking the call, be empathic. And if you're not sick, please come to work if you are scheduled.
I say if you are sick- please stay home. It irks me when someone will come to work and say right off the bat, "I don't feel well" or "I'm sick". Frequently, they leave early and leave us short. If they had called in (with enough notice) at least there would have been a chance for the house sup to find a float or PRN to come in. Instead we are left scrambling to divide up their patients or worse having to redo the entire assignment after you have already gotten report.
We do have one house sup that has made people go to the ER if they come in sick and want to go home.
I decide based on how contagious I think I am. Or how horrible I will look to the patients. Like the time I had poison ivy all over my hands and face and the house sup said, so what you aren't contagious, but I couldn't bend my fingers to hold a pen and I figured I wouldn't want someone touching me looking like that. So I stayed home. Colds, well, by the time symptoms break out I've already spread it around so if I can control the symptoms, I'll go in. GI symptoms - don't even ask me to work and run to the bathroom every few minutes. Although I did work with a nurse one time who was on that 3rd call off and worried she was going to get in trouble so she came in with GI problems. She collapsed on the floor of a patient's bathroom hurling. The patient was so funny. He turned on his call light then picked her up and put her in his bed and was moping her forehead with a washcloth when I showed up. We sent her home and sent the patient flowers for being such a nice guy. =)
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medchick
127 Posts
It just seems ridiculous for supervisors expect you to show up when you are truely sick. Why would you want to put your patients in jeopardy. I work on a NICU and certainly don't want to put them in any more danger than they already are.