sick all the time

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I was just wondering if anyone works with any nurses who seem to have one medical problem after another. I work in a small department so we don't have alot of extra staff to help us. My charge nurse comes to work and always seems to have some ailment. She does not have set hours so she can come and go as she pleases. She will come in to work and not feel good and then goes home sometimes leaving us short. I am starting to feel that she just doesn't want to work. What can be done about this problem? I really have never worked with anyone like this before.

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Specializes in Nursing Home ,Dementia Care,Neurology..

Haha I work with several like this!! Always got something wrong with them but they always manage to get to work then moan all the way through the shift.

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Specializes in district nurse, ccu, geriatric.

My mum has fibromyalgia and a nurses back and had the luxury, financially, of being able to retire early. I work with 2 nurses who have fibromyalgia, both are single who have raised children on their own and do not have the luxury of retiring or going on sickness benefits. These girls have no sick leave left and have mortgages and debts to pay, so they have no option other then going to work. With the myriad of problems that goes with fibromyalgia, it can be really frustrating for the other staff, but these nurses who have to work through illness, I think, are suffering more.

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Yep, I've worked with a few like this. Never seem to make it in on a healthy day, but they are full of stories of what they do on their time off that makes me think that BEING at work is what makes them ill! Frequent call-outs, or have to leave early or come in late, but always make up the time by picking up extra shifts. Ticks off those who are caught short-staffed by their various maladies. And why does management allow it? Because, like everywhere else, we're short on nurses :uhoh21:

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

i think alot of it is stress... stress related illness... i know on somedays to go work takes all i got...

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Specializes in district nurse, ccu, geriatric.
Yep, I've worked with a few like this. Never seem to make it in on a healthy day, but they are full of stories of what they do on their time off that makes me think that BEING at work is what makes them ill! Frequent call-outs, or have to leave early or come in late, but always make up the time by picking up extra shifts. Ticks off those who are caught short-staffed by their various maladies. And why does management allow it? Because, like everywhere else, we're short on nurses :uhoh21:

I agree, I am talking about genuine cases, and I too would be most annoyed, if I was experiencing what you are, that is not fair. Kizzykatlove has a good point. Nursing is very stressful emotionally and physically, for some, it probably does take all their energy just to turn up

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Hey, someone genuinely ill, I'm all for them calling out or going home. It's not like I've never been sick! But when you see the same one or two people ALWAYS sick, NEVER having a "feel good" shift, you've gotta wonder. It's like they're always setting it up for calling out the next day! (you know, she was so sick yesterday, blah blah blah, of course she called in today). Ridiculous most of the time. One of the girls has it pegged just right: when she's earned enough sick time to call in for a whole shift, she does. Tell me what kind of illness that is?

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Specializes in Emergency Midwifery.
Ridiculous most of the time. One of the girls has it pegged just right: when she's earned enough sick time to call in for a whole shift, she does. Tell me what kind of illness that is?

Anal glaucoma??

Can't see their bottom coming in to work today?

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

This sounds like "would like to retire but too early. Hope my body makes it". Bedside nursing is hard on an aging body. The average age for bedside nurses is late 40's, early 50's?? I know a lot of nurses in this position. They have no choice but to drag their pained butts to work day after day. Every shift brings its own misery.

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Anal glaucoma??

Can't see their bottom coming in to work today?

ROFL! Yeah, something like that. We've definitely got one or two sufferers, LOL!

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This sounds like "would like to retire but too early. Hope my body makes it". Bedside nursing is hard on an aging body. The average age for bedside nurses is late 40's, early 50's?? I know a lot of nurses in this position. They have no choice but to drag their pained butts to work day after day. Every shift brings its own misery.

I'm one of those with a "pained butt", LOL; the abusers of the sick time thing are in their twenties!! Nothing wrong with them that a case of lottery winnings wouldn't fix ;)

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Just want to add that I've never been so sick, so frequently as I have since I started in nursing. I HATE calling out and sometimes work sick, both because I run out of time and because I don't want to leave the floor short. I just try to be very careful when I have to do this.

Just saying that sometimes it's legit...

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