I had to call out sick for tonight and am commencing the routine post-call self-flagellation. Surprise! It's not making me feel better.
It sucks because a) I was sick in January too and had to call out then, so that's twice in only a couple months, and b) I took a couple personal days last week, so this probably makes me look so bad to my manager/coworkers. But, I'm gross! I wouldn't want a nurse who presents the way I do taking care of my family, nor would I want a coworker to share these symptoms with me either.
It sucks, because in a more sedentary job, I would go in and do what I could as long as I could. But in this job, I know I need to be ready to rumble the entire 12 hours I'm there. The last time I was sick, I loaded myself up with medicine and came in for the first two nights of my week. By the end, I was useless - head on the desk, couldn't even concentrate on reading emails, didn't give a hoot about doing vital signs or morning meds or anything. And those were genuinely GOOD shifts with genuinely GOOD patients. I was ashamed of the care I gave, especially the last night, and I know I put extra work on everyone around me because I felt so sick. And I ended up calling out for my third shift that week anyway, so a whole lot of good the suck-it-up approach was.
I'm not a martyr for this job, but I'm no slacker either. I don't call out unless I know I can't give even marginally acceptable nursing care. Twice in two months is a lot for me; usually I'm a one or two occurrences per year type. And I've been making an effort to use my vacation/personal time in a way that I don't feel the need to take unplanned mental health days, which helps me keep call-outs to a minimum. But I don't think that's helping my image today.
TL;DR I'm sick and feel super guilty about calling out of work.
To make this into an actual conversation, how do *you* decide when you're not able to work? What would be your ideal sick leave policy? (I'm struggling to think of unique questions; I know this topic comes up a lot.)
"There is NOTHING I can do for you. I can NOT come in" a
love that response.
Ilearned from experience no one cares about you being sick ,you must take care of your self.
I got bullied by the ANM to come in sick,even though i told her i had a fever,but her answer was I have no one to put in charge,why dont you take like a contact(I dont think those are around anymore) and come in.
During the night I got worse my body shut down,ears clogged,nose clogged,chills,supervisor forced a nurse from another floor to float and take charge under threat of being fired/disciplined,...
went home ,swore that would never ever do that to me again.
I make sure I am always there rain,snow,disaster establish my reputation as solid as can be and I will call in if I am sick, and take your policy and shove it .if I'm sick ,I get my note,get cleared by employee health...cover your ***...I have used Urgent care centers, Dr on demand app and worked out fine.Once they know you are not a sick time abuser as I have worked with those ,they will stay off your back. Be firm ,fair and cover your butt.
I call off sick if I have vomiting/diarrhea or feel flu-like symptoms and have a fever.
I also call off if I am mentally unable to do it. I experienced extreme feelings of burnout a couple of weeks ago (posted about it on this forum, actually) and had an actual panic attack following a horrendous few weeks of work. I felt completely unable to return to my job and called in for my remaining shifts that week. I don't feel the least bit guilty because I needed that time to refresh and relax. I cleaned my house, handled my school responsibilities, worked out, saw friends, and returned to work feeling great and with a much better ability to cope with the demands of my job. I know this time I took for myself enabled me to give better care and to interact with families and colleagues more positively. A win for all! ?
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
If I cannot control my body fluids (whether it's mucous or droplets or vomitus), or if I feel bad enough that popping a Sudafed and/or a couple Motrin will not make me functional, then I stay home. No guilt about it.
Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN
1,348 Posts
love that response.
Ilearned from experience no one cares about you being sick ,you must take care of your self.
I got bullied by the ANM to come in sick,even though i told her i had a fever,but her answer was I have no one to put in charge,why dont you take like a contact(I dont think those are around anymore) and come in.
During the night I got worse my body shut down,ears clogged,nose clogged,chills,supervisor forced a nurse from another floor to float and take charge under threat of being fired/disciplined,...
went home ,swore that would never ever do that to me again.
I make sure I am always there rain,snow,disaster establish my reputation as solid as can be and I will call in if I am sick, and take your policy and shove it .if I'm sick ,I get my note,get cleared by employee health...cover your ***...I have used Urgent care centers, Dr on demand app and worked out fine.Once they know you are not a sick time abuser as I have worked with those ,they will stay off your back. Be firm ,fair and cover your butt.