So I've been a nurse for 4 years now. I live in the south where snow is not common. As of today every school system in the area is closed due to the snow. I have no kids, but this tells you how bad it is in the area. I live in the country and it's a 35 minute interstate drive to the hospital where I work. I am not sure if I should attempt to get to work or simply call out. I feel like I should at least try, but I've never had this problem before because I haven't been scheduled to work during a snow event before. I have very little experience driving in snow and the roads aren't plowed out here in the country.
So what would you do in this situation? Or what have you done in the past?
I am posting this because I really want opinions of nurses, not just my family/friends who advise me to stay home.
I'm not sure how this relates to my post but I can't get behind calling people martyrs either, mostly because they are not, the conditions are likely not life threatening or they wouldnt be going in. Maybe potentially life threatening but not likely life threatening. They're just not afraid while some are even if irrationallly.
And what I meant about northern and southern is a Wisconsin native telling a Floridian native, who still lives in Florida, a special snowflake for being afraid of driving in their freak snow storm.
Regrettably, my iPhone did not finish.
I have missed work once due to weather. When Hurricane Opal which was several hundred miles away in the Gulf of Mexico, managed to generate a seriously dangerous storm surge ( not a cloud in the sky) raised the water level/waves dangerously high, flooding streets, garages/cars and lower floors and cutting off bridge accesses. There was virtually no warning.
Beyond that, I have not missed work due to weather. If I took an assignment in an area where there were hurricanes or snow, I planned what I would do if those occurred. And what arrangements to make for pet care, along with my healthcare consideration.
I figure that it is irresponsible to take a job, and then decide that I can just call off if the weather is bad. Or to have certain medical needs and not make some plans for emergencies. Nurses in 24/7 facilities are paid more than those in offices, schools or clinics, for the additional responsibility.
Yes, there are circumstances that fall outside of the norm. But it happens frequently enough in GA that they get 2-5 inches of snow, that there are "Bridge/Overpass freezes before road" signs, that people should be aware and learn some basic coping skills with the weather.
In February of 2010, DC/Baltimore got hit with 56 inches of snow by two storms within a 5 day period. Average for Baltimore is 21 inches per year , snow plows were breaking under the conditions. I had an 18 year old Saturn,( no 4 wheel drive) , i had taken time to learn some skills prep the car and did okay. I will say that it took longer to get back and forth. There were times when the 4 lane hey was down to one lane, and trucks were going 10-20 mph but we made it or stayed overnight if roads were impassable.
Interestingly several ForProfit hospitals fired people that called in at DC, just as some FL nurses got fired for calling out during hurricanes.
Those of us that chose to plan for these issues shouldn't be tagged as martyrs, just as those that do not, shouldn't be classed as "snowflakes".
Key words: Minnesota, not unusual weather. Those words don't mesh in the South. Most cities and drivers down here are not prepared for this weather. Maybe we should all go to Canada and have continuing education on to properly drive and prepare for work in these conditions. Of course the hospital will need to pay for the training required. Oh that's right they won't.
You are right. The south is not prepared for snow. Because these people are not prepared to drive in the snow- I don't want to be on the road with them even if I do know how to drive in the snow unless I am wearing a rubber suit. I don't want their cars sitting in my trunk or anywhere in my car for that matter. Even the most experienced person can encounter issues. The continuing education might help but the south doesn't get snow that often to benefit from such inservice.
But that's the thing! Location, location, location!
I grew up in the Northeast....we were used to storms. We had lots and lots of the right equipment. It was always business as usual. Seldom did anything get called off.You just bundled up and went. It was winter and we knew how to 'do' winter. Two to three feet of snow was quite normal.
When you live in a place like that, it is very different from being in a place where 2 inches of snow throws every aspect of life off. As a Northerner, when first in the South I was unbelieving about the hullabaloo that flurries caused.
But I'm here to promise you with all my heart, when there isn't enough of the right kind of equipment and drivers don't know what is required to know about driving in the snow.... it can be complete havoc. You can TELL people over and over the ways to drive safely under those conditions, but opportunities for experience is lacking. So, many people learn the hard way, if they even learn at all.
You just can't compare Minnesota and Tennessee with regards to winter weather. It doesn't translate.
By any chance are you from Western New York? Because I can relate.
If at all possible, nurses should report to work. Use your resources and your common sense and you should find a way. The ER still gets patients walking into triage even during blizzards, so nurses should be able to come in. Hospital security may pick you up or you can stay the night at the hospital before or after the storm. Nursing is a serious profession that takes serious dedication to the patients we serve. They depend on us. They trust us. They expect nothing less than the best out of us.
Keep it real.
Well in that case they should build a hotel on campus or nearby with special rates for staff.
It always amazed me that surgeries were never cancelled and the patients were always there on time waiting on us to drag in. Unless the doctor can't get in, work goes on. We've had doctors who open their homes to people and we walked to their houses or others who opened their homes for food/drink etc. We also had day care for children close down, and my sister had to stay in an elementary school with her students because they didn't close the schools. Atlanta was a mess last year. Those who work in a service industry just deal with it, deal with those who can't come in, and deal with the hand that's dealt-and you know the deal when you sign on to work so however you can work it out>>>Everyone pays dues, whatever part of the country you live in.
I'm from the South and I've lived where it snows. I don't mind driving in snow and will leave a couple of hours early to get to work, no problem. But not always in the South. Because it is rarely snow. It's mostly ice.
I won't drive on ice in the South. It's stupid. Even if there is salt available, it doesn't work well or evenly when the ice is an inch or so thick. There is also no weatherman that will predict when it will hit accurately (I'm not talking about hours off, I'm talking DAYS).
The only times I have ever driven on ice is because rain or snow changed to ice while I was driving. By the grace of God, I didn't die any of those times, but I saw multitudes of bad things. Slides, t-bones, flips, all of it. I do not like white-knuckling the steering wheel and praying for all the people who were probably seriously hurt in those smashed-up cars. I seriously do not like seeing smeared parts on the road. Red and gray show up really well on white.
What's really bad is the invisible ice, what we call "black" ice. It just blends in with the road, usually on bridges. The road will be completely fine, then you have a 10 foot patch of slick.
I don't know how much driving y'all have done in the South, but in most parts of TN and NC, the roads aren't straight and the land isn't level. You can't hit a skid and ride it out, because you are going over a side rail. In the mountainous parts, you are going down the side of a mountain or down a gorge into water. In the hilly areas, where I'm from, you're going off the side of a hill, most likely through a concrete barrier. It doesn't matter how slow you start out, either, because gravity will get you going down that hill as fast as 50 MPH.
In all the places I've lived so far that have snow, you have nice, flat land. If you go into a skid, you'll most likely end up in a ditch. No biggie. (Except in MI. My God, why are those ditches 20 feet deep??) It's a totally different ballgame.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a plan. You should. I'm not saying that Southern nurses should be let off the hook every time it snows. They shouldn't.
I'm saying that there are serious issues that many of the Northerners on here don't understand. You also have no right to disparage those nurses who take these issues seriously. They ARE deadly.
Well said because it's the truth. Unless you have experienced for yourself - you really have no idea about the south.
I have a feeling some will tell you none of that matters. Real nurses would get their butt to work. Some have been nurses since Jesus lived, have never missed work, and especially not for weather or child related reasons, lol
I took this to mean that snow was more than a once ever 100 years event for her area. Her comment makes it sound like snow events have happend at least several times since she has been working there. We should be prepared to make it to work in whatever kind of weather occures in the area where we live. To not do so is just irresponsible.
A snow storm where it nevere snows, like say San Diego, is not something I would expect one of my nurses to be prepared for or have plans to deal with. Snow in Tennessee, where snow isn't common, but certainly is known to occure, is something I would expect nurses to have a plan for dealing with.
If I were a nurse manager I would not accept failure to arrive for a scheduled shift due to the kind of weather known to occure in that area as a legitimate excuse. Very rare events like hurricanes are a different matter altogether.
Hey hurricanes don't happen up north but guess what Hurricane Irene and Sandy happened especially in New Jersey and along the east coast. Do you think they should be prepared now? But like when Canigraduate stated the you are driving through uneven hilly terrain-it's not that easy. You are hanging onto the steering wheel for dear life. Do you want to be the one to explain to that nurse's loved ones why she/he died because you wanted their butts at work?
In February of 2010, DC/Baltimore got hit with 56 inches of snow by two storms within a 5 day period. Average for Baltimore is 21 inches per year , snow plows were breaking under the conditions. I had an 18 year old Saturn,( no 4 wheel drive) , i had taken time to learn some skills prep the car and did okay. I will say that it took longer to get back and forth. There were times when the 4 lane hey was down to one lane, and trucks were going 10-20 mph but we made it or stayed overnight if roads were impassable.
Great memories! That storm was off the hook and I ended up making insane money that week.
I've never driven in snow in Tennessee or North Carolina. I have in Massachusetts, Wisconsin and the mountains of Washington State. None of those places are flat or level; and not all of those places have a decent system in place for dealing with snow. Western Washington gets ice storms as well. I learned how to drive (with snow and ice) in an area with twisty, turny, hilly roads -- also without guardrails. If you went into a skid, you could go down an embankment or into a tree or, in some places, through someone else's barn or living room.
As far as black ice -- if you know the temperature is within five degrees of freezing, you KNOW there's going to be ice or a slick patch somewhere. You drive as if it's ALL slick. I've never bought the "It was black ice -- I didn't SEE it" excuse for having a crash.
I don't know how some of the posters think a hospital will function if half of its staff decide they're not even going to TRY to come to work because of bad weather. Are you expecting the patients to magically not need care? Everyone who is already AT work should just STAY until the weather is better? And if you're the one who is AT work, are you planning to stay until the weather is better?
You said that you don't buy the black ice for a reason for a crash. Well if you never been in an accident because of black ice you will never know. So don't speak for anyone else. It is a very scary situation. I was a passenger in a car accident. The other car hit my side of the car and part of the car hit my head.
EwaAnn
282 Posts
Maybe it's a perk. Hey ya never know.