Snow & calling out of work

[CrazyGoonRN]

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.

Thanks!!

[kidzcare]

I don't think people from the North realize how bad it is when there's a freak snowstorm in the South.

I'm in Chicagoland and I definitely understand! We presalt the roads here in anticipation of a snowstorm. Our plows are out 24 hours a day. It would be silly for areas where snow is not common to plan and budget a snow plow crew.

I don't know what the answer is for hospitals and other occupations who need staff 24/7, but something must get figured out.

[bluegeegoo2, LPN]

I am from "up North" and when I was learning to drive, the very best piece of advice I ever received for snow/ice driving was "Drive like you have a hot cup of coffee between your legs." I.e. no sudden braking/turning/accelerating. Every move should be slow and deliberate. It is nerve-wracking to drive in the stuff, but is doable.

[wanderlustnurse88, RN]

Just take it slow, as others have said. I actually prefer driving to work in the snow when I'm out in the country rather than the city. Less cars around to hit or be hit. Usually it's usually me contending with the ditch

[melizerd, ASN, RN]

I would also have considered leaving before the storm to get to work and sleeping somewhere in an on call room. We have several for doctors but we have used them for other staff that needs to be there

[No Stars In My Eyes]

Grew up in New England, where, as teens, we used to go out driving in the snow (plowed roads) to get to a large UNplowed parking lot and 'practice' sliding and skidding. It really was just an excuse to us to be idiots howling with laughter as we slewed around willy-nilly. But, as a result, we did learn to handle driving in snow.

Now, in the South, I CAN get on the road, keep it in second gear and c-r-a-w-l .....The thing that bothers me is that the people who don't have a clue are thinking they can go 25-30 mph, and sometimes that is not slow enough. I especially hate fluffy light snow over ice. In that case I call and say I am waiting a few hours before heading in. We do have salters/sanders/plows for the highway and they have, in the last couple of years begun pre-treating the roads with brine.

Still and all, I don't have to deal with mountainous terrain as much as the folks who live out in the country, as I am only about 2 miles from the Interstate. But, very steep curvy roads and driveways? Nuh-uh.

[Angeljho, MSN, NP]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I will call out depending on how bad the snowfall is. Of course a few flakes is not going to keep me home, but I don't travel in snow storms or blizzards.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I am in TN. The governor has closed state offices and is advising people to stay off the roads. We are under a state of emergency. At my house I got 2 inches of sleet and 4 1/2 inches of snow. Some got more. I have been watching the news and the interstate I have to drive on is still covered and is shut down just 20 miles in the opposite direction from the way I go to work. Maybe conditions will improve in a few hours. I'll leave early and attempt it. I just hope it goes well.

"Closed roads" doesn't apply to people like us who are needed in the hospital 24/7. I've been pulled over on "closed roads" before, and after I showed my hospital ID was escorted to the city limits by the very police who pulled me over. Once in the city, roads were more thoroughly cleared.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Sorry, it was an incorrect assumption.

I realize it is my responsibility to get to work regardless of weather conditions. However, an unskilled driver on a road with several sheets of ice is disastrous.

Even a skilled driver on a road with several sheets of ice is disastrous. We still need to get to work.

[~PedsRN~, BSN, RN]

I live in the south as well - and the key is planning for the storm. If you know it's coming? Sleep at the hospital. My facility makes accomodations when possible for staff so they can sleep there/shower there for their shifts. They have also been known to send out four wheel drives to get people in if they are unable to drive.

We are essential personnel. If everyone called out for snow... who would be there to take care of the patients? It's imperative that everyone that is scheduled to work, WORKS.

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

I have trouble sleeping in posh hotels because I'm just that horrible an insomniac, so when the hospital offers to let me sleep in an uncomfortable hospital bed in a semi-private room that I'm sharing with a coworker I might never have met before... hopefully of the same gender at least, but beggars can't be choosers... it's probably safer to drive in the snow than to expect me to practice nursing safely after the absolute zero sleep that I would get that day.

We did have 400 day shift staff members sleep over one night that it was forecast to be icy. I hear they had them three or four to a room. No thanks! My hospital will not reimburse us for hotels. If we are going to stay at a hotel close to work, the cost is on us. Also no thanks. As much as I hate driving, I'm too much of a cheapskate to spend more than half of what I'd make on a shift on a hotel room.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I don't think people from the North realize how bad it is when there's a freak snowstorm in the South. You all know what to do - the idiots down here don't. I live less than three miles from my job and I counted eleven cars that had clearly skid off the side of the road on my way home. Just think about that for a second - eleven people running off the road in less than three miles. That is an awful lot of people, and there's an awfully big chance that one of those idiots is going to run into YOU instead. I think driving in the snow/ice down here is pretty much akin to seeing a downed power line in a puddle and choosing to step in that puddle anyway. Hey, the coating on the cable might be okay and you might not get electrocuted, right?

I've lived in Massachusetts, Wisconsin and the mountains of Washington State. Currently, I'm living south of the Mason-Dixon line. I "get" exactly how horrible the average southerner is at driving in the snow. That still does not excuse us from going to work.

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I live in the South too. As nurses, we are considered "essential personnel" and have to get to work. Unfortunately, my husband is considered "essential" as well so we both have to go (he Homeland Sec.). I live over 45 miles from work. I have made it back and forth each time. Everyone that calls out because of the weather, makes the rest of us have to work short. It is spelled out very clearly in our personnel hand books and we get reminders when the weather is bad. They do offer rides to those that live within 10 miles, but that doesn't do me any good. I am originally from up north, so I don't mind driving, but the idiots who think "I got this, I got me a BIG truck" are the ones that make it dangerous.