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 wonder if the people that wouldn't make the trek or find a way think police or fire shouldn't either? I realize most fire houses have sleeping quarters but most police stations don't in my area. I also bet that if you called a local fire house they might let us crash by them in a snow emergency.
I I saw pics of doctors and nurses snow shoeing to work in Boston lol!
If there was no possible way to get there I'd hope you'd call at the soonest possible inkling, or even if you were worried about what to do in this situation. Someone has to stay whether they want to or not if you or others don't get there.
I don't consider myself a martyr but when I signed up to work in a hospital I signed up to attempt to be at work in 99.9% of circumstances, knowing full well I absolutely am critical staff.
Ever since I became a nurse I have purchased an all wheel drive vehicle. There are many now that aren't gigantic, get decent gas mileage and aren't very expensive. Although we don't get much snow in my area I have needed to get to work in a blizzard and like others said I had no interest in sleeping at the hospital. Long story short my choice of vehicles has been essential maybe 15 times over the years making it worth having, imo.
Here in Vermont I just plow through the snow I'm my front wheel drive 4 cylinder sedan lol. There was a snow storm that put the snow past the bottom of the front grill. I was literally plowing snow and goi g 30 miles per hour so that I wouldn't get stuck, and the road was not plowed and it got reduced to a one and road...and we just sorta squeezed by each other lol. My state is a safe road state meaning by law they don't have to get all the snow off the ground....just got to make it passable, so the roads are usually still covered in snow up to a couple days past any storm.....and I was risking that for a deli job
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
Chesterton1 --
Very familiar with Vermont; you guys live a rugged life up there, that's no lie. But i'd venture to say that Mud Season gives you more trouble than winter!
Our hospital sends an email every time there is a large storm predicted that as essential personnel we are not allowed to call off for weather. Now if you call in sick they can't prove you're not but you are expected to be at work. (I'm in Pennsylvania).
Indiana girl here, and more than once I've had to stay over because day shift can't or won't make it in during or after a snowstorm. It is not fun! I live in town and have offered my house to coworkers to stay so they don't have to travel the roads.
Indiana girl here too and as a dayshifter I took my "go bag" with me during the last big storm. My 20 minute drive in was almost an hour and I wasn't sure I was going to make it at all. I knew I didn't want to drive home in those conditions so I went in prepared to spend the night. Thankfully the roads were much better later that night and I was able to go home. Gotta be prepared though!
This will be highly unpopular but here goes anyway. I worked night shift and I did not go in if the roads were not cleared. I also live in an area that is unprepared for snow. Does that mean someone else had to stay? Maybe but too bad I have stayed many times for hurricanes that came through when others couldn't come in. My 4 kids need their mom and I am not risking driving in severe weather and not being here for them. I don't care about other people's opinions because they do not pay my bills or take care of my family.
Very familiar with Vermont; you guys live a rugged life up there, that's no lie. But i'd venture to say that Mud Season gives you more trouble than winter!
At least if you end up in the ditch during a snow storm you can have the car shoveled out, if you get stuck in the mud.....well your stuck in the mud and that's that.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
In the name of Devil's advocate- there are some employees who do not have the option of staying overnight or leaving hours early. I am a single mom with 3 young children. I do not have overnight child care for them and the earliest I can drop them off is 6:15am for my 7am job.
This is one of the many reasons I took a job as a school nurse. We close if the weather is bad and I don't have to scramble to find an expensive sitter when the schools close.
I grew so weary of hearing this, "But my children!" excuse. If someone makes the choice to have children, then that person should expect to have some sort of plan in place so s/he can go to work. It is not the responsibility of PWOK (people without kids) to constantly pick up the slack/work long hours or work short just because someone else failed to plan.
This isn't a personal attack on the quoted poster; this is a longstanding problem those of us without children have had to put up with, sometimes for many years.
And those who don't want to 'risk' anything because their kids depend on them...what about those of us who got in and want to/need to get home when our shift ends because WE have kids at home that need us? Your decision not to come in directly affects me because I am required to stay later at work and be away from MY kids.
I grew so weary of hearing this, "But my children!" excuse. If someone makes the choice to have children, then that person should expect to have some sort of plan in place so s/he can go to work. It is not the responsibility of PWOK (people without kids) to constantly pick up the slack/work long hours or work short just because someone else failed to plan.
This isn't a personal attack on the quoted poster; this is a longstanding problem those of us without children have had to put up with, sometimes for many years.
It's not just those without children who have had to put up with it. I have children and I have never, ever called in beause of weather. I make sure to plan ahead and I get in, come hell or high water. I've ended up working hour past my shift or working short because I was able to get in and others just didn't even try to.
I do not claim it is the people without kids responsibility to pick up the slack. What I am saying is that my children will always come first and I will always think of them before coworkers. You don't have to agree or like my opinion because it is just that my opinion. It is how I choose to operate. If its between a hospital or my kids then my kids will come first every single time. Luckily, I don't have to be concerned about unhappy coworkers any longer as I left the hospital setting. We are more used to hurricanes in my area and as I said I never missed working in a hurricane while plenty of folks with no kids sure did. I didn't get mad I simply did my job.
melizerd, ASN, RN
461 Posts
I wonder if the people that wouldn't make the trek or find a way think police or fire shouldn't either? I realize most fire houses have sleeping quarters but most police stations don't in my area. I also bet that if you called a local fire house they might let us crash by them in a snow emergency.
I I saw pics of doctors and nurses snow shoeing to work in Boston lol!
If there was no possible way to get there I'd hope you'd call at the soonest possible inkling, or even if you were worried about what to do in this situation. Someone has to stay whether they want to or not if you or others don't get there.
I don't consider myself a martyr but when I signed up to work in a hospital I signed up to attempt to be at work in 99.9% of circumstances, knowing full well I absolutely am critical staff.