Verbal warning about sick calls.....please advise

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How can i make my situation as gentle on me as possible? Today I received a verbal warming about my sick calls. I have a chronic condition that I live with. And at times it becomes unbearable where I am either hospitalized or at home on sick leave with a drs note sent to my Nurse Unit manager. And at time for some other medical reason which is legit as I have a drs note as proof that I am ill. I had to take off December 25 and 29 with a dr note for an upper respiratory tract infection in which my dr wrote I was not well enough to work...then again in August I was hospitalized with a drs note for my chronic condition which I had to take time off work which was two days however I was hospitalized for over a week. Then again in May my chronic condition flared up again and I was off for a day and a half. I don't understand why I am getting a cold shoulder for being legitimately ill. Please offer some advice...not sure how I feel about this

I suffered the 23rd and 24th of December and could barely get through both of those shifts...then the 25th came along and I couldn't even get out of bed, just wish noone would not be so upset with me as I tried my best to get through these shifts it was not intentional to say the least

Are you the OP under a different user name?

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Specializes in Emergency Medicine.
Are you the OP under a different user name?

I was going to ask the same thing- or is this person just throwing random statements similar to OP?

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*you're

you're = you are

your = possessive

OCD .......or is it DOC

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

No... they (WE) don't. FMLA is a federal law in the US. In Canada there's a patchwork of different programs that may or may not replicate the terms contained in the act. There is NO federal law or act in Canada that covers family medical leave. That is left to provincial governments' labour codes and to individual employer/employee union collective agreements. Sick time is covered by collective agreements and most of them state that if a doctor's note is required, the employer must reimburse the employee for the cost of it.

In Alberta, the attendance awareness program allows the employer (AHS) to require employees to take part in attendance "counselling" for as few as 2 single sick days or a single period of 3 consecutive shifts in a 3 month period - even with a note. So someone with umm... let's go with lupus... who has flares causing them to miss a day here and a day there at what may appear to be regular intervals would be a target for attendance awareness. It's a progressive program so the first time a manager becomes aware of an incident of "problem sick time" there's an informal meeting with the employee. If there are ongoing failures to meet the standard there will be one or more formal meetings with perhaps documentation as to expectations; at the third such formal meeting union representation is necessary. If it appears an employee has a condition that could be considered a disability a meeting between the employee and an Abilities Advisor will be arranged to discuss the matter to determine what, if any, accommodations may be needed to improve attendance. The union has no power to prevent the initiation of such a process, but they can and will intervene if it appears to be harassment. If all attempts to encourage the employee to reduce their absenteeism fail, the employee could then be terminated. Employees are NOT required to provide their employer with their diagnosis but may be expected to provide a prognosis, in terms of likelihood of full recovery vs ongoing requirement for sick leave. The employer is also not allowed to request access to an employee's medical records or for the employee to sign anything authorizing them to obtain medical information from any source.

To the OP: It might actually be a good thing for you to speak to someone from OH&S about your health concerns. If an accommodation - such as working only day shifts, working 8 hour shifts instead of 12 or working only weekends - might help you maintain then it could be worth your while. Don't take it personally that you've been "verbally warned". Your absences meet some sort of trigger within your ogranization. Your manager may be dancing to a tune being played by someone much farther up the food chain and has no choice. Best wishes.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
OCD .......or is it DOC

Nah, just an appreciation for the English language and its usage.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

The paradox of being in health care. You are expected to work when sick. It sucks.

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

When you are unable to perform the job you accepted then someone else must do the work. It is not like a job where the work waits. If you cannot perform the job you were hired to do...why would you expect to keep the job? The hospital owes you nothing.

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The paradox of being in health care. You are expected to work when sick. It sucks.

I don't think it'd as much expecting to work when sick as much as her absences have become a staffing and performance issue. It sucks that OP is sick intermittently. It also sucks that her coworkers have to cover her intermittent absences without much notice. They aren't picking on her - she has been absent often and this puts the floor at risk if her load cannot be covered or absorbed safely. We can be sick (albeit rarely). We cannot keep on being sick (and calling off) and expect our floor to be sunshine and rainbows about it.

At what point does a person's inability to maintain health fault their contract for so many hours/ftes?

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I'm a Canadian nurse. There is no such thing as FMLA here - you may be eligible for EI sickness benefits but that's more of a long-term thing. Which province are you in? You almost certainly have a union - speak with your steward. Laws about terminating employees are significantly different in Canada than they are in the US and it would be highly unlikely (probably not legal) that you could lose your job for being intermittently sick. Again, speak to your union steward.

She's right, I'd look into short term or long term disability EI. It's like 60% of your wage or something so you'll still be getting paid and be able to look after yourself. I know when people are on maternity leave they can work 8 hours a week I think so maybe you can be on a modified work plan but I'd talk to your doctor, union rep and who ever your employer gets your extended medical benefits from.

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Remember, OP said they are casual.

Staffing will stop booking her/him with a track record of cancelling shifts. Casuals usually don't have sick leave.

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Remember, OP said they are casual.

Staffing will stop booking her/him with a track record of cancelling shifts. Casuals usually don't have sick leave.

You don't have sick leave but still can't keep calling in sick on the days you are available. That create a staffing issue with little notice.

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
I have seen people get fired for chronic sick calls. There was nothing they could do except go on disability.

Right - I also have chronic health conditions that I have been dealing with for quite a few years. I was working in a busy ER/Trauma unit and ended up having a CVA at work.

Transported upstairs to the ICU - after d/c I realized I wasn't going to be able to work in that busy ER. I found out I wasn't going to be able to work more than about an hour at a time -

I had my PCP as well as my cardiologist fill out paperwork for my disability application and hearing and was promptly denied. Three times.

Maybe your MD can help u find something u can do - but u will probably have a hard time working a nursing job if u have to miss a lot of shifts. (Even with an MD's excuse.)

Anne

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