Was I wrong to call in sick?

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I have a cold and cough. I have used meds that help for a few hours and then I cough and sneeze all over again. I just called in sick at my job and it seemed that my supervisor was not pleased. Did I not do the right thing by not going to work and giving my cold to patients and staff?:crying2:

When your sick your sick. I for one am miserable when im sick and the last thing i want to do is take care of someone else. Not good for me not good for them. WHen i call out sick i dont say anything but that im ill. I have always been able to call off at least 12 hours before my shift. When the supervisor is nosey and asks whats the matter i always reply that i dont disclose my health information :rotfl: Take care of yourself and i hope you feel better. Dont worry bout the idiots at work who want to guilt trip you into coming in.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

Were you wrong to call in?????

No, but it is wrong to work for an asinine employer that guilts you into feeling like it was wrong to take care of yourself by not spreading disease.

Now, go find a better employer that will treat you as the great employee that you are.

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My first job out of school was at a Bone Marrow Transplant unit... these people had NO immune system. Many employees who came in and sniffled once were sent right home.

I get annoyed when retailers are coughing all over my groceries or whatever I've bought... not at them, but at their employers! I would be livid if I had a sick nurse. Our patients are at risk for all sorts of infections, the last thing they need is a potential lung infection carried to them on a silver platter.

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The two times in five years when I called in ill, I was asked why ... migraine one time, diarrhea the other. Each time when I returned my next working day, all I heard was how they had to work short staffed. Oh, and they keep track of the days you call out, don't know how many, but if you call out more than x number of Fridays or Mondays (getting a long weekend?) you get written up.

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Specializes in Telemetry, OR, ICU.
The two times in five years when I called in ill, I was asked why ... migraine one time, diarrhea the other. Each time when I returned my next working day, all I heard was how they had to work short staffed. Oh, and they keep track of the days you call out, don't know how many, but if you call out more than x number of Fridays or Mondays (getting a long weekend?) you get written up.

:yeahthat:

The important thing is to not set a pattern of calling in sick. BTW, I always feel guilty whenever I call in sick, which I rarely do call in sick.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Not only was it not wrong to call in when you're sick, I take the opinion that it is not necessarily wrong to call in when you are not.

This is such a stressful job, I allow myself 2 mental health days a year to call in because I have anal myopia - I can't see my a** going to work tonight.

I rarely take 2, but in my mind, if I need them, I have no guilt.

~faith,

Timothy.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

I think you did do the right thing. Using my common judgement and a bit of micro contributed too. Good luck :)

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I totally agree that if someone is sick they should call off. I also believe that reducing stress in the work place would also go along way in reducing sick calls along with ceasing to harass employees who are ill and call in.

There will always be a few abusers when it comes to calling in ill, why management never seems to deal with them is beyond me. Instead they paint everyone with the same brush.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
Get a Dr note if you can to CYA and get some rest.

But, your attendance record, unfortunately, still gets "charged" for the days you took off.

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

Good for you for calling off work while sick. If you don't take care of your health, who will? :)

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

Here in the UK as an hospital employee, when you start work you get 3months full pay and 3 months half pay for sickness. As I have been working for NHS for years I get 6 months of full and six months of half pay. So can you imagine sickness is always a problem. People can and do phone in at a drop of a hat, not everybody but lots. But when you are really poorly it is great.

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Thanks all. I slept pretty good last night. I had a bottle of cough syrup with codeine-I took 3 large tablespoons (from last year's bronchitis) and that has helped to stop most of the coughing so I could sleep. :)

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