Weather Policy

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Does your hospital have a weather policy? If so, is it lenient? Do you ever feel like you have really sacrificed your safety to make it into work out of guilt?

Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
Well every job I've had I've come in regardless. I've worked plenty of hurricanes where the winds were 35 mph in m little dodge neonbut I'm just being honest storms are the last thing I thought about. There's people in this thread saying you should have thought about that when you got hired. Not everyone thinks about Mother Nature when applying for a job. They're thinking of feeding their family after being out of work for 2+ years and paying off student loans.[/quote']

Precisely! I wasn't considering the commute I didn't count on Mother Nature beating down feet upon feet of snow. By some of the poster's comments, you would think I should have simply stayed unemployed because I couldn't work 15 minutes from work to avoid the possibility that I may have to call out for a snow emergency.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
It shouldn't be. That's all part of the job.

Except it isn't. There are far, far more important factors to be considered in accepting a job than "what'll I do IF I GET THREE FEET OF SNOW?!?"

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Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
Like I said there was no one else who could work. You can't shut down an ER doesn't happen. And there's not some magical pool of ER docs just lying around. Doc wore a mask and everything was fine. Sorry if people going above and beyond (like the surgeon) upsets you so much. Maybe you need to look internally to see why it upsets you so much. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com[/quote']

Am I to understand your hospital has no system in place if your sole ER doc becomes incapacitated? Come on, now.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Precisely! I wasn't considering the commute I didn't count on Mother Nature beating down feet upon feet of snow. By some of the poster's comments, you would think I should have simply stayed unemployed because I couldn't work 15 minutes from work to avoid the possibility that I may have to call out for a snow emergency.

NO ONE said for your to stay unemployed :no: if anything, being mindful of planning ahead is the issue, not about one's employment status.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
NO ONE said for your to stay unemployed :no: if anything being mindful of planning ahead is the issue, not about one's employment status.[/quote']

I will plan ahead to a certain extent, but I also have a family, so it isn't just me that I have to consider.

And I will reasonably plan ahead. I will not pay an extraordinary amount of money for a hotel room just to make it into work the next day. No. Not happening.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.

No what I said was in this instance there was no one who could cover his shift. All the other docs had their own shifts to work or were out sick, and you can't just not show up, especially in the ER cause the pts don't stop showing up.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
Precisely! I wasn't considering the commute I didn't count on Mother Nature beating down feet upon feet of snow. By some of the poster's comments, you would think I should have simply stayed unemployed because I couldn't work 15 minutes from work to avoid the possibility that I may have to call out for a snow emergency.

No but what you need to do is PLAN for those snow emergencies, by you know, coming in early and grabbing a motel room, or crashing at a coworkers house. No one is saying you can't live far away from work, what I'm saying is, is you can't use that as an excuse to not come in.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
I also have a family, so it isn't just me that I have to consider.

And so do those who are going to be stuck at work because nobody showed up to relieve them. Also, having a family does not and should not equal a special dispensation. Just because someone doesn't have kids doesn't mean they don't have other obligations.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
I will plan ahead to a certain extent, but I also have a family, so it isn't just me that I have to consider.

And I will reasonably plan ahead. I will not pay an extraordinary amount of money for a hotel room just to make it into work the next day. No. Not happening.

Motel 6 is cheap and they're everywhere, what's your next excuse?

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Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
Motel 6 is cheap and they're everywhere what's your next excuse?[/quote']

Not near my hospital. Not even close. About the same driving distance as my house. What's your next suggestion?

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.

This can be argued to death in cyberspace.

The bottom line is do what you think you need to do.

You will than deal with the consequences of that decision come what may.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
This can be argued to death in cyberspace. The bottom line is do what you think you need to do. You will than deal with the consequences of that decision come what may.

I do. And I do.

I'll repeat it for the eightieth time: I started this thread to assess where other hospitals were at policy wise, not to defend my position. I could care less what anyone thinks I need to do.

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