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 Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

This is a question for someone who knows more about legal issues than I (and, I assure you, I am not looking for legal advice). You are there working your shift, make an error...would it help you in court if you said "this error was due to having work short staffed because many of the scheduled staff called off due to the weather?"

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And folks? Driving in snow is not some insurmountable skill to learn. IT IS EXACTLY LIKE REGULAR DRIVING, just slower and more careful. It doesn't matter if you grew up doing it or not, it's NOT THAT HARD. Start the car, step on the gas, steer and go. Take it easy and be extra careful. It's not like you're being asked to perform neurosurgery on a mouse. Sheesh.

well......sorta.

I have driven a car that was front-wheel drive and skidded like a cartoon animal on a banana peel on what I'd consider a pretty minimal layer of snow/slush. I had a car, too, that was front-wheel drive and was more dependable NOT to fishtail.

My sportscar, years ago, taught me how to drive in snowy, slushy, miserable unplowed-road conditions BECAUSE it was nothing like "regular driving". Actually had to steer in one direction to go in the other direction, LOL, because the spin-out was that bad!

So while I'm a big proponent of learning how to drive in the snow safely, I also recognize that NOT every car is like my current tank of an all-wheel drive. Some cars are simply nightmares on the road (like the commuter car I normally drive, but NOT on days like today).

Which is why I ALSO advocate to leave EARLY, drive SLOWLY and carefully and then you get there SAFELY.

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Interesting points. I ask because tomorrow's forecast is predicted about 14" of snow. And I reside about 90 minutes door-to-door from my hospital. I also drive a 4-door sedan.

And my hospital has made it abundantly clear that weather is NOT an acceptable call-out excuse.

I have spent the night at the hospital in this instance...going in before the weather hits. Never fun!!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
well......sorta.

I have driven a car that was front-wheel drive and skidded like a cartoon animal on a banana peel on what I'd consider a pretty minimal layer of snow/slush. I had a car, too, that was front-wheel drive and was more dependable NOT to fishtail.

My sportscar, years ago, taught me how to drive in snowy, slushy, miserable unplowed-road conditions BECAUSE it was nothing like "regular driving". Actually had to steer in one direction to go in the other direction, LOL, because the spin-out was that bad!

So while I'm a big proponent of learning how to drive in the snow safely, I also recognize that NOT every car is like my current tank of an all-wheel drive. Some cars are simply nightmares on the road (like the commuter car I normally drive, but NOT on days like today).

Which is why I ALSO advocate to leave EARLY, drive SLOWLY and carefully and then you get there SAFELY.

It's true that some cars handle better in the snow than others. But somehow, I don't see "But I drive a sports car and it's bad in snow" as a valid excuse for not showing up to work. Sometimes you have to grow up and drive a dependable car rather than (or in addition to) a fun one.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.

This thread was an absolute eye opener for me and just served to reinforce a lot of the things I already hear on a continuous basis.

To those of you braving this nor'easter: good luck and much love! Snow is snow but we know the commute or the risks it poses are difficult things to wrangle around.

I'll be thinking of you!

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

I have never called in due to snow and I live in SE Michigan. I have called in due to the fact our neighborhood was flooded. We have a large creek that will flood our streets every so often. I wouldn't have called out then, but my dad was not able to get his F 150 through it without it stalling out (we live in the same neighborhood). I even thought about my alternate routes and they were flooded as well, so going in was not an option.

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For those live on the Midwest out other snowy areas, don't compare your situation with the rest of the country.

There are states that may experience snow ocasionally or no more than a few inches at a time. These areas are not equipped for snow removal like other states (i.e. Carolinas, Georgia, even DC at times).

So it's nice to exchange war stories about how you drove through a 6 foot snow block in your Toyota Camry, but that's what you're used to! I'd be giving you the side eye if you didn't know how to drive in snow.

Ok, well here's a battle story from Georgia, where we don't know how to drive. My friend spent 12 1/2 hours on the road to get TO work in Atlanta a couple weeks ago when the highways froze with everyone on them.

If you want to get to work, you'll get to work. If you want an excuse to stay home, you'll use it as an excuse to stay home.

I can't drive on ice. So I get to work early. The day before if I have to. I've stayed in a motel to do it when I had to. Once when I didn't have to because my back had been bothering me and I didn't want to sleep on a cot.

If you're smart enough to get into nursing school, you should be smart enough to know that people are sick 24/7.

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It's true that some cars handle better in the snow than others. But somehow, I don't see "But I drive a sports car and it's bad in snow" as a valid excuse for not showing up to work. Sometimes you have to grow up and drive a dependable car rather than (or in addition to) a fun one.

Ding ding ding! I love my sports car...except for in the snow. But I can still drive it when it does snow.

I made sure of that before I bought it, because although I was about to leave the north, I knew I would still encounter snow in other areas of the country, and it'd probably be worse considering the areas I've been stationed don't regularly handle snow. The roads in the south after a little snow are almost always worse than the roads back home after a lot.

So I wake up an hour or two early if I know it's going to be bad and hit the road, cussing at myself for wanting a fast car with rear wheel drive, way too much power and not enough traction.

But that only lasts a day or two. And when the snow melts, I'm back to leaving everyone in my dust, and all is well in SoldierNurseland again...

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

We don't get penalized for calling in due to the weather. But I have only called in once in 7 years .If you know it is going to be stormy be prepared. Get up extra early to warm up and clean off the car, shovel if you need to and head out extra early so you can take your time.If you go slowly you should get there just fine. Most people don't get the part about SLOWING DOWN.I grew up driving in this stuff and my Dad taught me well.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
well......sorta.

I have driven a car that was front-wheel drive and skidded like a cartoon animal on a banana peel on what I'd consider a pretty minimal layer of snow/slush. I had a car, too, that was front-wheel drive and was more dependable NOT to fishtail.

My sportscar, years ago, taught me how to drive in snowy, slushy, miserable unplowed-road conditions BECAUSE it was nothing like "regular driving". Actually had to steer in one direction to go in the other direction, LOL, because the spin-out was that bad!

So while I'm a big proponent of learning how to drive in the snow safely, I also recognize that NOT every car is like my current tank of an all-wheel drive. Some cars are simply nightmares on the road (like the commuter car I normally drive, but NOT on days like today).

Which is why I ALSO advocate to leave EARLY, drive SLOWLY and carefully and then you get there SAFELY.

My car that did the best in snow? My little Toyota Celica, rear-wheel drive.

​God, I loved that car!

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

Another thing that helps is to buy a car cover so that when it snows all you have to do is put it on, and when you go out to your car, take it off and "Viola'!" Your car is snow free; no need to clean it off.

That, and several cans of ice melt make life a lot easier.

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Here on the edge of Maine's Northern Woods what the rest of the country calls a "major winter storm" we just call Thursday....

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