As I'm sitting in my doctor's office waiting to get a flu swab, I thought I'd start a thread. I called in yesterday from the flu. The worst of it actually began tuesday, I had a fever Wednesday, and I still went to work. When I was still feeling pretty drained yesterday, I called in. My nurse manager used scare tactics with me and told me that I had to get tested to be sure it WAS the flu. That pissed me off. I have the right to give no excuse period. Anyhoo...
We've had threads where we've posted the funniest, dumbest and most amusing reasons people have given to call off. So I thought I'd start a thread asking....so what was the REAL reason you have called off when giving an excuse? This isn't meant to encourage unethical behavior, but I thought it would be fun.
One time I called in sick when the flu was going around because I had not had an ounce of sleep in 4 days. I had already called off for that before, and boy was my DON pissed. (I've suffered from crazy insomnia issues for years and have worked with my doctors to no avail.)
My managers clearly didn't get the severity of my sleep deprivation nor care how dangerous it would be for me to be on the floor with lives in my hands saying it was my responsibility to get proper sleep at night, as if I had control over it. So I wasn't about to say it was due to sleep again. So I called in sick saying I had the flu.
I have called in "with a migraine" for a mental health day or two... not truly a lie, my brain hurt! And, thankfully having pet-loving managers, called in because my dog died (2 different dogs).
When hubby and and I used to go snow skiing, he asked me to call in one day so we could go skiing. Tempting, but the closest hospital down the mountain was the one I worked at. My luck I'd break a wrist or leg and wind up in that ER! So, no.
Oh, as far as unreasonable employers when you call in... my daughter (she was assistant manager at a convenience store) was asked to come in around midnight during a heavy snow storm. Well, she wound up with her car in the ditch about a half-mile from home. She called them to say she couldn't make it in, and the manager replied "you live close, can't you walk?" Yeah, no problem, walk three miles in the worst snow in years, on curving downhill side streets. She started looking for another job after that.
If you do not feel able to provide the standard of care you are professionally responsible to provide, then you call in and take personal leave. You are not required to give a reason. And, in this country, your boss is not allowed to ask. Respectfully you should give as much notice as possible and the award gives time limits on notice and whether your employer can withhold your pay for that shift.
if you make an error, if someone is adversely effected by your error, I am fairly sure that aphra and/or your boss and/or the coroner will not appreciate the excuse of 'I knew I was not feeling capable of providing a safe standard of care, but I was worried that my boss would be angry with me if I called in sick!'
I have been a nurse for 29 years. I have called in when I am actually sick. When I need a mental health day either due to work issues or personal issues that have overwhelmed me. I woke one morning with my basement flooded. I had lived in my house close to 8 years at that point and never had an issue previously. Another morning I woke up and my car was stolen. Each time I was asked to reconsider or threatened. The only time I have not been given grief over asking for time off was when a family member died. When I have ever been the person taking the call off--call. I just told the nurse thank you for letting me know and I hope things improve. Sometimes I think the person receiving that call only thinks of the impact to the unit. We all have lives outside of nursing and are adults. If there are issues, those issues need to be taking care of by manager following the disciplinary process.
Usually whenever I interviewed, I made it known that I rarely called out. It would have to be that I was really sick or I had car problems. (NB - At the time, I wasn't in clinical nsg with my 'sick pink hair' episode; and my airplane flight was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.)
Working 11-7 or some certain positions, there was no one to cover for me. And all my paperwork/other tasks would just be waiting for me upon my return. Just NOT worth calling out, unless I was truly 'Typhoid Mary' sick.
But travelling safely is another issue. My jobs usually required some small amount of travel - not excessive, but 20 or 30 miles in snow or rain on 11-7 with a 'donut' spare tire is NOT safe. Even Triple A would give me a 'safety card' about 'donut' tire usage when they came out. (For the unfamiliar, a 'donut' tire is ONLY intended for no more than 5 miles or so, just until you can get a good tire replacement at the shop.) And I won't jeopardize myself if my car's brakes or battery are funky.
Most of my jobs have had limited sick leave time off. So I'd rather not spend it on something minimal or trivial.
Oh, and I am also a member of the "I Lost My Car" club. Twice over. SILLY! Although neither episode was work related. (I think that topic might make a neat thread!)
Must say first that I have not called off when either one of my children or I was ill but one time. Was sicker than the proverbial dog the next 3 days! Not worth the misery. HOWEVER!!! As a former DON, I have heard my share of "unique" ailments and reasoning. My favorite of favorites was the nurse who called in and said directly to me- 20 minutes before her second shift starting time...Hi --- I won't be in tonight because my hubby is home and we are making whoopy all night tonight! I SO wanted to write her up but my administrator wouldn't let me.
My sister called off for me, 4 years ago, when I went into the hospital 6 weeks early to have my daughter. I was in such denial that I was fully planning on going into work the next day, but she knew what was going on and called me off...well for my maternity leave.
I ended up in the ER while I was 15 weeks pregnant and having complications. I had to call out for 3 shifts in a row after that visit and I had my husband take my ER physician note up to my job. The following day, our entire unit received an email from our manager stating about ER physician notes do not mean anything when calling out. Then continues to state that working in the hospital, we all get to know each other and anyone can go ask their 'friends' in the ER to write physician notes, followed by a stated of needs for shift coverage on the days I called out. Quite insulting.
Oh, heck they never tell you anything on the first day of class anyway-- just hand out the reading list and the syllabus and the clinical assignments. Those were all available the next day, and I knew clinical didn't start for a week so no harm, no foul.
I don't know about that. With Moodle we were expected to know the syllabus and already have read the first few chapters and looked through the power points by day one of class...
I have never done this as a nurse, but did once when I worked at a call center for Scholastic at age 18. My aunt had just gotten some really devastating news regarding her breast cancer. It was right after the twin towers fell and our entire family was going to be at her house for pizza and watch the state of the union and just hang out with her. I don't really regret it. She died not too long after.
Then, when I was 19 I had a different job playing piano for high school choirs. My jerk of a husband broke up with me the night before (we weren't married then, married a few years later). I usually went to the middle school to do things like organize sheet music and make bulletin boards for their teacher while the highschool teacher taught humanities. I couldn't pull myself together enough to go to themiddle school. Went to the high school though.
One time, when I was working nights, I woke up at 4 pm (my usual time- had to be at work by 6 pm) and immediately started vomiting. I felt horrible calling out 2 hours before my shift started, but man did I feel rotten. I have called out a couple of times because I was in school and had multiple papers due and just didn't have time to finish them. I was single mom with 3 young kids, so I needed to be able to work when they were at school/daycare.
I fell down the stairs and broke my leg (and I was sober!). Went right back to my ER via ambulance after just finishing a 12 hour shift there. I told my supervisor that night that I wasn't going to be in the next day.
My daughter had some serious mental health stuff going on so I called in a bunch when that was happening a few years ago. Now I am in the back pain stage. I am in pain almost all of the time. I have called out twice this school year for pain so bad I could hardly move. Just found out it's a herniated disk impinging on my sciatic nerve, which explains a lot.
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cirqul8r
45 Posts
I have called in "with a migraine" for a mental health day or two... not truly a lie, my brain hurt! And, thankfully having pet-loving managers, called in because my dog died (2 different dogs).
When hubby and and I used to go snow skiing, he asked me to call in one day so we could go skiing. Tempting, but the closest hospital down the mountain was the one I worked at. My luck I'd break a wrist or leg and wind up in that ER! So, no.