What are the worst call in excuses you've heard?

Nurses General Nursing

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I've heard some doozies for call INS to work. 1. Dog having puppies 2. I'm having a miscarriage when I could hear a party in the background 3. I'm tired 4. I worked yesterday 5. Out of gas 6. I'm going out of town

just to name a few

what excuses have you heard for someone to use to not come to work

Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
I think it is insane to require a doctors note or an on-site medical assessment to use a sick day. It does seem like an abuse of power, doesn't it? I agree the problem with this is that the nurse (or doctor) is working for the company and can 'rule' whatever they see fit.

In my early 20s I worked as a waitress at a popular seafood restaurant. The management were really picky about hiring and we never had enough help. Most of of worked 70+ hours a week (without choice) with absolutely no benefits. If you were sick they required a doctors note. It was insulting, especially since they didn't offer health insurance. I worked there for 2.5 years afraid to call in because I didn't want to lose my job or pay to go to the doctor.

When I was pregnant with my first son I worked (retail shipping) the entire pregnancy (and the year prior) without calling in once.. All because I was 'afraid' to call in sick. I had been working there for 2 years before I called in the first time and it was because my son (about 5 months old at this point) was sick and my DH couldn't take the day off. My boss threw a fit! Seriously? Over 2 years and an entire pregnancy without calling sick and you're going to guilt me now??

I'm one of those people who loath calling in and leaving people in a lurch. It's not that I don't want to call in.. it is just the anxiety of having to make that phone call is worse than the ailment I want to call in for. :uhoh3:

I agree a lot of people abuse sick time but at what point do we treat adults like adults?

When I was in college I worked as a waitress at Friendly's. I didn't need the job, I just wanted to work because I only had class a few days per week.

One night I began vomiting uncontrollably. I'd also been having really heavy "flow" (sorry, TMI) which was just annoying and I felt anemic.

I was to work the next day. I called my manager and she wouldn't let me call out unless I personally called my coworkers and found coverage! (Yep, you want your FOOD SERVER to have vomitting of unknown origin).

I went to work the next day. I wasn't throwing up anymore but kept having to make restroom trips. Turned out I was having a miscarriage, not my period!

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Specializes in LDRP.

i answered the phone at work once, and it was another nurse asking if she could stay home for her shift that started in 2 hours. why? it had just recently snowed several inches (it doesn't snow a lot here) and she didnt want to leave her dog home alone in the snow. Her dog was a siberian husky.....

at least she just asked to be off instead of calling out :)

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.
When I was in college I worked as a waitress at Friendly's. I didn't need the job, I just wanted to work because I only had class a few days per week.

One night I began vomiting uncontrollably. I'd also been having really heavy "flow" (sorry, TMI) which was just annoying and I felt anemic.

I was to work the next day. I called my manager and she wouldn't let me call out unless I personally called my coworkers and found coverage! (Yep, you want your FOOD SERVER to have vomiting of unknown origin).

I went to work the next day. I wasn't throwing up anymore but kept having to make restroom trips. Turned out I was having a miscarriage, not my period!

One of my high school friends got chicken pox at 16. He worked at Wendy's. As soon as he was diagnosed, he called his boss and said he couldn't come in for a week because he was contagious. Three days later, his boss called and begged hm to come to work. He didn't believe my friend still had chicken pox.

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.
one of my high school friends got chicken pox at 16. he worked at wendy's. as soon as he was diagnosed, he called his boss and said he couldn't come in for a week because he was contagious. three days later, his boss called and begged hm to come to work. he didn't believe my friend still had chicken pox.

i had a pedi and grandmother documented case of chicken pox when i was four and in kindergarten,

along with almost everyone else in the class. that was decades before vaccine was available. fast forward decades to when i was accepted into nursing school. since i had already had a documented case of chicken pox, i did not have to have the vaccine.

when i was about half through my peds rotation, guess what exotic plague i contracted??

my pedi, who by then was long retired, still insisted i had had them when i was four and in his niece's class.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

ahhh, i forgot my favorite.....

i called in with... "my house is on fire and i'll have nothing to wear"..yep, 4 alarm fire, lost everything but before reality sunk in i still had my sick sense of humor.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.
many years ago, i worked in a private psych facility who had a system whereby you called in and simply said "i 'm not coming in today. please charge me a personal day." personal days were for your own flu bug etc., a sick child, a personal day etc. they only asked that you didn't call in at the very last minute unless absolutely necessary.

the only time i (young and healthy) called in, the cat had a vet appointment. the charge just said, "ok"

and that was that. the next week, a friend who worked in my department, had a six year old son who had to have an emergency appy and the brand new weekend supervisor demanded that she bring in a note from the surgeon. oh, she brought one in... along with his appendix in the jar (her son had wanted it it to show his friends) and a picture of his incision! that was the end of that!:D

good on her for standing up to this supervisor!

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
One of my high school friends got chicken pox at 16. He worked at Wendy's. As soon as he was diagnosed, he called his boss and said he couldn't come in for a week because he was contagious. Three days later, his boss called and begged hm to come to work. He didn't believe my friend still had chicken pox.

I called in to my job at a record store - I had Salmonella poisoning with severe dehydration and was hospitalized for IV fluids. The manager asked to speak to the nurse, to see how long I would need to be in the hospital.

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Specializes in LTC.

some of these are hilarious! we should compile these and write a "how not to call in to work, worst excuses" book lol hahahaha

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Specializes in Health Information Management.
A hurricane. We were 3 hours from the coast.

Their friends or relatives are in town.

They have to go to church.

Sporting events, especially the Super Bowl, the World Series, and the World Cup.

Not that this is terribly common, but I live in OHIO and my husband had to call in one day a few years back because of a hurricane! It was a really weird one that blew all the way from the gulf coast to the lower great lakes. We had 80 mph winds over an extended period of time and many of the towns in our area suffered major damage. The stupid hurricane blew a huge old maple tree into our rental home, rendering it unlivable for three months. So even though it sounds crazy, it can happen in places far away from the coast!

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i had a pedi and grandmother documented case of chicken pox when i was four and in kindergarten,

along with almost everyone else in the class. that was decades before vaccine was available. fast forward decades to when i was accepted into nursing school. since i had already had a documented case of chicken pox, i did not have to have the vaccine.

when i was about half through my peds rotation, guess what exotic plague i contracted??

my pedi, who by then was long retired, still insisted i had had them when i was four and in his niece's class.

it's possible. i had chicken pox 3 times, each time confirmed by a doctor. i still worry when i get any kind of rash--more than 20 years later!

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
Not that this is terribly common, but I live in OHIO and my husband had to call in one day a few years back because of a hurricane! It was a really weird one that blew all the way from the gulf coast to the lower great lakes. We had 80 mph winds over an extended period of time and many of the towns in our area suffered major damage. The stupid hurricane blew a huge old maple tree into our rental home, rendering it unlivable for three months. So even though it sounds crazy, it can happen in places far away from the coast!

I hate to tell you, but in FL in those conditions even on the coast, you would still be required to report to work. There are nurses fired every year, for not showing up to work during a 'cane, with higher wind levels, and with house damage.

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Specializes in ICU, step down, dialysis.

Worked at a charge nurse on night shift about 20 years ago. A nursing assistant called in said "I won't be in, I'm at the State Fair." I didn't say anything at first, thinking she was going to say "and...." then the excuse. But nothing. So I said "then what?" and she said, "Nothing, I won't be in tonight cuz I'm at the fair." She was fired the next day. I still wonder why on earth did she not just call in and say she's sick? Least she was honest, I'll give her that.

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