I did find some similar threads...but I am really looking for some advice, so stay with me:chair:
I got sick on friday. Fever, cough, chills, body aches...really really sick. Believe me, I'm not a whiner. I went to the pa in quick care who thought it might be bronchitis and it might be influenza...either way she wasn't going to treat me. (she felt it was viral) I knew I had to work Christmas, so I talked her into a z-pack just in case. anyhow...I just got sicker. I called work on saturday and told them "I'm running a fever, I have a horrible cough and I'm dizzy" response? take cold medicine and come in any way. They were short and it was christmas.
Too late to make this short;) but I loaded up on motrin and tylenol and went to work (I work ER) By 1100 my fever was up to 100.9 with the meds. I told my charge nurse that I was really having a hard time. She basically told me to suck it up. She kept giving me these 89yo GLF's who were going to go to surgery for hip replacements. One of the doc's saw how crappy I looked and we did an influenza culture (positive) My charge nurse told me to "do the best you can, I will try to find someone to cover you" She found one more nurse to come in from ICU and then she used her to "lighten our load" instead of sending me home.
I pulled it together and did the best I could. No whining. I am now really peeved. I feel like I should do something or say something to my director about the way this was handled. I wonder how many little old people I just killed off...
I'm interested in what you would have done in this situation and what you would do now... would you speak to your director? let it go? I am finally feeling human again and I have a few days off, but I don't think I will ever work that sick again. oh, and I have worked there a year and not called in...for anything.
I can't believe they made you come in sick. I also had a similiar problem, I am hoorifice, can't speak, aches and temp, I called in christmas night, I felt bad about doing it- I never have done it in the last year myself, but I had too, when I called the house supervisor, "she said that is fine, we are running a little low on staff, but we don't want you here sick either". That was for me (I hope) and for my patients.
I also work in the ER and also Med-Surg unit. If it were me I would definately say something to someone; it won't help the situation that has passed, but may help next time for you and change the policy. I am charge nurse for the med-surg unit and I would have taken a cart and patients myself rather than have someone come in sick; making the pt's sick, making other staff sick and making the nurse feel worse.
It amazes me they expect people to work and risk infecting others while seriously ill (and with a positive flu culture to "prove" it - as if all your other symptoms weren't enough).
There have been so many sickies showing up for work at my hospital, that the cafeteria had to close all self-serve food stations like the salad-bar and soup stations, because of all the people getting sick from it (and rumors, apparently true, that the stations were cultured, with positive results). Ew, ew, triple ew! I know dietary is very strict about sick people not coming in, but why are nurses and aides, those that provide direct patient care, FORCED to?
I've called in sick once to this new job I have as an LNA, and that was after I'd already taken 2 days off due to a surgical procedure. I got a fever on the 3rd day, and called my NM, told her I wasn't coming in. Thankfully she didn't expect me anyway due to the procedure, but there was no way I was compromising MYSELF, never mind the patients, and risk ending up with a bad infection (which I'm prone to anyway, due to Type 1 diabetes) or something.
It's hard though, and I know they make you feel like crap when you call out and they claim being short-staffed.
As all the others have said, you don't "ask" to be off sick, simply call and inform them that you are sick and will not be in. No discussion. If you start to feel the "guilt" thing, just remind yourself - if you fell down and broke your leg, they wouldn't close the hospital (or even your unit). None of us are that essential.
I learned a long time ago that going to work sick does no one any good. plus if you start to feel worse they wont let you leave. Ino longer feel guilty about calling out sick, but I do not call out sick unless I am sick and I do nothing except rest if I can not go to work.
Scrmblr, I know how you feel. Last week, I fell down my steps getting ready for work, and broke my toe. I have never done this before, and I had no idea how much it would hurt. I work for a really good place, though, because within 1/2 of me being @ work they called in another nurse to take my patients.
Next day, I took the trip to the ED. Def broken, def HURTS, here's your script for Percocet. So, I've missed Mon and Tues, so I drag myself in Friday night and experience some of the worst pain in my life. (And, yes, I have given birth naturally, but that only last 7 hours!) But, I can't take Percocet before work and nothing else was helping the pain. I had to get a ride home because I couldn't walk out to my car. I cried almost all night.
So, I'm scheduled to work Christmas night, trip and hurt my toe again. Talk to the ortho surgeon on call, and he says plainly, "You have to keep pressure off of it. If not, the bones can grow together wrong, and you could have pain for the rest of your life."
Well, that did it for me. I love my job and my co-workers, and I didn't want to stiff anyone on Christmas, but there's nothing I could do
. Our acting asst. NM called around all day to find someone to work for me. I was supposed to work tonight, too, but I told her I couldn't do it. And again someone pulled it together and came in for me. I feel like a jerk for missing work over a broken toe (I mean, it just sounds minor) but I have pain all the way up to my hip because of how I have to walk. And no job/avoiding gossip/getting a raise is worth the idea of having this pain forever.
I just thank God for the place where I work, where my co-workers really pulled together for me, because they saw how much I was hurting when I tried to work.
Merry Christmas to all! (And break out the percocet, because this toe/foot/leg hurts so much!)
Staffing issues are NOT the responsibility of the staff nurse. This is management's responsibility. It is thier responsibility to see that there is adequate coverage for sick calls.
The reason they "make" you come in sick is simple. YOU DO It.
You take on thier responsibililty. You allow them to place responsibililty for their failure to staff adequately. Staffing issues more often than not result from failure to hire adequate staff.
It is management's responsibility to hire enough staff to insure coverage for illness, vacation and other types of time off. It is NOT your responsibility.
Employers do this because we let them intimidate us. IT is bullying.
Your first responsiblity is to yourself. If we are so darned scarred that we will loose a job for being sick that we are willing to sacrifice anything to keep that lousy job then we will continue to be lead around by our noses.
We will continue to be the victims of employer bullying. As long as you agree to it you will remain their slave.
They KNOW they can make you feel guilty because you always prove to them that you do.
This is the difference between being all grown up and capable of making "tough" decisions and being a child controlled by others.
Make the tough decision to take care of yourself instead of taking on thier guilt.
EVERY single RN who works for your company is an RN and is capable of careing for patients. What I am getting at is MANAGERS who are RNs but do not do patient care can put on a pair of scrubs and do patient care when needed. How often do you see this done at your facility? Keep in mind most RNs who work behind a desk and does not do patient care at your facility is salaried. They can work them > 40 hrs if needed it is part of being salaried. What usually happens is if they do work > 40 hrs they can make up for it by taking extra time off. Thier job is not so critical that they can't take the time off. The bedside nure's job is critical and does not allow this.
There is no reason the DON the RN Case manager and other types who get EVERY holliday and weekend off can not come in and work in a crisis situation. If they are not doing this then they are not utilizing all thier nursing resources. In any case it is not your problem.
Scrmblr, I feel like a jerk for missing work over a broken toe And no job/avoiding gossip/getting a raise is worth the idea of having this pain forever. Sharon
Stop feeling like a jerk. The only jerk would be someone who tried to make you work.
This is the same as apologizing when someone else steps you YOUR toe. It is they that should apologize, no if ands or buts about it.
I know what you are talking about. I work in long term care, the residents are elderly and immunocompromised. We post signs at every entrance asking people not to visit if they have cold or flu symptoms so that they will not infect the residents. Our policies state that, for infection control reasons, direct care staff are not to come in if they are sick. However, we also have a policy stating that if you call in twice in a 28 day period you receive a verbal warning, if it happens again, you get a 3 day suspension, and if it happens a 3rd time you are terminated (MD note or not). The only thing that can save you is if you are actually admitted into the hospital. So staff are continually coming in sick, coughing, sneezing, even vomiting, because they cannot afford to lose their jobs.
Just got finished reading this thread looking for moral support after having to call in ill the 3nights prior to Christmas day.I too had fever, chills HA etc and had been to Dr. who told me I should stay home while running temp. I work in L@D and work with newborns in mother baby care. I almost dread having to return to work because I know how angry people become when someone calls in ill on a major holiday. This forum has made me feel better and reaffirmed my decision to do the right thing for both myself and my patients.
This is why the hospitals are a dangerous place to go....go there and you'll GET sick.....thru no fault of employees like you....but the administration, bosses, etc, who won't let people who ARE sick stay home until the infectious stage is past!
No one should be made to work sick and patients should not have to be exposed to more than necessary. It was not necessary that you work. They found someone to come down to help....she could have taken your place to start with.
My boss is alot the same way....come in anyway. She doesn't care if you are sick, just come in anyway, and work.
Then when we expose all the residents who live there, they all get sick, then we're ALL sick, staff working sick to take care of sick residents, until it makes its rounds and everyone gets over it.
EVERY single RN who works for your company is an RN and is capable of careing for patients. What I am getting at is MANAGERS who are RNs but do not do patient care can put on a pair of scrubs and do patient care when needed. How often do you see this done at your facility?
AMEN! RARELY have I seen it done at my facility, but it has happened...in fact, in the last couple of weeks I have seen it done...
Can't turn away patients, not enough staff, managers do 1/2 a shift til
another nurse can come in,,,then they take a 1/2 a day off during the week.
They don't need to stay in their offices or going to meetings...I remember having an ACLS class CANCELLED because they didn't have enough nursing staff and that was how they got us to come in an work (without having to pay crisis pay)...
prenurse
27 Posts
I can't believe they made you come in sick. I also had a similiar problem, I am hoorifice, can't speak, aches and temp, I called in christmas night, I felt bad about doing it- I never have done it in the last year myself, but I had too, when I called the house supervisor, "she said that is fine, we are running a little low on staff, but we don't want you here sick either". That was for me (I hope) and for my patients.
I also work in the ER and also Med-Surg unit. If it were me I would definately say something to someone; it won't help the situation that has passed, but may help next time for you and change the policy. I am charge nurse for the med-surg unit and I would have taken a cart and patients myself rather than have someone come in sick; making the pt's sick, making other staff sick and making the nurse feel worse.
sorry that happened to you