Working sick

Shamrock, BSN, RN · Jul 14, 2003

Originally posted by passing thru
I can't believe the sheer #'s of healthcare workers I observe
sneezing and coughing all over the rest of us,
without even an
attempt to cover their mouths............AND,
IF THEY DO, ........... do you ever see anyone go wash their hands? YUK !!
Sneeze in your hand & keep going !! YUK !
Co-workers deserve respect and consideration. [/b]

Yup, it's pretty gross - I'm trying to teach patients (not hosp. setting), to cough/sneeze into their elbows. Is a self-protecting

lesson, at least the door knobs can't be opened with elbows!! :)

gwenith, BSN, RN · Jul 14, 2003

Originally posted by Shamrock
Yup, it's pretty gross - I'm trying to teach patients (not hosp. setting), to cough/sneeze into their elbows. Is a self-protecting
lesson, at least the door knobs can't be opened with elbows!! :)

The inside bit of your elbow or the outside bit? :confused:

We are lucky I guess fought long and hard for it but sick leave is sick leave and you do not come to work ill. Some still do of course. We are never reported for sick leave unless it was truley excessive.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 14, 2003

I don't work sick. 12 hours is just too long to work when I'm not feeling well. I confess working with a slight cold before, but definately not when febrile, and when I was in charge and without a patient assignment.

Been blessed with good health and haven't had to call in sick in a while. I don't call in much so when I do it's never been a hassle. Usually I call in once or twice a year for a "mental health" day, or when I'm not feeling up to par.

My employer does have a "occurrence" policy, excessive occurrences gets you in trouble. But if you have an illness, say like cancer or something you're dealing with, they won't bother you. But it's easy to call in, we just say "I'm sick and not coming in today". What amazes me is the number of call ins we get an hours or so before the shift begins. Try replacing someone whose called in sick 30 minutes prior to them needing to be there. There supposedly is a policy about being a late call in, but it's not enforced.

Funny I've never thought of working ill unethical, but I suppose it is. You're exposing your patients, and you run the risk of not being able to fully concentrate on important care issues.

Good_Queen_Bess · Jul 14, 2003

No-one should go to work ill, ESPECIALLY nurses. It doesn't do you any favours and you don't get thanked by managers for coming when ill. You should take care of yourself. I never go to work when ill, I don't think it's worth it.

Huq · Jul 14, 2003

I agree with all of the reasons given for not working when sick and I have become very selfish about it.

When a co-worker tells me "I'm sick" instead of saying how sorry I am I say

"Don't breathe on me"

roxannekkb · Jul 15, 2003

When I worked in the hospital, I worked NICU, and I think it's highly unethical for anyone to work sick there. The babies are so fragile. The last thing on earth they need is virulent microbes. But we had no real policies for sick days, at any of the hospitals I worked at. If you called in, you called in. We only asked that it was at least 2 hours before the shift, and that was pretty much the standard everywhere I was.

Shamrock, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2003

gwenith - the antecubital space. Would like to see someone cough on the outside of their elbow. VERY flexible person!!

I think the legal ramifications are what interest me the most.

Just think, if they could track the offending "bug" down to you,

and some poor patient became deathly ill, you could be held liable. Now, I think the chances of this happening are pretty

slim but you never know what some clever litigious person might

think of these days! I'm like 3rd, very rarely sick.

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Jul 15, 2003

Do I think nurses should work sick..no. Am I unethical for working when sick...not in my eyes. Where I work we get points for calling in, at a certain number you are fired. So, I have to save mine for when my daughter is sick.

What kind of sick policies do some of you have? We get one point for every hour we are out. If you call off before a paid holiday (ie vacation day, major holiday, your birthday) you receive double points. For a full time person, at 120 points you are fired. No questions asked. The only thing that is not counted is FMLA and we have plenty that abuse that little privledge.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Jul 15, 2003

We also get dinged for excessive sick time, but at least they speak with you about it before firing you. Our sick time, unless we are off for more than a week, comes from vacation hours so there's a big incentive not to call in.

ERNurse752, RN · Jul 15, 2003

Originally posted by Shamrock
By the way: :rotfl: :rotfl: I subscribe to the hand theory of nursing......... If the butt is bigger than my hand I do not wanna change its diaper. [/b]

:roll :chuckle :rotfl:

live4today, RN · Jul 15, 2003

If I'm too sick to stand up and function to the fullest of my capabilities as a person and as a nurse, I stay home. I don't give a rat's tail what the hospital policy is. They do not pay me enough to drop dead for them, so I come first...not them. Fire me, whatever........at least I'll still be alive to go elsewhere for work instead of dead due to some frikkin hospital sick point system that penalizes us human beings called nurses for having the gall to get sick. :rolleyes:

Good_Queen_Bess · Jul 15, 2003

Originally posted by NicuGal
Do I think nurses should work sick..no. Am I unethical for working when sick...not in my eyes. Where I work we get points for calling in, at a certain number you are fired. So, I have to save mine for when my daughter is sick.

What kind of sick policies do some of you have? We get one point for every hour we are out. If you call off before a paid holiday (ie vacation day, major holiday, your birthday) you receive double points. For a full time person, at 120 points you are fired. No questions asked. The only thing that is not counted is FMLA and we have plenty that abuse that little privledge.

OMG!!!! This is truly awful. Points for being ill????? That's disgusting!! What if you're off long-term sick with a serious illness such as cancer. They sack you for being ill basically. (what's FMLA?)

We can have as many sick days off as we need. (Unless is obvious you're taking the piss). If you have 3 seperate sick days off in three months, you have an interview. Additionally, we are also entitled to either 5 off as "carers leave"; ie if family member ill. Plus 5 days of "compassionate leave". If they tried any of the crap you get on us, our unions would be down on them like a ton of bricks.