Working sick

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Jan 14, 2014

You are right. Sadly, in my experience though even though they say do not come in if you miss your shift if you are truly sick if they have to find coverage they will be upset. They say one thing, but mean another.

T-Bird78 · Jan 14, 2014

I had a rough pregnancy, hyperemesis resulting in frequent ER visits, two hospitalizations, home health services for home IV fluids, and even wearing a sub-q med pump for Zofran (I wore that lifesaver for a month). My HR department automatically applied intermittent FMLA benefits when I'd missed my 3rd consecutive day for it. I missed four days of work in July and three weeks in August. I would have gone to work upon discharge from the hospital but it's hard working when you're dragging an IV pole around the house, let alone running around the office. When I finally went back to work at the beginning of September I was still wearing my zofran pump. I didn't miss a single day until the day before Christmas Eve (I went to the ER on Dec 22, my normal OB appointment on Dec 23 and the midwife sent me straight to the hospital L&D triage for fluids and monitoring because I was having contractions). Well, come review time, I was given great scores except for attendance--I was given a score of 1 because I was sick so much. Yes, I'd missed a lot in July and August between hospital admissions and home health, but I'd gone without being out or even coming in late before and after that but my "frequent absences" overshadowed that. I didn't lose my job but didn't get a raise due to my attendance problems.

elkpark · Jan 14, 2014

That's the big "catch 22" in healthcare. Every employer says don't come to work if you're sick, but, then, many of them get mad at you (personally) or have v. punitive policies in place (a previous employer of mine had a firm policy that, if you called in sick five times in any 12-month period, regardless of doctor's notes, however legitimate your reasons were, etc., you got fired). This has been the case for all the time I've been in nursing, almost 30 years now.

ceccia · Jan 14, 2014

this makes me seriously angry. it's the epitome of 'profits before people' and imho that mindset is DISGUSTING. they don't care about their workers OR the patients they're supposedly serving.

what worked for me when i worked in a punitive facility: when i had to call in sick, i would call in over the phone according to policy. then, i would follow up with a very descriptive CYA email - repeating IN WRITING my reason for calling out, and including a scanned copy of the doctor's note as an attachment file.

example: "As previously discussed via phone this morning, I will not be working today (date) due to illness. Attached you will find a copy of the doctor's note as per policy. Thank you for your understanding." If your manager gives you a hard time over the phone, add in something about how it would be unethical to work with patients while contagious. One time when my boss was particularly nasty, I changed the last line to "I appreciate your willingness to put the health and safety of our patients first."

fwiw i called out sick three times during the year that i worked there - i don't think that's excessive, but they acted like it was. Putting it in writing - and keeping a copy of it for your records - lets them know that you're onto their potential games.

now i work PRN, so if i'm not feeling well i can just decline the shift.