Comments for Those Emergency Blues

Comment on How Hospitals Punish Nurses for Being Sick by Nursiejay

Nursiejay — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:28:16 +0000

@dblwhammy

The difference between a police officer, bus driver, teacher and a housekeeper (which is what I assume your role to be) is that those professions do not come into constant direct contact with immuno-compromised patients such as febrile neutrapenics where a common cold to you or I could simply kill them. If your loved one was in this type of condition and I as their nurse was taking care of them while coughing, sniffling and sneezing what would your reaction be? I am sure a lot more different than if you heard your bus driver sneeze.

Comment on How Hospitals Punish Nurses for Being Sick by Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:21:17 +0000

The difference between a bus driver, police officer , teacher and a housekeeper ;which I assume is what your role is, is that those professions do not deal with immunocomprimised people directly and constantly such as febrile neutrapenics where a common cold to you and I could kill them. If your loved one was my patient and in this condition and I came in coughing and sneezing what would your reaction be?

Comment on How Hospitals Punish Nurses for Being Sick by Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:10:41 +0000

I too work in Alberta and feel blessed to have decent sick time. I have never abused it either, usually 2 or 3 days a year only. What makes me equally as angry as staff who abuse their sick time are the martyrs who come in sick and infect the rest of us. There has to be a balance. As nurses we know better.

Comment on My Picks: 10 Best Nursing Blogs by Jackie

Jackie — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:33:29 +0000

Excellent list!

Comment on How Hospitals Punish Nurses for Being Sick by Kimmer

Kimmer — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:37:50 +0000

I graduated 3 yrs ago from a Canadian university. We were told that if we called in sick for clinical, we had to make it up in the simulation lab. As you can imagine, this was EXTREMELY difficult to do since you had to arrange the time AND have an instructor there with you to show the “skills” you were demonstrating that week. Basically, calling in sick was tantamount to risking a “FAIL” in clinical.

Currently, I work in an NICU in a major Canadian city. For us, infection control is no laughing matter and taken extremely seriously. If you have a sniffle, tickle, fever, ANYTHING that you think you might pass on to coworker or worse, sick and/or premature baby, you stay home. No ifs ands or buts… No questions asked. I came in for a shift one day thinking i felt “ok” and my charge nurse sent me home. I know not all units have this type of acceptance of sick days but it really is life or death on our unit. Babies that contract a common cold will become sick enough to die.

Comment on How Hospitals Punish Nurses for Being Sick by Lauri

Lauri — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:20:46 +0000

Our hospital rewards perfect attendance. If you have zero sick days you get entered in a draw to win gift cards. I have worked with nurses battling serious illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease who are continually bullied by HR and management to be at work. Off sick with hypoglycemia no prize for you… ER with chest pain, sorry better luck next time…. Better yet, you came to work with influenza on your cancer ward with immunocompromised patients, Here’s a $500 gift card! Patient welfare and staff health loses to the almighty budget.

Comment on How Hospitals Punish Nurses for Being Sick by ky

ky — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:12:14 +0000

Hospitals don’t treat nurses properly. Nurses look after sick patients at hospital but when we get sick, hospitals only care whether you exceeded the maximum time a nurse can call in sick in a year ( where I work I think is only 7-8 shifts 12 hr rotation).

By working day and night rotations, how many nurses have chronic health issues just to name fews diabete, hypertension, high cholesterol, mood disorder, etc

But bottom line is nothing will be changed because the hospital only pay attention to the patients and hospital afraid of any cases when patients sue to hospitals and of courses the media too.

Comment on How Hospitals Punish Nurses for Being Sick by dblwhammy

dblwhammy — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:03:15 +0000

I, like a lot of you, have worked in the health care field. I am not a nurse but have worked around them, with them and for them for many years and I have met quite a few whiners. You would think they are the only ones that have contact with patients and susceptible to all the germs that are floating around in hospitals, nursing homes etc. In fact they are only one branch of a facility that keeps it running. All depts of hospitals face the same rigid sick day “rules” but it is always only nurses that we read about and complain. You would think they were unique and germs only fell on them! I have always wondered too why a person would get into a profession that requires shift work meaning days, nights, weekends, afternoons and then all they do is complain about them.and try and get doctor’s notes to excuse them from working some shifts. I have also worked with nurses that are awesome and in the right profession. You, nurses, are not unique to work hazards, hardships, working dbl shifts, short handed or subject to abuse but sometimes you think you are and it gets really old after awhile. A lot of you mention do you want someone sick looking after YOU, well do you want someone sick driving your bus, policing, teaching, housekeeping….hope you get the point. You are no different than everyone else so stop crying about a well paid job!!!

Comment on Epic Hitler Emergency Department Charge Nurse Rant by Liz

Liz — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:58:08 +0000

Hahahahaha this is hilarious! Well done Bernie!!

Comment on Florence Nightingale: Images and Words by sem

sem — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:26:34 +0000

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