Hiya all
I apologise upfront for the rant I am going to say!...
I have just phoned in work 48hrs before my first shift on Thursday to ask them to cover my shift. I am in the middle of a flare up I can hardly walk I am aching all over.I am physically exhausted to be told sorry were short staffed you will have to come in!!..
Can workplace do this or what!!!..I feel like crying!!!Hugs xxx
So sorry you are feeling so bad, maybe you will be feeling better by Thursday. Thinking about you - hugs
Mine did. I put in for my 10 day paid vacation 2 months early only to be ignored or put off every time I asked if it was approved. I was hurting and exhausted and needed a good break. This is before I knew what was wrong. I just knew I couldn't last much longer. They finally approved it a couple weeks before my requested time off, but only gave me 2 days. Needless to say I took the 2 days after much discussion about wanting the 10 and not getting it so when the 2 days were up I didn't return. I wasn't able to. There was nothing I could do that I know of. It varies state to state, but here they can get away with that.
I remember one shift I called in very ill. Nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea and they told me I had to come in. By the time I got there I was so weak and after many visits to the bathroom they still would not cover my shift. The ADON said if I don't have fever I cant get off. Another nurse saw how weak and pale I was and took my place. By then I had to call my husband to come get me. I could barely walk. Was so dizzy and on verge of passing out. Got to urgent care and was diagnosed with bacterial food poisoning. Dr said stay in bed and don't go back to work for 5 days. I made sure he gave me a Drs note. Some work places do not care about their employees. I am so sorry you have to go through this. Believe me I know how awful this is. I hope things turn out okay for you. Maybe you can get a Drs note.
I would go get a doctors leave. Do you have fmla at work? I loved nursing but it seems like they expected us to work no matter what. And i have found that several other work places are like that to.
I hope you get to feeling better soon.
Public education is like that too…
Hi Joanne,
So sorry to hear that you're flaring up and during a work time too! It always seems to go that way. Work and fibro really don't go hand in hand, unfortunately.
As to whether or not they can do this, I think it depends upon whether or not you are a union member or in a right to work state. If you're in a union, you should contact the contact person and tell them what's up. I think you might have some recourse there. If you're in a right to work state, you're not in a good position to get any help. "Right to work," basically means "right to drop dead on the job due to an illness," in my experience. You could try calling HR to see if you could get off due to FMLA. Unfortunately, nursing homes and hospitals are like this. Or at least nursing homes are. They are marginally concerned about the health of the patient, but you, the worker, can just drop dead on the job.
I would also think that if you've been off for a few days that you could qualify for short-term disability. That might be beneficial to you in the short run.
The real issue here is can you possibly work that day? Can you continue on working in this environment with fibro? It's hard I know. Fibro seems to be a progressive illness, so you aren't imagining things, your body really is different than it was even six months ago. I feel so badly for you because you're caught between a rock and a hard place. And I know that your work description won't change but the fibro won't either. If I were you, I would be putting some serious thought into what to do for the long haul. You seem to be at the point where you need to.
Please take good care of yourself. Constantly pushing yourself beyond your limits is what causes fibro to hit hard and stay with you.
Hugs,
Petunia
Great idea, PB! You nurses are such great resources to us. Thank you!