Why Is It.....

Why is it that when a nurse calls in sick to work, the charge nurse has to act like the end of the world will be here at shift change? I could maybe understand if my hospital didn't have enough staff...but trust me when I say the nightshift is filled to its capacity & beyond. Why can't they just say "I hope you feel better soon" instead of "Oh nooooo, that means I need to find another nurse...%@$%&."

As you could probably tell from the paragraph above, I called in to work today. I am still very achy, stiff & sore. It's better...but I haven't really walked around for more than 5 minutes at a time...so the thought of dedicating 12 hours straight of the unknown...well, that's not happening for me tonight.

I am fine if I am sitting or laying down, it's the walking around part that is difficult. I'm trying to think back to last year when I hurt my back very badly or the times before that - how long it took until I was feeling much better......but I can't remember. I suppose that is a good thing as I also can't remember how painful it was either. Guess that's the mind's way of blocking out the pain...erase the memory nearly completely.

Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow as I am scheduled to work. If not, I won't hesitate to call in - no matter how much of a guilt trip they try. I'm not going to prolong my pain, I want to heal & be better. I know moving around is good & I'm fine with that...but some shifts can be non-stop & I know I can't handle that physically right at this moment. And really...what patient wants their nurse to be hobbling around in pain? How safe would that patient feel? So it's not only good for me, but also my potential patients.

I'm left wondering & hoping some of you will respond...am I the only one that gets the guilt trip when calling off of work? I mean we are entitled to sick days - so why do they make such a big deal when we actually use them?