The sniffles started and then the coughing came. I only have two more days of clinical before the semester is over and I have to get sick now, the day before my once a week scheduled clinical day?
I’m definitely the type of person to go to work sick, get the job done, go home rest and do it all over again. However I have all too soon realized how different nursing care is from any other profession. As the cold was creeping up on me, I was asked what percent sick do I have to be before you call in a sick day. The answer is zero percent sick.
This semester I’ve worked with transplant patients, who are all immuno-compromised from the medications they must take to prevent rejection of their new organ. That makes them all the more susceptible to infection, it would be contradictory for my snuffly runny nose to provide nursing care for these patients.
I tried to fight it. I still went in Sunday, read up on my patient, and prepared my care plan. I had a big bowl of Thai soup for dinner and was in bed super early at 9pm to get as much rest as possible. Yet to no avail, I woke up with the same cough and sniffles and had to call in. Most people enjoy the opportunity to stay home ill, but strangely, I feel as though I’m missing out on quality experiences.
There is always next week.
