Fever, chills, body aches, nausea, and vomiting. We have all done it. We all know we are guilty of this. Nurses, doctors, or healthcare workers going to work when we shouldn't. We take care of the sick, the frail, and the elderly, but what happens when we are sick....not a damne thing. We drag our sickly asses into work when we know we should be at home in bed and get everyone around us sick. We are expected to suck it up. Which, the majority of the time, we do go to work for various reasons.... Someone is always sicker than someone else, your peers/supervisors just don't give a shit, or you are just bullheaded and do not miss work. Most of us would just like to call off sick and lounge around the house when work is making us lose our minds just  for that mental health day, but we dont. When we are actually sick-I-want-to-die-sick, we freaking go to work! There are all kinds of reasons; no one else to work your shift, your boss will be upset, you need the money, and on and on and on. In reality, we can actually give whatever this shit is to our coworkers and patients and make our patients feel worse!

Our patients know it, too. They know when we don't feel well, when we are pissed off about something or another, and when we are over the job we are currently working. We are as happy. We aren't as friendly. We take out crap on the coworkers we work with the most. In reality, we would just like to have the balls to tell that supervisor/ boss to go get screwed and walk out the door. We don't. I won't. I have way too much devotion and take too much pride in my particular area of nursing to do that to a boss. Not to mention, the repurcussions from the nursing board when you get reported. You know you will. People just dont give a shit anymore about someone else's well being. Dont get me wrong,I am extremely thankful to have the job that I have and love what I do. But.......

Where do we draw the line? When we are admitted to the hospital....nope. On a side note, I was admitted to the hospital once and almost had to sign out AMA because I couldn't find someone to open my clinic. My patients wouldn't have received their treatment. I was more worried about them and the job than I was about my own issues for being admitted. Very freaking sad. OK, enough of my side note.  When we can't walk from one side of the room to the other without wanting to pass out....nope. When we are throwing up.....nope. When our patients shake their head because they know you came to work like you have the plague....nope. My big point with this very long rant is....we need to draw that line and stay the hell home when we are sick!