Sick calls

So I’m sitting listening to a conversation about sick calls and staffing in our department and one of the MDs starts talking with another MD about how ridiculous it is that nurses can call in sick.
He says “Could you imagine if we called in sick? That would be ridiculous. Nurses shouldn’t be allowed to call in sick.”

Hold. The. Overhead. Paging. System. Are you kidding me?

You can’t invoke the merits of equality when its convenient for you! MDs (at my hospital anyway) are an independent contractor, meaning, they are their own bosses. So usually, yes, when you work for yourself you really shouldn’t call in sick (but that’s really between you and your eval…). But the upside to that is you get to make your own schedule, call your own shots (every pun intended), make up your own prices, have your own lounge…etc., etc. I remember a nursing instructor told us in class once that nursing’s biggest mistake was that we became a “department” of the hospital.

I totally get it now.

When you are your own boss, you can charge for your services, make your own rules, or you are outta there. When you are a mere department of a hospital, well, I guess one of the perks is—you get to call in sick. Cough, cough—I feel feverish.