PTO, Guilt, and Patient Care: The Truth About Missing Work in Healthcare

About the Guest
Kaleigh-- An ICU nurse of 17 years
Cody-- An ICU nurse of 8 years
Abby-- A ICU NP of 8 years
Dr. Jeff– Critical care physician returning to discuss residency culture, backup call systems, and how expectations around working while sick evolve across training and practice.

Key Takeaways
- Calling out sick in healthcare often affects teammates immediately—not just schedules
- Many clinicians feel pressure to work through illness because there is no “backup system”
- COVID changed expectations around masking, exposure, and coming to work sick
- Parenting and childcare illness create difficult decisions for bedside clinicians
- PTO systems and attendance policies can unintentionally discourage recovery time
- The hospital always finds a way to function—even when staff stay home to heal


Timestamps
00:00 Opening story: choosing between patients, family, and health
01:30 Why healthcare workers still come in sick
05:00 COVID-era staffing policies and exposure culture
11:45 APP coverage gaps and night-shift pressure
18:30 Concussion, returning too early, and role expectations
24:45 PTO limits and childcare illness challenges
31:00 Caring for family while working bedside shifts
38:00 Residency sick-call systems explained
44:30 How COVID changed attendance expectations
48:30 Exposure risk stories from the unit
57:30“The hospital will always figure it out”