Sick Day

[Strawb]

Not allowed sickies anymore because it is fraud. If caught having a sickie and not really Sick my company has said they will sack you.

Sick doesn't have to be physical though.

The company I work for sent out a memo stating the Sickies or using a sickie for a day off is fraud and if proven you will be dismissed.

[Psyber]

yes if they are abusing it, but havng a sick day here and there is not abusing. we all need to have a rest here and there, and most take there annual leave at once, also for companies that dont allow RDOs you can become very run down going 12 months without a break so a sick day is what you use, but not one every week or 2 weeks etc no. you cant by law i am sure, sacl someone for having one sick day in 2 months or 4 weeks etc. no way to prove it. If the boss seen you out on the day you called in then maybe so, but too hard and what company would send a manager out to your house to spy on you for that one sick day in 2 months etc, think there would be a trust issue there

Sometimes exhaustion can count as sickness.

However, after my first 6 months as a new young doctor at the RAH, on duty up to 150 hours a week I was wrecked.
I fronted the deputy Medical Superintendent and said, "I just can't keep going like this."
He pointed out I was eligible for a few days in lieu of public holidays worked, and organised me to use those to catch up on rest and sleep.
(They normally worked you through the year and gave you cash in lieu of the days off at the end of the year.)

150/168?

Yes. 150 of the 168 hours in a week on duty.
It wasn't rare to go on at 9am Friday and go home after 5pm Monday, and be back 9am next day.
"Casualty" now called the ED was the soft cop - only 85 hours a week.

At a meeting to discuss working conditions the hospital Superintendent tried to justify it on the grounds we "needed the experience" and that they provided beds so we could sleep when rostered on.
I replied, "Yes you do, thank you, and I got to go to bed five times between midnight and 6am last night and got about 2 hours sleep in snatches."
Our group took it to the Industrial Court and won a ban on rostering doctors on duty more than 85 hours a week shortly thereafter.
(And we won "time and a quarter" for anything over 55 hours a week.)

[FlyingHigh]

Pretty incredible Psyb, can't fathom doing that much work or that an employer would actually expect that, especially in a high-pressure, high-responsibility profession

[Psyber]

Pretty incredible Psyb, can't fathom doing that much work or that an employer would actually expect that, especially in a high-pressure, high-responsibility profession

It is all about manning our public hospitals as cheaply as possible to help state budgets fund MP's perks and trips.

I just turned down a job in Qld - in the NW (Carpentaria) region - it involved being the only guy in my field in the area and being on duty 24/7 for 6 weeks.
Apparently it is cheaper to offer one guy $14K a week to do that than fly in and accommodate two to share the load.

As far as I'm concerned no amount of money is worth the stress and chronic tiredness involved.
I'd expect with the growing fatigue involved I'd be at risk of making mistakes after the first couple of weeks.
(Some "Patel" type may have taken it on I guess..)

It was the reason I left the public system - that and being told by clerks what medications you are allowed to prescribe -I assume it is not much different now.
Of course, our pollies assert it is just greed for money that causes staff to leave, but in my field you earn less in private than in public for the same hours worked.

[The Sleeping Giant]

Lucky doctors have access to the "medication " required.

[Pag]

What did you do in the other 6 weeks you had off?

Designing programs for Term 1 for the eight different learning areas I'm supposed to cover, as well as making, printing and laminating locker, desk, tray, stationery and other labels for the 28 students I have, as well charts for my classroom walls, on top of making, printing and photocopying new book covers (six books x 28 students). Also spent a couple of days after the end of the last school year moving all my resources from old school to new school. Liased with my new teacher partner and principal to oragnise a three-day camp at Woodhouse for a few weeks time.

I had about three weeks off (including a trip to Victoria), and probably spent the equivalent of the other three weeks working. Not that I should have to justify my 'holidays' and the complexities of my job.

[Mickyj]

Pretty incredible Psyb, can't fathom doing that much work or that an employer would actually expect that, especially in a high-pressure, high-responsibility profession

It is all about manning our public hospitals as cheaply as possible to help state budgets fund MP's perks and trips.

I just turned down a job in Qld - in the NW (Carpentaria) region - it involved being the only guy in my field in the area and being on duty 24/7 for 6 weeks.
Apparently it is cheaper to offer one guy $14K a week to do that than fly in and accommodate two to share the load.

As far as I'm concerned no amount of money is worth the stress and chronic tiredness involved.
I'd expect with the growing fatigue involved I'd be at risk of making mistakes after the first couple of weeks.
(Some "Patel" type may have taken it on I guess..)

It was the reason I left the public system - that and being told by clerks what medications you are allowed to prescribe -I assume it is not much different now.
Of course, our pollies assert it is just greed for money that causes staff to leave, but in my field you earn less in private than in public for the same hours worked.

That really is mind blowing stuff my hat goes off to you Psyber.
Here I am complaining lmao I'm unskilled almost 50 and my employer would like something like 50 plus hours a week(paid at 40 or less hours a week) manual labour .How lucky I have it at least after 8 to 12 hours I can walk out go home and go stuff em .

[Psyber]

Micky, I should perhaps add that that is how junior doctors are treated in the public system.
Senior Staff Specialists do a little better, depending on the specialty.

When I finally walked I was working a nominal 37.5 hour week plus being senior on call about once a week which was fairly comfortable,
But, I was usually there later than official departure time as you stop when you finish what you are doing, not in the middle.
In the end I simply got sick of fighting with the clerks who were trying to dictate to the junior docs on my team, behind my back, what they were allowed to prescribe.
(Their line is the cheapest drug is best, not the most effective... )

As senior on call you have to be available at the end of a phone to advise the junior who is at the hospital, and be prepared to come in as necessary.
In some fields like Neurosurgery you are almost certain to be called in to operate on someone in the wee hours after an major accident.
In other less emergency prone fields you may not get a call all night if you are lucky - but the tension is there as you never know whether it is safe to go to bed..

That last problem of course follows you into private practice.
Those who can form large group practices, like GPs for example, at least get to be fully off duty sometimes.