No...I'm Really Sick

Hello again. Time has passed since my first post here and I thought it was time to get back on the horse and start riding. For the past few weeks I have been evaluating this idea of EMS blogging with mixed emotions. When I sit back and be who I normally am, I feel like there is no point to this. There is a part of me that says all I am going to gain by blogging is polarizing opinions of fellow providers…Mrs. iMedic says that my justification for not writing is crap and that I should stand for something. While I don’t intend to be the “in your face” blogger like some of the other professionals in the EMS blogosphere, I do have my opinions. My opinions are just that, my own. My experience pales in comparison to some of the famous bloggers such as the Happy Medic or Medic 999 but I do feel that I have some insight to share.

Enough with me trying to convince myself that it is okay to blog...On to the real post.

I am a paramedic at a smallish primary 911 service and in my opinion it is a fantastic place to work. Every week and seemingly everyday people call in sick. Now I understand that employees are given sick time as a benefit to being a full time employee but wow. It absolutely amazes me how many people call in sick to work. Why? We are paid to come to work, check in our truck, and aside from some tasks that are assigned, aren’t expected to do anything. We are paid a decent wage to drive around, take care of people when needed, and basically do things at our own pace. Is this hard? No. With all of this rambling I feel I need to admit that I have called in sick once or twice in my career but I definitely try to keep it honest. It is not my intent to jab, personally, the folks who are more likely to call in sick but this is intriguing.

Research: A magazine in the U.K. reports that public sector employees are more likely to go to work when they are actually ill. The same magazine reports that more days were lost in the public sector due to illness. (view link below)
http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/993443/TUC-reports-public-sector-staff-likely-work-when-ill-less-likely-call-sick/ (read closely)

So...the questions for debate…
Why do people call in sick to work when they are not sick and are public safety employees more likely to call in than the employee in a private sector job?

the iMedic
#CoEMS