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Running Head: PERCENTAGE OF NURSES WHO WORK WHILE SICK

PERCENTAGE OF NURSES WHO WORK WHILE SICK

Christine E. Davis

Delaware Technical Community College

Statistics MAT 255 Conrad


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PERCENTAGE OF NURSES WHO WORK WHILE SICK

I have noticed that during the last 3 months it seems that every fellow nurse that I am

working with has been sick. I am interested to find out if nurses are coming in to work while they

are sick, called presenteeism. I wonder how much of my patients’ illnesses are caused by us

nurses that are treating them. My building has a locked down Alzheimer’s unit, a transitional

care unit (Iv’s, wound vacs, wound care and rehabilitation), and the other 50% is long term

living. I will be asking all the nurses that have worked in the building (1 year or more) if they

have come to work sick just one time in that year. I am staying focused on sick as having a fever,

cough, and sore throat. I have asked our Director of Nursing, Unit Managers, Unit Supervisors,

Nurses and our LPN’s, a total of 30 nurses. I am only asking for a yes or no response. I will need

to stay unbiased for I will need the truth and for them to not feel that they are going to get

lectured on their answer. I don’t want to think differently of my co-workers. I think this will be

interesting in finding out the results, it is a huge problem that puts patients in grave danger.
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PERCENTAGE OF NURSES WHO WORK WHILE SICK

Previous Surveys’ on Health Care Providers Working While Sick

Health care providers in the surveys are Physicians, Nurse Practioners, pharmacists, and

nurses.

A large part of my building has long term patients, as nurses we are not designated to one

area of the building, we go where we are needed. These patients live in the building and have full

roam to go where ever they please. A survey was done in a long-term care (LTC) facility

examining the knowledge and attitude about protection in preventing respiratory viral

transmission infection among Health Care Personnel (HCP). 73 persons completed the survey

out of 170, 42% of those that responded work while sick and 56% claimed that their co-workers

worked while sick (O’Neil, 2017). These patients have a reason for being with us, either family

is unable to provide the care for them or the patient has extensive needs (most are wheelchair or

bed ridden) which we then provide their care. Already being in a weakened state of health what

damage are we doing to them.

According to the American Journal of Infection Control a survey of HCP’s was

conducted and 4 out of 10 worked while sick. Hospital-based HCP’s had the highest percentage

of working with influenza like illness (ILI) at 49.3%. ILI is defined as having a fever, cough and

sore throat. By occupation Physicians at 63.2% and pharmacists at 67.2% had the highest rate of

working with ILI during the 2014-2015 influenza season. Of the 414 respondents that worked

with ILI, 57.3 sought medical attention and of those 25.2% tested positive as having influenza

(Chiu, 2017). In our building we have a MD. and a NP. Monday through Friday. These

professionals in one day can be seeing up to 80% of the patients in our building. Hopefully they
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PERCENTAGE OF NURSES WHO WORK WHILE SICK

are following hand hygiene protocol and not passing anything to each person especially if they

are the one who is ill.

A study of health care workers in a children’s hospital in Philadelphia has found that

83 % had come to work while sick at least once in the past year, even though almost all believed

that working while ill can endanger patients. 536 hospital workers were asked about how often

they came to work sick 80% of Doctors came to work sick and 70% of nurses came to work sick

(Szymczak, 2015). A sick child has a very weakened immune system knowing that these doctors

treat their patients while being sick is very harmful to the patient and families that are there with

that sick child.

Results of an anonymous survey during the peak of the 2016 influenza season, the HCP’s

that care for transplant recipients claimed that 92% of the 88 came to work with ILI, the nurses

were more likely to take time off (Mossad, 2017). Nurses are easier to replace and or the other

nurses to pick up that nurses’ duties. The doctors are the ones that treat and can change route of

treatment and need to be hands on to see how the patient is progressing. Being a transplant

recipient, the immune system is gone due to the medications that they are on to stop the body

from rejecting the organ.

With all these surveys the main reason for HCP’s coming to work was the obligation to

not let down their patients and co-workers. Here in the medical field we have obligations to help

people, it’s why we have chosen this profession. And the percentage of us possibly causing harm

is alarmingly high. As a nurse I feel we need to be caring for our patients, and that is an oath that

I took as I received my license to practice. What I have learned with this survey is that HCP’s

working while sick is high in every area of the medical field. This practice of HCP’s coming to
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PERCENTAGE OF NURSES WHO WORK WHILE SICK

work while sick is a very grave practice to each of the patients they come in contact with.

Effective teaching has a significant impact on patient health and safety. We all need to be

reminded of why we took the oath to protect the patients.

Does The Evidence Support My Claim?

Responses Of 30 Nurses That Work While Sick

YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO


+ + + + +

+ + + + -

+ + + + +

+ - + + +

+ + + + +

- + + + +

My claim is that the proportion (P) of nurses that come to work sick is more than 75% in my

building. 30 nurses were asked a yes or no question of coming to work with fever, cough and

sore throat.

Ho: P = .75

Ha: p > .75

P-Hat: 27/30 = .90

q: 1-.75 = .25

Alpha = .05
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PERCENTAGE OF NURSES WHO WORK WHILE SICK

σ = sqrt [ .75* (1 - .75) / 30] = .0791

z = (.90 - .75) / .0791=1.896 = 1.90

z-score of 1.90 = .9713

p = 1-.9713 = .0287

.0287<.05 Reject the null. There is enough evidence to support the


claim that over 75% of nurses come to work sick in my building.

PIE CHART

90% YES & 10% NO

3
10%

27
90%
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PERCENTAGE OF NURSES WHO WORK WHILE SICK

Bibliography

Chiu S., Black C.L., Yue X., Greby S.M., Laney A.S., Campbell A.P., de Perio M.A.
(2017). Working with influenza-like illness: Presenteeism among US health care
personnel during the 2014-2015 influenza season. American Journal of Infection
Control, 45 (11). pp. 1254-1258.

Mossad, S., Deshpande, A., Schramm, S., Liu, X., & Rothberg, M. (2017). Working Despite
Having Influenza-Like Illness: Results of An Anonymous Survey of Healthcare Providers
Who Care for Transplant Recipients. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 38(8),
966-969. doi:10.1017/ice.2017.91

O’Neil, C., Kim, L., Prill, M., Stone, N., Garg, S., Talbot, H., & Babcock, H. (2017). Preventing
Respiratory Viral Transmission in Long-Term Care: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices
of Healthcare Personnel. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 38(12), 1449-1456.
doi:10.1017/ice.2017.232

Szymczak, J., Smathers, S., Hoegg, C., (September 2015). Reasons Why Physicians and
Advanced Practice Clinicians Work While Sick A Mixed-Methods Analysis. AMA
Pediatric. 2015;169(9):815-821. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0684

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