How Often Have You Worked When Sick?

How often have you worked when sick?
​If you ask me, too often. 

As a doctor, I have often turned up at work when sick. Turning up at work sick is not good at all. When I think back on it, I should not have gone, but it's always hard at the time. The illness, usually cold or other upper respiratory illness, comes at the time when it's busy at work or when I have to operate on patients or see patients in the clinic. When these episodes happen, I often feel guilty not to go to work. 

I work with people who have cancer. It's easy to postpone follow-up appointments, but new appointments, that's always harder. These people, usually women, want to know as soon as possible what is going to happen to them, what type of treatment are they going to have and when. And some of my clinics, especially in the public sector, are booked for weeks in advance. Who is then going to see this woman if I cannot see her today? How long will she wait to see one of my colleagues or me to know what's going to happen? How stressful is it not knowing what's going to happen? 

And it's even worse if I am sick and it's my operating day. It's easier to postpone patients with semi-acute problems like hernias or gallbladder problems. But what about cancers when I do not have a free list for several weeks, sometimes a month? These women have waited for 4-6 weeks for this operation, and now I have to tell them to wait longer? Their first question in this situation was: is my cancer going to spread while I am waiting?   When I offered once people if they would like to have surgery with me sick or postpone it, they have all said for me to go ahead and operate. 

So I know that it would be better not to come to work, but I always feel guilty to postpone the surgery or important appointment? Hospitals are often quick to tell us not to come to work when sick, but they never help with dealing with patients in these situations or organising these lists? They usually say you can do an extra clinic or an additional operating theatre day. But my question to them is - when? I do not have time; hospitals often do not have extra operating theatre days that I can take. Sometimes they say, cancel the clinic and operate instead, but then I still have to see patients at some stage. And our clinics are often booked months in advance. So it's not easy for us doctors not to turn up to work when sick. 

What do you think we should do? Any suggestions?