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by Nurse!Nurse!Hello?

This is a question about vacation time usage, and whether this is an unusual situation, or par for the course. I work in a 99-bed nursing home, and only one nurse is allowed to be on vacation at any given time. (i.e. I work evening shift, and I cannot be on vacation if a day shift nurse is on vacation.) Since there is low turnover at our facility, many nurses have accrued several weeks of vacation, which is carried over into the next year.

Each January, we submit our vacation requests for the whole year. It is usual for most nurses to take more than one vacation period during the year. I submitted my request for two vacation periods; one was granted, and one was denied. One of the other evening shift nurses is scheduled to be on medical leave for 6 weeks this summer, as well as taking a one-week vacation. Since he will be out, no other nurse can take time off during that period. That's a huge chunk of time being taken by one nurse!

I spoke with the DON and told her I do not think it is fair to penalize every other nurse because one nurse is on medical leave. I suggested hiring an agency nurse to cover, and naturally she said they "can't afford it." This is February, and the medical leave isn't until August, so they have plenty of time to come up with a solution, in my opinion. I guess it is just easier for them to send my vacation request back to me with a big "DENIED" on it, than to work at solving the scheduling challenge.

Naturally, this is affecting other nurses as well. Any opinions or suggestions? I would really appreciate some feedback.

(And, for those of you who are wondering, we do not have a union. I am sure if we did this would not be such an issue.)

[JessieRN]

Re: Vacation 'Denied' due to another nurse's medical leave: Fair or not??

Others might not agree with me on this one, but the way I see it, I'm sure that nurse didn't want to be sick to have to take medical leave. That's not something most people ask for. And It's only 6 weeks out of a year filled with 50 more weeks. Wouldn't it be possible to take your vacation at a different time, rather then right then.

I'd hate to be in the nurses shoes that is on medical leave. I may be wrong, but I'm not hearing a lot of concern for his health in all this.

[pirap]

Re: Vacation 'Denied' due to another nurse's medical leave: Fair or not??

How ironic that his "medical leave" is smack dab in the middle of prime vacation time that people spend with the kiddies on summer break??? Truly this doesn't sound like an urgent medical situation to me and an unfair situation for everyone. If turnover is low then you guys must be staffed pretty good. Wonder if you could arrange in advance a few people to cover some of the days you want off? That always works for me. Someone always wants to work extra or "trade" to get a few days off for herself. Something could be worked out...

[lsyorke]

Re: Vacation 'Denied' due to another nurse's medical leave: Fair or not??

Originally Posted by JessieRN

Others might not agree with me on this one, but the way I see it, I'm sure that nurse didn't want to be sick to have to take medical leave. That's not something most people ask for. And It's only 6 weeks out of a year filled with 50 more weeks. Wouldn't it be possible to take your vacation at a different time, rather then right then.

I'd hate to be in the nurses shoes that is on medical leave. I may be wrong, but I'm not hearing a lot of concern for his health in all this.

If one missing nurse prevents a full staff of nurses from taking time off, the facility needs to look at it's staffing. Summer is a vacation peak time...the facility needs to figure it out. This isn't about the staff member with the medical problem. It's about a facility that is cutting staff so close that they can't handle even one person being out sick.

[Diary/Dairy]

Re: Vacation 'Denied' due to another nurse's medical leave: Fair or not??

Originally Posted by pirap

How ironic that his "medical leave" is smack dab in the middle of prime vacation time that people spend with the kiddies on summer break??? Truly this doesn't sound like an urgent medical situation to me and an unfair situation for everyone. If turnover is low then you guys must be staffed pretty good. Wonder if you could arrange in advance a few people to cover some of the days you want off? That always works for me. Someone always wants to work extra or "trade" to get a few days off for herself. Something could be worked out...

If the other nurse is taking medical leave so far ahead, how urgent can this issue be??

[Batman24]

Re: Vacation 'Denied' due to another nurse's medical leave: Fair or not??

Scheduling a non-urgent surgery for 6 weeks out of the summer isn't fair. If this were an emergency situation staff might be slightly more tolerable.

I still don't think it's fair either way. Hire someone from an agency. What would happen if someone was away and someone else had a death in the family or a true medical emergency?! They would have to get help then and should in this situation as well.

[Jolie]

Re: Vacation 'Denied' due to another nurse's medical leave: Fair or not??

I can see both sides of this.

It does appear that scheduling an elective surgery during the summer is no coincidence. On the other hand, I have orthopedic problems, and would never schedule a procedure in the winter when there is a risk of falling on snow and ice. Is it possible that the employee needs to have this procedure done when his/her children are on summer vacation and won't have to be driven to school and activities? Or needs to have children at home to help out during his/her recovery?

Maybe the staff could brainstorm alternatives to denying vacations and then present them to management. If agency is too expensive, how about asking each staff member to pick up one extra shift per month during the person's leave. Are there part-timers who would like extra hours? The DON and ADON should share the burden and pick up an occasional shift on the floor. Will these measures be enough to cover this person's absence without having to deny vacations?

Best of luck to you all!

[MAISY, RN-ER]

Re: Vacation 'Denied' due to another nurse's medical leave: Fair or not??

I agree, scheduled surgery during primetime? Sound fishy to me. Perhaps they should have allowed you or someone elses vacation during his granted vacation time.

Seven weeks primetime is not right.

As far as not getting an agency nurse, what will they do if someone leaves or dies. Things like this do happen.

I'd be looking for another place to hang my hat.

Maisy

PS Having a union would probably make it worse. I'd love to plan ahead...due to our half a$$ed union, we can only plan two months in advance. I have already told my managers if they don't grant my vacation....I'll walk. Our union stinks!

[IMustBeCrazy]

Re: Vacation 'Denied' due to another nurse's medical leave: Fair or not??

The very fastest way for a facility to lose good employees is to start messing around with schedules or vacations. I have seen time and time again that staff at some facilities have a massive amount of vacation to use, because *they are never allowed to use it.*

To me, this is not really "vacation" or "PTO" if you're blocked or otherwise discouraged from using it. Rolling it over from year to year is a symptom of this administrative problem. People should be encouraged to take vacations, it's how we let off steam and ultimately are better caregivers for our patients. It also keeps us from taking "mental health days" throughout the year. If staff don't get approved vacation, you can bet that they'll take sick days to use up vacation/PTO time when they're not sick. It's all part of the same problem.

I would also agree that scheduling a procedure in the midst of prime vacation time is not good. Hopefully this peer has a *very* compelling reason as to why they couldn't schedule this at a different time of year. Most surgeons that I know are able to accommodate these types of requests at multiple times during the year. This feels like someone being an inconsiderate team member IMO. But also, your DON should have stepped up and been an advocate for the rest of the team instead of letting one person dictate non-emergent surgery FMLA time.

[Jolie]

Re: Vacation 'Denied' due to another nurse's medical leave: Fair or not??

Originally Posted by IMustBeCrazy

The very fastest way for a facility to lose good employees is to start messing around with schedules or vacations. I have seen time and time again that staff at some facilities have a massive amount of vacation to use, because *they are never allowed to use it.*

I agree with this wholeheartedly!
But also, your DON should have stepped up and been an advocate for the rest of the team instead of letting one person dictate non-emergent surgery FMLA time.

I'm not certain that the DON can do much about the timing of the surgery. I don't believe that FMLA legislation allows the employer to dictate when time off is taken. If the employee has a signed statement from the physician stating that the procedure is necessary, and giving an approximate time frame for return to work, the employer is stuck with it. They can ask the employee to consider rescheduling, but I don't think they can mandate it.

But the DON certainly can make alternative arrangements for vacation coverage for the rest of the staff. I think that's where the staff needs to focus their attention, since that is the one thing that the facility has the power to change.