How does your unit handle vacations?

[krenee]

My unit has an ongoing problem (well, *I* have an ongoing problem!) with the fact that they refuse to approve vacation requests in a timely manner. I am trying to discuss this with my manager because my cruise last year had to be postponed 8 months and I don't want to be in this situation again. Many of my co-workers try to schedule vacations with extended family and it's almost impossible to do when you can't get approved until 2-3 weeks prior.

So what is reasonable? My thinking is that vacation requests should be put in by X time . . . I'm thinking a certain date for summer, a certain date over the holidays, and X number of weeks in advance during non-peak times. Then the approvals/denials should be done within X number of weeks. That way no one is waiting on pins and needles or putting money down not knowing if they'll actually be able to take that vacation, or worst of all buying non-refundable airfare!

Thanks for any advice as to what works on your unit. My unit is unfortunately short staffed all the time, so very few people can take time off at once.

[loriangel14, RN]

Where I work we have a union contract that states holiday requests must be in by March 15th and approvals have to be done by April 1st.Very seldom do requests get denied.

[Dazglue, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN]

We have to have our requested time off 3 months in advance. Usually it's granted. However, if there are a lot of people requested off at once (like now), they'll deny whoever doesn't have any ETO (earned time off). We are required to work every other holiday, so if we want off we have to find someone to work for us, or swap....something that is hard to do b/c we have JUST enough people to maintain a schedule

[Fiona59]

Where I work we have a union contract that states holiday requests must be in by March 15th and approvals have to be done by April 1st.Very seldom do requests get denied.

Same here but seniority plays as well. With ten years in, I never get June, July, or August. The one with 30 years in take the summer. Factor in two RNs and one LPN at a time and if you have less than 20 years, you are screwed.

[loriangel14, RN]

Supossedly it goes by seniority but it seems that our manager just approves evrything.Last year we had 5 RNs off at the same time, just on our floor.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Most of our hospitals have adopted a modified self-scheduling process. For vacations, here's how it goes. First, the manager outlines the "rules" ... no more than __ FT, __ PT, & __ PRN person per shift on vacation at a time, no vacations longer than __ days, no vacations during these periods, etc. Some units have additional stipulations if they have any "special skills" nurses or teams that must have 24X7 coverage.

Then, every Spring (each unit decides when to do this) the staff get together with a calendar and negotiate with one another for their vacations. The put everything together and submit to the manager for approval. If anyone wants to change afterward, it is up to that person to negotiate a trade with someone else.

It actually works very well. You may want to try it out if your manager is open to the change. It takes them off the hot seat.

[nursefrances, BSN, RN]

I try to request 4-8 months in advance, I usually plan around my kids' days off. Last year at this time I had already put in request for Christmas time. I am going to Maui on the 17th of this month, requested last October. It works for me.

[krenee]

I try to request 4-8 months in advance, I usually plan around my kids' days off. Last year at this time I had already put in request for Christmas time. I am going to Maui on the 17th of this month, requested last October. It works for me.

Well I can *request* as early as I want, but they won't approve or deny it until about 3 weeks before! That's what's frustrating. You can't put money down on anything because you don't *know* if they'll approve it or not! I'm probably meeting with my manager next week and I want to offer suggestions.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

When I first started, the system for summer vacation was this crazy system wherein our manager emailed us to say, "the request sheet for summer vacation is going up on Monday" and the weeks were listed and blocked out to allow 120 hours of RN vacation time. It would be a mad-dash to the back room with people who weren't even working coming in to get their names on the list and others texting or calling people who were working to sign them up. If you didn't get your name up that first day, your odds of getting your first choice were slim to none.

Last year we started a new system in which one of our nurses manages people's requests... an email goes out that says, "send in your summer vacation requests by X date" and then she fills in the weeks with people's requests. Seniority takes preference. This year they are only allowing 100 hrs of RN vacation time per week because we are so short staffed. We've had six people leave in the past 6 months, haven't replaced them and even if we do, the people we replace them with are unlikely to be done with orientation by the summer by the time they actually decide to hire someone.

Last year, my manager also came up with this crazy rule that if you didn't have enough hours in your bank when the requests were due (in March), you couldn't take a vacation in August, despite the fact that there were a good 10-11 pay periods in between and most people earn between 6-9 hrs of time every pay period.