Newbies Who Want to Pay ZERO Dues Schedule-Wise

Nurses Relations

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We have a new nurse in our dept, hired as a new grad to ER in this less than stellar job market. The other day I got to hear his whining about his lousy schedule.

He's a likeable guy, but is only a year out of school and landed a pretty sweet position, got a great opportunity, and seems very unappreciative. He is really mad at my manager who is actually quite a reasonable person in my opinion.

Do some new nurses totally not get it, regarding the hours and scheduling demands of nursing?

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
My favorites are the perpetually pregnant at the holidays.

This group whines or calls in or begs switches for any holiday.

They are either off for all the Winter holidays the first few years, because they are recovering from giving birth. The next few years, they want off for Baby#1, #2 or #3's holidays, leaving the same older nurses or single nurses covering the undesirable holiday shifts. And if any of the mommies have to work, they make absolutely everyone miserable beyond all belief with their continual whining and moaning about how it is wrong to make them work a few hours when they have children.

For the past 20 years, I have done 2-4 12 hr shifts in a row over Christmas so that the mommy crowd can be off. This year, however, I got diagnosed with breast cancer and had a bilateral total mastectomy with initial stage reconstruction (staging/tissue expanders placed). As luck would have it, the reconstruction completion date should actually fall before Christmas, with me having to be off for 8 weeks.

Someone asked me at lunch, when I was going out for my new breasts, and I told them. Which had some griping and moaning about possibly having to work Christmas, and how unfair that it was to THEM!

(I actually will probably delay until after Christmas to have the reconstruction. But it is kind of interesting to play with their heads)

​Yeah, you probably got cancer just to inconvenience their holiday plans. I say take the time off, whether or not you have the surgery then. You've more than earned it.

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

I had all of the winter holidays off last year when I was recovering from surgery, and believe me when I say that I did not enjoy any of them! My husband worked Thanksgiving and New Year's and I sat at home alone. The week of Christmas, I couldn't even sit. I ate Christmas dinner lying on the couch!

I also think seniority for pay and holidays is stupid. There are plenty of hardworking and intelligent nurses with 2-5 years experience who should be making more than those with 10-15+. One of the big flaws with union work is lack of merit based pay.

If you perform well and are involved you should be compensated more, it's that simple. A simple year scale is not sufficient. While years should play a factor because of experience, there should be some sort of merit based scale system as well....

Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
I also think seniority for pay and holidays is stupid. There are plenty of hardworking and intelligent nurses with 2-5 years experience who should be making more than those with 10-15+. One of the big flaws with union work is lack of merit based pay.

If you perform well and are involved you should be compensated more, it's that simple. A simple year scale is not sufficient. While years should play a factor because of experience, there should be some sort of merit based scale system as well....

How in the world can you justify that someone with 3 years experience should make more than someone with 13 years experience??

Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.
How in the world can you justify that someone with 3 years experience should make more than someone with 13 years experience??

By implying the newer nurse is better, smarter and works harder.

Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
By implying the newer nurse is better, smarter and works harder.

I think I just rolled my eyes so hard I saw the inside of my skull!!

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

I'm not going to say whether I think merit-based pay should happen in nursing because I haven't made up my mind yet, but merit-based pay is for professionals. At five years experience in my previous profession, I had moved up the ladder and made more money than people with twice my experience because it was all merit-based. You didn't get a cookie just for showing up day after day.

Scales based on seniority are used more often in vocations and blue-collar jobs.

Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Our merit base is called a clinical ladder, if you want to put more in and get paid more, without going admin. Annual evals have higher standards for a clinical nurse three, than basic staff nurse.

The union does far more than just make sure every one is paid equally, it makes sure every one is protected equally.

Ah yes, the holiday schedule!!! What else could possibly hamper our spirits??? Well here goes. I am one of the old cogger type nurses. I have had varied positions at varied facilities, so no seniority at where I will be working during the holiday season. I have worked mostly night shift in my career, somehow my body adjusts but my brain may not!!! My dear husband use to "hold the kids back" when I worked 11-7 so that we could still have the family experience on Christmas mornings. I usually ask for Thanksgiving off because I do all the cooking and I am still estatic that I have my "adult children" present. This year, not sure if I will get it off or not because I don't start my new job until November 3rd. Supposedly orientation lasts 4-6 weeks, I cannot imagine being under someone's wing for 6 weeks, but will see how it goes. Now, I truly want Thanksgiving off and am more than willing to work Christmas, Christmas Eve so that some other younger nurse can have off. Yes, I feel I have worked my share of holidays and don't even get me started on the weekend duties. But, because I chose a career that involves sick people and they are sick no matter the time of day or season, I work holidays and weekends. Do I get bitter about this, yes, sometimes. I would love to find a job where I can have all the holidays and weekends off, but that is not the world I live in right now. Right now I am just blessed to have work and be able to provide an income, give to others, and meet some of my own needs in return for a few holidays and weekends. Hey, the weekend thing changed after my kids were done with sports, we are a family of working adults and the "image" of the weekend really isn't much different than Monday through Friday!!! Looking back I do regret some of the times I could have spent with my younger family, we always lived away from our parents and extended family so holidays were mostly spent with our own family. I do try to take little trips throughout the year to spend time with my extended families and that helps me to feel that I am getting the time I need with them. When it all comes down to it-----it is those that you love that matter the most in this world, not whether or not you are working. If you cannot be with your loved ones during the holidays then take time from your busy schedule throughout the year so that you can get the time. Time and Tide wait for no man!!!! Everyone take a deep breath!!

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I also think seniority for pay and holidays is stupid. There are plenty of hardworking and intelligent nurses with 2-5 years experience who should be making more than those with 10-15+. One of the big flaws with union work is lack of merit based pay..

I am always amazed when I read things like this. I have only ever worked at two union hospitals and both used merit based pay. Everybody who got "satisfactory" gets a small raise every other year. But you can get up to double the raise based on performance.

While there is no way an out standing nurse with 2 years experience can make more than a satisfactory nurse of 15 years experience, that same nurse with 5 years experience cam be making the same as a satisfactory nurse of 10 years experience. After 5 years they can be making more since outstanding nurses are eligible for up to 2x the basic raise rate. This pay system was advocated for, and fought for by the union.

Also in my union hospital bad, stupid, lazy, or careless nurses can be, and are fired. What doesn't happen, thanks to the union, is good nurses with seniority are not fired for making to much money to make room for a low paid new grad.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
Our merit base is called a clinical ladder, if you want to put more in and get paid more, without going admin. Annual evals have higher standards for a clinical nurse three, than basic staff nurse.

The union does far more than just make sure every one is paid equally, it makes sure every one is protected equally.

The clinical ladders in the two hospitals I've worked are not really merit-based. It's more like, you do a, b, c, and you are promoted. The standards to keep to stay at that rung on the ladder are still, did you do a, b, c in the past year? It's more like a checklist of things you need to do--that anyone can do--rather than true merit.

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I also think seniority for pay and holidays is stupid. There are plenty of hardworking and intelligent nurses with 2-5 years experience who should be making more than those with 10-15+. One of the big flaws with union work is lack of merit based pay.

If you perform well and are involved you should be compensated more, it's that simple. A simple year scale is not sufficient. While years should play a factor because of experience, there should be some sort of merit based scale system as well....

You must have no seniority or you wouldn't be thinking that way. Seniority doesn't do away with merit increases -- nor should it. But there ought to be some perks for staying -- things like bidding into the open day slot, choosing which holidays to work (within reason) or going to the big conference.

I honestly don't know any 2-5 year nurses who consistently out perform any 10-15 year nurses, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere. Most of the 2-5 year nurses, the ones that haven't been job hopping that is, are just approaching true competency.

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