Vacation time being denied

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Sooooo frustrated with my hospital. I have a TON of PDOs (paid days off at our hospital) and I put a downpayment on a cruise which is to take place at the end of August. I put in a request for my vacation time off in January. My work does not approve these requests in a timely manner, they basically sit on them. In March, they posted a notice that only ONE person per shift for the entire unit could take vacation at a time. I had that part worked out, but then yesterday they sent out a notice that NO PDOs would be approved from Aug 21 - Oct 29 due to training for our new computerized charting system. Craziness! So basically if you were fortunate enough to decide to take your vacation in July, you're fine (assuming no one put in for it first) but at the end of August - screwed! Well, everyone knows that if you want to take a summer vacation you have to book it by Jan-Feb time frame - probably March at the latest - so here we are the middle of April and I am possibly in the position where I will have to choose between my job and my vacation. Yes, could cancel it all together - I can't reschedule this year because it's just too late, and I have 3 kids that I'm not going to pull out of school to go.

I am planning to protest this, although I'm still thinking about the wording . . . but does this strike anyone else as kind of crazy? To me it is very short notice AND a very long time frame for training for a computer system. FWIW, I have not taken a day off since last August, and I work extra every single week. But I know they won't give me special treatment. Grrrr. I really do want to keep my job.

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Specializes in L&D; GI; Fam Med; Home H; Case mgmt.

I would immediately take it to my NM, then above his/her head if necessary. They might just be more reasonable than you think, if they realize how early you put in for it, how you already reserved it, etc. It can't hurt to try. It would be completely unreasonable for them to deny you this vacation, seeing as how late they have "announced" this training...

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

when you talk to your supervisors be sure to have a plan on how you will catch up with the education needed. We are going live in June with a new system. No vacations are being denied as IS will be teaching every month anyway for people on FMLA, new hires, etc. So could you get in one of those classes after your trip? If you have employee satisfaction survey's be sure to mention that this is not helping you be "very satisfied". That is a term on the surveys and administration may want to work with you on that.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
I would immediately take it to my NM, then above his/her head if necessary. They might just be more reasonable than you think, if they realize how early you put in for it, how you already reserved it, etc. It can't hurt to try. It would be completely unreasonable for them to deny you this vacation, seeing as how late they have "announced" this training...

My thoughts exactly. Since they have already made a statement that only one RN can be on vacation at once, a reasonable argument could be made that bringing one RN up to speed on the new computer system is not an unreasonable burden. After all, you will only be absent X number of days during that Aug-Oct time period. You made your request in good faith (following current guidelines) very far in advance.

And I would go so far as to say that you should start the approval process ASAP. The August timeframe is likely to be hotly contested by many RN's with school-age children and you need to be first at the gate since you gave so much notice.

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Specializes in Critical Care/Coronary Care Unit,.

How long can computer training possibly take at your hospital! You should bring it up to your NM. You did your vacation request in a timely manner and they announced their plans for computer training at the last minute. They should work with you. If all else fails, do what everyone else does.....switch days or call out sick. Good luck.

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Specializes in Peri-Op.

If they didn't approve my pto I would quit and go.on vacation. Ill find another job before my trip and start it the day I return from.vacation. I have had this hapen to me before.....

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Is there any way that you could take an unpaid leave of absence during the time that your cruise ship vacation is scheduled? This might enable you to keep your job and enjoy the prepaid trip at the same time.

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I would immediately take it to my NM, then above his/her head if necessary. They might just be more reasonable than you think, if they realize how early you put in for it, how you already reserved it, etc. It can't hurt to try. It would be completely unreasonable for them to deny you this vacation, seeing as how late they have "announced" this training...

I'd go this route. It doesn't hurt to try. If they deny it I would look for another job before you go away. Maybe something even better comes up.

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I see no reason why they can't make an exception in your case. But then, you are dealing with management.

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I went to a hospital computer training class which lasted two days for about five or five and a half hours each day. Most of that time was wasted waiting for the system to work. I don't see why you can't get filled in on the basics in about half an hour either before or after your absence. Ridiculous.

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.
Is there any way that you could take an unpaid leave of absence during the time that your cruise ship vacation is scheduled? This might enable you to keep your job and enjoy the prepaid trip at the same time.

Sneaky.....but effective.:yeah:

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

That doesnt' sound right! We did EPIC training and it was spread out over months like yours is and we still let 180 hours of vacation go out per week. The only thing I can think of is that they are afraid that they will have trouble covering your unit, but one person per shift shouldn't make a big difference unless you work on a lightly staffed floor.

I would go to management, explain that you were really counting on your vacation (where I work, it doesn't matter if you paid for it or not, they will tell you that you shouldn't have reserved anything until you made sure you had the time off), and ask if there is anything you can do to be able to have this off.

Do you have a nurse senate in place at your hospital? We send this kind of stuff to them all the time and we do find out that it isn't upper management that mandates it but the unit manager. That changes a lot of things.

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