Nurses that don't work holidays?

babyranee · Oct 29, 2013

As a new nurse you will just have to pay your dues... But I do think it depends on where you work.... clinic, hospital, LTC... I used to work at a hospital and you rotated each year... For example, if you work thanksgiving you get xmas off - then the next year you are off thanksgiving and work xmas... My current job could care less!!!! I have worked almost every single holiday for over four years! And lucky me, the weekends as well. Although I look at it as, they worked around my school schedule for 18 months... So cant complain too much.

If you really dont want to work holidays or weekends, then find a nursing job that is monday thru friday... Easier said then done.

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2013

I work as a school nurse. No holidays, no weekends, summer off. Trade-off? Money, of course, and a lot of it. But I love my job and have made it work.

NutmeggeRN, BSN · Oct 29, 2013

I work as a school nurse. No holidays, no weekends, summer off. Trade-off? Money, of course, and a lot of it. But I love my job and have made it work.

Agreed but to get here, I paid my dues and worked weekends nights and holidays for 11 years. Oh, and I still cover some holidays as I work perdiem in LTC..... :bluecry1:

But look at it this way, take the $$ and run!!!!

Usually time and half on the holiday and then I would make a special time to spend with family.

Good Luck and I hope the job market turns around in the next few years!

allnurses Guide · Oct 29, 2013

I don't work holidays!

There are jobs for nurses out there that won't require it.

schooldistrictnurse · Oct 29, 2013

I work in a school setting and therefore don't work holidays, but "back in the day" when I did have to work holidays, it was surprising how much I enjoyed it. (not that I was trading shifts to get more holidays, I'm not crazy) I felt like I could offer an extra measure of compassion on those days (to staff and patients alike). I guess it's all in how you approach things.

i♥words · Oct 29, 2013

Aren't nurses paid more on holidays and weekends? I'm more concerned as a new grad that I'll get stuck with plain ol' weekdays.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Oct 29, 2013

I remember feeling the same way that OP does when I was a new nurse (a hundred years ago, when the Earth's crust was still cooling). But it was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. I discovered that working major holidays also had its percs... extra pay, 'happy' visitors sometimes bringing goodies, upbeat atmosphere . . . Even when I had small ones at home, my husband (a wonderful, fully engaged parent) took up the slack to make sure that work didn't interfere too much. We focused on the spirit of the holiday rather than trying to meet a tight traditional schedule. And what could possibly be more in the spirit of 'giving' than providing care for the sick? Honestly, one of the best things about working major holidays was escaping the normal family chaos/in-law craziness - LOL.

In most organizations, employees who observe major religious holidays are able to adjust their schedules with other co-workers. In fact, at one organization, even the volunteers stepped up with our lovely Jewish pink ladies working on Christmas so that their Christian counterparts could have the day off.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 29, 2013

I'm sure others have already mentioned most of what I am going to say, but I'l say it anyway:

Nursing is 24/7/365.25 Patients don't leave with you at 5pm, nor do they take Sundays or religious holidays off. They require round-the-clock-care. Almost all hospitals have weekend/holiday working requirements where you have to do alternate or every third weekend, as well as work selected holidays. If you don't want to do this, then you won't have much--if any--career in acute care. That is the reality.

And the religion/lawsuit card only goes so far, because all the employer has to say when it comes to why you weren't hired is, "we have a weekend and holiday requirement that everyone must fulfill and OP stated she wasn't willing to fulfill it." Then it'd be on you to prove to a court's satisfaction that you were discriminated against based on religion.

There are tons of work settings where you can work weekdays only and get holidays off, such as same day surgery, outpatient, partial hospitalization, clinics, doctor's offices, school nursing, community settings just to name a few. But most are not open to new grads because they require experience. But once you get in there, then you can have your dream schedule as a nurse...but you may need to pay your dues first.

The other thing you can do is talk to your religious advisors to see if you can get a dispensation that will let you work on your day of worship and the holidays. After all, even Christian/Jewish hospitals don't grind to a halt on weekends or high holidays--someone's there working and I'll guarantee they're not all atheists.

While I respect your reasons, the fact is that limiting your availability for whatever reason is going to limit your career prospects in nursing. I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

RNlove17 · Oct 29, 2013

I work at a public high school (actually its my alma matar) - no holidays (with lots of vacation time) and summers off. I make less money but it's worth it to me; and actually my hourly rate is more than I made at the hospital, i just work a lot less hours! I am salaried though. I got this job after being a nurse after only about 6 months experience at the hospital...so I didn't pay too many "dues" beforehand. I still work per diem at the hospital though to stay on top of my skills, and for the extra money of course. Acute care in a hospital is 24/7, like some others have said. But it's okay if you don't love acute care, there are other nursing jobs.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2013

You may have to do the time to get into a good position where you do not need to do holidays and weekends. I know some positions like quality assurance or infection control nurses usually do not work holidays or the weekends. However, those usually require more experience and further education. I think the health department will also be more lenient. I saw a prison posting for an NP who gets weekends and holidays off plus 10 days vacation per year.

monkeybug · Oct 29, 2013

Hi OP,
I interviewed for a nurse position in Public Health two weeks ago. They mentioned that I would have no weekend or holiday work. However, I don't know if this applies to all PH settings. Best wishes!

I also work in PH as a home visitor. No weekends or holidays. BUT, I cannot imagine doing this job without having put in all those years at the hospital. I simply wouldn't have the knowledge base.

monkeybug · Oct 29, 2013

I come from a very close, religious family. I have a small child, also. I do not work weekends or holidays. However, I put in 15 years at the bedside in order to be qualified for this position. As many others have said, I paid my dues. I missed some things. Well, to be more accurate, I missed a lot of things. But you make the best of it and work around it if you can. We worked either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, you worked Thanksgiving if it fell on your pattern, and you worked Easter if it fell on your pattern. I would eat Thanksgiving supper with my family and enjoy the leftovers. Santa would come on whatever day that I didn't work. I did miss weekends with my child, but my off days during the week I tried to make special. My first day off was always Pajama Day, and I would do nothing but spend time with him. The next day I'd clean and do grocery shopping, but I'd always find something special to add to it, like a trip to the park or lunch together.

You just have to make a decision, and you should probably do it before you really get entrenched in nursing school. If you actually cannot tolerate the idea of weekends and holidays, maybe you should reconsider. There are M-F jobs in nursing, but they are definitely the minority, and in a lot of cases they are reserved for experienced nurses.