Help for a new Nurse!!

ginger58, ASN, RN · Feb 6, 2007

They most likely would let you take it but you may not have any vacation time available so it may be an unpaid vacation.

kcalohagirl · Feb 6, 2007

Everyone does it differently.

At the hospital I work at (I graduated last may and started work the middle of June) we begin to accrue vacation time (PTO) immediately. To the tune of about 6 hours each 2 weeks, depending on the number of hours worked.

And we could begin using that time immediately.

Depending on how your unit schedules, you may be able to do what I have done on a few occasions. Schedule yourself the first 3 days of one week and the last 3 days of the next week, resulting in 8 days off in a row! My fiance and I are taking a week-long trip to Hawaii, getting married, and I'm only using 2 days off!

Good luck! I don't think anyone will have a problem with you taking the time off.

Kate4339 · Feb 7, 2007

Thanks for the responses.....I certainly would not expect to get paid for the time I would need off so soon into just being hired. I just didn't know if that would be a no go especially if I was in the process of being orientated. Any other comments would be appreciated.

sunflrz321 · Feb 21, 2007

Honestly, it will be tough. You won't get your ATT number (which is required for you to begin working as a new grad RN) until mid to late june, because community colleges graduate about a month later than private universities do. So you get your ATT number mid to late june, and most of the hospitals hire their new grads at the beginning of July. The first several weeks are usually primarily classroom based, and only after that would you start on the unit you will be on. Also, as a new grad you are going through extra training when you begin, and you would be missing that training if you went on vacation. I know for a fact Northwest Community Hospital will not allow their new grads to take vacations for the first several months of their new grad training (called the RN residency program).

crpanek · Feb 22, 2007

Sorry that this response is not directly related to the original thread. But I saw in your post that you wrote about Northwest Community Hospital. Do you work there or know someone who does? If you do could look at my post titled "Northwest Community Hospital". I was thinking about applying there and was hoping to hear a little bit about what it's like to work there.

sunflrz321 · Feb 22, 2007

It is very difficult to get a job at Northwest Community Hospital as a new grad nurse. (I'm in my 2nd year of Nursing at Harper as well). The NWCH recruiter came and spoke with our clinical section last module, and I think it was a big wake up call for some friends with their hearts set on working there. They only really hire new grad nurses twice per year: at the beginning of July, and in February. All new grad nurses are hired into their 18 month RN residency program, and you cannot take any vacation in the first few months of that program. It sounded like they will probably only hire about 25-30 new grad nurses in July, and a portion of these spots are reserved for people who already work at the hospital. So they will only be hiring 10-20 new grad nurses from the entire general public in July (not just from Harper, but from everywhere- Loyola, NIU, DePaul, UIC, etc). If you want to be a new grad RN at NWCH, you'd better make yourself VERY marketable, because positions there are extremely competitive.

I heard an instructor say today that a lot of people don't understand the nursing shortage in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. There is not a shortage of new grad nurses by any means. There is only a shortage of experienced nurses. So it is still very difficult to get a new grad nurse position in hospitals in this area.