Advice needed!! New Grad...bad to job hunt knowing I have trip planned for xmas week?

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Looking for some advice... Here's some info about my situation:

I am fresh out of nursing school with my BSN and really want to work in a NYC ED. Would it be wrong of me to job hunt knowing that I cannot work from the 19th of December to the 2nd of January? (My family planned a vacation over a year ago with 2 other families that can't be refunded. I would be truly devastated if I had to miss it.) The thing is, in addition to this, I can't work Friday nights or Saturdays for religious reasons.

My family keeps suggesting that I try to find per diem positions where I can choose to take off those two weeks. However I don't think a lot of hospitals are willing to have a new grad on a per-diem basis in the ER, and most would require completion of a residency program.

My grandpa has been an internist at a Brooklyn Hospital for decades, so I have basically been offered a job there. However, I am concerned that if I accept that job and manage to get the vacation time as an RN with only 5 months experience at that point in time, people will think that's nepotism and start treating me differently. [Not sure how valid of a concern this is considering it's this connection that will probably get me the job in the first place--not to be presumptuous.]

I would be more than willing to work Sundays, the graveyard shift, Easter and the following year's Christmas and NYE, as well as any St. Patty's Day or chaotic shifts there are to compensate. I would also be willing to take the two weeks I would be missing as unpaid, as opposed to paid vacation time.

Any advice or thoughts as to what I should do? People with experience on issues like this feel free to chime in. :)

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I think you already know that employers are extremely unlikely to agree to your requirements as a condition of employment... they are besieged with hordes of new grads - who are willing to do "anything" to land a job.

A bit of a hard truth. The absolute worst thing that can happen to a new grad is to be labeled as feeling "entitled"... believing that they are special, and therefore not subject to the rules that apply to everyone else. This is guaranteed to actively repel hiring managers. IMO, your post mentions three red flags that scream "entitled":

* "I have influential relatives that can will make sure I get the job"

* "My vacation plans take precedence"

* "I need to guaranteed a schedule that accommodates my personal needs"

YIKES!!! And the cherry on top?? Expecting to be hired into ED as a new grad.

Side note: I don't know the ins & outs of politics in the hospital in question, but I have never seen one in which physicians had any influence over hiring staff nurses unless that physician is a department chair or leader of the department in question. Even attempting to use this method of getting a job will have very negative consequences for you. If a manager was forced to hire you, the level of resentment would be enormous. You'd be under the microscope as s/he looked for reasons to fire you.

My advice? Wait until after your family vacation to take that job. Keep all of the above under wraps as you look for a job. Be humble and appreciative for any opportunities you receive.

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I do not think the fact that you have a vacation planned should be a problem as long as you state in your interview what dates you would need off for the vacation and why. I would probably even take it in writing to the interview, this lets them know before they hire you that you have a set vacation you will need off. Many of my friends had their weddings and honeymoons scheduled and did this, they still got their jobs and their time off.

As far as not being able to work friday nights or saturdays, I don't see any manager being okay with that. I think the per diem or contingent position would be best for you (as you stated) because you choose your own schedule and only put in what you could work, whereas a full time/part time you are expected to work certain shifts/days.

Those are just some opinions from my experience! Goodluck :)

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Specializes in medsurg, progressive care.

I agree with rnBSN223. I got hired at the same time as another new grad, and she ended up taking maternity leave a week after orientation ended. Our manager knew all about it before we were hired and therefore everyone was okay with it.

As for not working Fridays / Saturdays... this may be a bit trickier, but it can be done. We have a nurse who cannot work Saturdays so she found someone to switch with so that she works every single Sunday and the other nurse works every single Saturday. Normally you work every other weekend (or we do, anyway) but this way they each have 4 weekend shifts a month / 2 per pay period. But again, these are two experienced, seasoned nurses who have been there forEVER, and I don't know the circumstances around it. I do know that the nurse who doesn't normally work Saturdays will come in if we are short-staffed, so I'm not sure the reasoning behind working every Sunday.

Good luck.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

*sigh*

Unfortunately for the OP, acute care nursing is 24/7/365. Patients don't go home for weekends, holidays or holy days. Nor do hospitals--even the most religious ones--shutter their doors beacuse it's the holy day. So for you as a new grad to find a job in acute care that isn't going to involve working Fridays and Saturdays is pretty much nil. Maybe after several years when you have some seniority, you may be able to wrangle it...but go on the new grad interview and tell them "sorry, no Fridays or Saturdays," and that will pretty much end your chances then and there. And no, it wouldn't be religious discrimination: it would be because you weren't willing to meet a required weekend committment.

Even having your grandfather trying to go to bat for you won't get you out of a weekend obligation...and FWIW, you will find that your grandfather has far less pull in your nursing career as you think. As others have mentioned, once people find out that you played the nepotism card to get the job--or even if you don't play it and word gets out that your grandfather works there--it's not going to make for a hospitable work environement...and that's something that your grandfather can't fix for you either.

So here are some options:

Option A: work outside of acute care. There's tons of Nursing Jobs with no weekend committments.

Option B: work PRN/per-diem. Many hospitals have weekend committments for PRN staff, but there may be some more flexibility in how you can schedule yourself. On the downside, PRN is not the best way for a new grad to start because there is less consistency in a PRN position.

Option C: talk to your Rabbi/religious advisor. You will find that many of them will grant dispensations/allowances for those in healthcare where the job is 24/7. After all, have you ever heard of hospitals in Israel closing their doors for the Sabbath? Me neither. And I'd bet that not all the nurses working that hospital that day aren't non-Jewish either.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

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Thanks so much for the input everyone. I really appreciate all of the advice everyone has to offer. I'll just do my best with the cards that get dealt to me.

As far as things go with my grandfather that connection has only managed to get me the interview. I've spoken to friends who have been hired there and they've all said that you really can only get an interview with that facility if you know somebody. Should I be fortunate enough to get the job, I plan on keeping that under wraps, unless somebody asks. Unfortunately, I've been finding that this "knowing someone who knows someone" thing holds true for new grads at facilities throughout tri-state/metropolitan area.

I actually didn't anticipate the Friday night/Saturday being as much of an issue, not because I would have family going to bat for me or anything like that. One of my friends is a nurse at NYP, and she as well as several of her friends [from what she told me], and all had been in the same exact position as I am in as new grads. They all managed to get Fri/Sat off in exchange for working off shifts (Sat overnights) and Sundays. I have also been in contact with the nursing director I would be interviewing with and they are aware of this issue. I mentioned it because I thought it would have some bearing to the vacation matter I was asking about. However after reading these posts I am definitely concerned. >_

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
I actually didn't anticipate the Friday night/Saturday being as much of an issue, not because I would have family going to bat for me or anything like that. One of my friends is a nurse at NYP, and she as well as several of her friends [from what she told me], and all had been in the same exact position as I am in as new grads. They all managed to get Fri/Sat off in exchange for working off shifts (Sat overnights) and Sundays. I have also been in contact with the nursing director I would be interviewing with and they are aware of this issue. I mentioned it because I thought it would have some bearing to the vacation matter I was asking about. However after reading these posts I am definitely concerned. >_

Weekends are very hard for facilities to staff: after all, everyone wants them off to be with their families and/or for religious reasons. Because of that, acute care facilities have weekend requirements where staff have to work every other or every third weekend. And failing to meet that requirement can result in disciplinary action including termination.

You can certainly ask about the Saturday NOC/Sunday option--after all, the worst thing they can tell you is No. And you never know if they'll find such an option agreeable because they might. Though keep in mind that if they're 12-hour shifts, they'll start usually between 6pm and 8pm, so during certain times of the year, you will need to cut your Sabbath short to report into work.

But don't expect that because your friends got it at NYP that you're guaranteed to get it at Brooklyn or anywhere else. Heck, you might not even get it at NYP if their NM determines that she doesn't have enough coverage on Fridays and Saturdays because of all the deals she cut for Sundays. The first hospital I worked at would let clinical staff work one day every weekend and thus let you meet the weekend requirement: my tech worked every Saturday, I worked every Sunday. But there were too many staffing gaps, so they tossed it out and went to a firm both days/alternate weekends.

The weekend issue actually has little to no bearing to your vacation, IMO, but I'm glad you mentioned it because you learned some important info.

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Specializes in CVICU.

All I can say is good luck getting hired on as a new grad and getting both Christmas and New Years off.

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