Length of Vacation Time for Registered Nurses

[jladha]

Hi fellow Nurses~

I am looking through a career change to Nursing which i read online is all perfect for me, except when it comes to time off. I understand that vacation times differ from person to person and place to place, but in Ontario if you have a union your entitled to i believe 4 weeks paid vacation after 3 years of experience as a RN.

My question is first, are u allowed to take that 4 weeks at once throughout the year, or are u more likely to be forced to take 1 week maximum off until it accumulates to 4 weeks? The reason why i say this is because, since there is a nurse shortage hospital force nurses not to take more than 2 weeks at a time, or some case 1 week, is this really the case, they even would deny for unpaid leave of absence?

I also notice that Ontario has 12 Holidays throughout the year, if a nurses volunteers to work in any of the holidays i believe they are entitled to a day off anytime else in the year. Are nurses allowed to combined these holidays to their vacation time to make it an extended vacation? For example if a nurse is entitled to 4 weeks vacation + 5 holidays = they are off work for 5 weeks?

One of my greatest motivation in life is to travel, usually 1 month off a year so i can cool down and explore far places of the world. I cant travel for example to Asia from Canada for a week and back, it would be disastrous and all that jet lag! the whole point of a vacation is to go somewhere far and different not somewhere close 500 km away. I am a type of person that doesn't mind working hard and long hours in a week 45hrs-56 hrs for 11 months, as long as i am able to get a chuck of vacation at one time so i can enjoy.

Please share your experiences of how likely are u to get long vacations at one go, also if thats not the case can u always get approved for unpaid leave of absent?

[ajaxgirl]

No shortage of work at my workplace either.

[jladha]

Thanks a lot everyone, you all have been very helpful in answering my questions which possibly many of future nurses may have had.

I have 15 days vacation. I took 7 off for a total of 3 weeks because I had scheduled days off in my rotation. I asked for 5 more off for a total of 2 weeks. The month long vacations you're hoping for probably won't happen as a new grad.

Joanna73, i am very interested in your rotation; are u in the 2D2N 5 days off 12 hrs shifts rotation? if so how common is this type of rotation in your workplace or in Hospital in general?

how far are u able to choose your vacation in advance; such as

5 days off + 4 day vacation + 5 days off = 2 weeks;

curious to know which department are u currently in? thanks :)

As for vacation, I know after you work for a number of years the vacation is good. However like others have posted, good luck getting approved. I know people with 7 years of full time who can't get more than a weekend off in the summer. Finding replacement is hard.

If nurses are not able to get their vacations by summer can they fulfill in low demand times? Can an employee simply force u not to take vacations and just pay u?

In ON and there IS an RN shortage in the less desirable areas- CCC, rehab medicine, psych, I know lots of new grads walking into those lines, so don't feel hopeless. Just don't expect to be working in the ER or L&D unless you can get a new grad guarantee spot.

Actually Daisy i really want to be working as a ER Nurse, it something i am interested in and see myself in the future if i choose nursing, are there a lot of opportunities for ER nurses? I know that there is this Ontario Graduation Guarantee Program, are they many spots for ER nurses, how competitive is it? please let me know since you seem like you've gone through this process, they only info provided is a list of hospitals to choose from and they will select u after an interview that's it :/

[Fiona59]

AHS had decided it CAN determine when a nurse takes vacation time. Simply too many nurses were putting it off because they couldn't get the time they wanted. So a memo came down a couple of months ago telling managers and staff to get on the ball and book their time off, by seniority.

Despite having over a decade in, I'm looking at next February to take the bulk of my time.

Our contracts allow us to defer a specified amount of time off but eventually you HAVE to use it.

My unit has approximately 30 nurses who are required to take book their vacation. Factor in at least ten have over 20 years in and there isn't a lot left to pick from.

Rotations are either 4, 8 or 12 week cycles and you can see far into the future and book accordingly. There is a wonderful clause in most contracts that permit an employer to change your rotation (within a specified time frame) to meet unit needs. I foresee a great many night shifts in my future this summer to cover vacation time.

From what I've heard the new grad programme only guarantees a years work in that department not a permanent job. So you may have to suck it up and go to work on a surgery or medicine floor afterwards. I know a nurse who's got five years in an only just managed to get hired in our ICU (her dream job)

If you really think nursing will give you the time off you want, when you want it, you are in for a very big disappointment. I've worked with women who planned their wedding well in advance around their rotation to have it changed or be denied the bulk of their vacation. You may want to look at some other health care profession and check out their vacation policies.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

I would not count on the new grad initiative as a future option, my understanding is that 87 of the 89 million of the new grad initiative dollars has been spent. It is unlikely there will be any money left by the time you graduate.

As far as ER positions in Ontario, they are often filled internally, by the most qualified nurse with seniority.

[loriangel14, RN]

Yes I have heard the same thing Dishes.Facilities that are participating are few amd far between.Where I live you can't get into ER nursing right out of school.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

There are few new grads that are hired into Emergency or any specialty right away. Usually, you need to have worked med surg, acute care, or some other area first. Two of my friends were hired into Emerg as new grads. They were both mature students and had prior Emerg externship experience. Furthermore, ON is still very unfriendly for new grads. Aside from the fact that HF0 is dwindling, many RN positions have been converted into RPN positions. Keep your goals in mind, but realize that you will need to take whatever comes along when you graduate.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

To answer your question, I work permanent nights. 35 shifts in 3 months. I have 3 scheduled weeks off in 3 months, and not consecutively. We are always short, so there are constant requests to pick up. Sometimes I do, more often now I decline. Just trying to keep my days off is a challenge, never mind getting my vacation time. I worked for over a year before the bulk of my time was granted.

[jladha]

Thank you all for the replies; i have a better understand, i am pretty sure u have asked many questions other new member's have been thinking.

[Daisy_08, BSN, RN]

Thanks a lot everyone, you all have been very helpful in answering my questions which possibly many of future nurses may have had.

If nurses are not able to get their vacations by summer can they fulfill in low demand times? Can an employee simply force u not to take vacations and just pay u?

Yes vacation can be taken any time during the year. Where I work and other places I have worked, the year goes from July to July. But if you don’t take them your SOL (but that depends on where you work.

Actually Daisy i really want to be working as a ER Nurse, it something i am interested in and see myself in the future if i choose nursing, are there a lot of opportunities for ER nurses? I know that there is this Ontario Graduation Guarantee Program, are they many spots for ER nurses, how competitive is it? please let me know since you seem like you've gone through this process, they only info provided is a list of hospitals to choose from and they will select u after an interview that's it :/

Honestly, I would think not. At least it would take a few years. The NGG program is running out of money, like others have mentioned, and that is very unfortunate. I do know of a number of nurses who have gotten these NGG positions in "high demand" areas, but don't know of many who have stayed on. Often they are offered casual, but it is hard to go from full time to casual, so some take positions where they are guaranteed more hours. I know very little about the ER, have never wanted to work there so I am not the person to ask. I was offered a NGG position, but was unable to work full time due to personal circumstances. On the website you see a list of all of the hospitals participating and what departments the positions are in. I see a lot of medical, LTC, psych and few ER, LD and ICU. Have a look now as this is the time you will see the most postings.

Good luck, like I said before I have never worked in the ER, nor do I want to so I cant really give any advice about that. Do a placement there in school, take some trauma courses and take any job in a hospital you can, to build up seniority and apply when one comes available.

[luvflowers]

As a new grad, I had only worked 9 months and I had more than enough CTO (combined time off) to get 3 weeks off together which they gave me (for May). Working 3 days a week, it became 4 weeks altogether.

I too enjoy traveling and like to go somewhere for a chunk of time instead of a week somewhere.

[Fiona59]

As a new grad, I had only worked 9 months and I had more than enough CTO (combined time off) to get 3 weeks off together which they gave me (for May). Working 3 days a week, it became 4 weeks altogether.

I too enjoy traveling and like to go somewhere for a chunk of time instead of a week somewhere.

Where in Canada do you work?

[12513292]

I am also a new grad who works in a community mental health setting. To start I get 4 weeks of vacation and could take it all off in one chunk if I wanted. So it really does depend on the factors and policies in your workplace. and ive only been working for 6 months lol