Favoritism with working(or not working) holidays

Nurses Relations

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Specializes in Inpatient Oncology/Public Health.

A couple of the new nurses on my floor aren't being required to work any of the major winter holidays. This is causing "unrest amongst the ranks" as you might imagine. One is being groomed to be a manager(yes, a new nurse, but that's another post,) the other apparently worked a lot of summer holidays(do Memorial Day and 4th of July equal Thanksgiving and Christmas?)

Have you had this happen? How was it handled? How do you think it should be handled?

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

We have a holiday rotation set by our manager- it is not based on seniority, it is just kind of random as far as which holiday you work BUT if you are off the holiday this year, you work it next year. Trades are allowed. It is fair to everyone.

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We have a list by holiday groups. One major holiday and minor holiday are required. Winter is major minor is summer

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Specializes in Inpatient Oncology/Public Health.

Yes we have 2 lists that designate which holidays you work and it rotates the next year. So if you're in the group that works Christmas one year, you work Thanksgiving the next. But they aren't working their assigned holidays, period.

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.

If Thanksgiving, July 4th, Memorial Day, Labor Day, New Year's Eve, Easter fall into your schedule, you work them. Christmas and Christmas Eve we had a special schedule: everyone works 8 hour shifts these days, even if you normally work 12s. You work one OR the other, never both. If it falls in your off days, you still come in and work one, but if both days would be normal scheduled days to work, you get one off. If you work the 24th this year, you work the 25th next year. A name is pulled out of the hat for each shift. This person will be allowed to stay home on call if the census is low.

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Specializes in Cath Lab & Interventional Radiology.

We are required to work every other holiday. Christmas Eve/Day & New Years Eve/Day are each considered a pair holiday. If it is your turn to work, you work both days. The new people on my unit do not work holidays until they are off of orientation. Once off of orientation, everyone is required to work every other holiday.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

My first nursing job tried to do it by preference. Lists went out twice a year for summer (memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day) and winter (Thanksgiving, Christmas, new Year's Day), and employees ranked each day 1 (want off), 2 (neutral), or 3 (will work).

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My facility has no set rotation, which sucks. So if your scheduled days falls on the holidays you work it unless you can find a PRN person to cover it. Because of my schedule, I work every holiday from Oct. 31-Jan.1st. I've tried to question it and ask if they could do a rotation schedule for holidays. But I guess its easier for them to do it the way it is.:no:

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

At my hospital, you either work Thanksgiving & New Year's, OR Christmas. And then you alternate every year. So you work Christmas one year, you're off Christmas the next year.

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Specializes in ED.

We break our holidays into two groups, 3 summer holidays and 3 winter holidays. Everyone must work 2 out of the 3 in each group. A sheet is posted and you pick your preference from 1 to 3, with 1 being what you most want off. The list then goes by seniority, with every effort being made to acomodate individual requests. Christmas Eve and New Years Eve are not considered holidays, but if you are scheduled to work Christmas you will most likely get Christmas Eve off, and the same goes for New Years. If you consistently ask for the same holiday every year, you will probably be rotated off at some point. If too many are scheduled for a particular holiday, the most senior will get it off and therefore may only be required to work one of the holidays. These are union rules.

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So what are you guys doing about it? Are you just going to let it happen, or are you going to approach your nurse manager all together to ask about it? I would definitely ask my nurse manager about it, but I am not shy. If a lot of people ask the nurse manager about it, enough so that she sees people are noticing and unhappy about it, she might be less inclined next year. Are they not being scheduled? Did they request it off or just not get scheduled? How was the schedule done?

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ah! was wondering when someone would address the question that was asked! good luck, OP!

So what are you guys doing about it? Are you just going to let it happen, or are you going to approach your nurse manager all together to ask about it? I would definitely ask my nurse manager about it, but I am not shy. If a lot of people ask the nurse manager about it, enough so that she sees people are noticing and unhappy about it, she might be less inclined next year. Are they not being scheduled? Did they request it off or just not get scheduled? How was the schedule done?
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