Holidays: Here We Go Again

Nurses General Nursing

Published

It's that time of year - The HOLIDAYS! :o

Do you know yet if you're working? Are you OK with it? How do you handle it?

Every year, I swear I'm going to call off on Christmas. Every year, I don't. Those who do seem to not get punished but I just don't have the nerve. Unless a loved one or I am very sick or some serious tragedy occurs, I'll be at work. :angryfire:o:madface:, etc.

She sounds like a typical Nursing management bully. I'm happy that you stood your ground and got to be home with your family.

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Yes, I'm sick of it too. We never get out schedule early. Don't even know if we're working Thanksgiving yet or not, let alone Xmas. Same thing happened last year, I've thought about getting another job because of it. I want to celabrate at my home, but not knowing what we're working until a week before makes it nearly impossible. Used to be a manager, simple, you work according to the hospital policy, you put the schedule out accordingly, if people don't like it, they find someone to swich with. I understand they are trying to give people the holiday they want off but, that's what makes it bad, if someone worked a group of holiday's one year , they know next year it will be the opposit, that way they can plan. No matter what people will bi#>@, so just do it already.

Same here. We normally get our schedule about 3 or 4 days before it starts and holiday time is the same. The times we get it earlier, it is laden with errors, gets revised upstairs, no one tells us it is revised, then they are calling desperately to get us to come in. Standard fare.:angryfire

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I make a deal with the NM: I'll work Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Years Eve and Day if I get Christmas Day off. She's always eager to accept my deal because my coworkers want Christmas Eve and New Years off. It's the only day that I get to spend with my family without having to worry about going to work. I work WEO, and the contract states that I only have to do one spring/summer holiday and one fall/winter holiday. I don't mind working holidays. Feels like any other day at work.

I used to work q Christmas, pre-marriage/kids.

I love your quote from Black Sabbath. It is so very accurate.

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Those of us on a "fixed" or set schedule simply keep that schedule and if the holiday falls on our scheduled day to work then...you know.

And I think I've had to work every single holiday this year, and the way my schedule is set, I should have to work all of the remaining holidays. It is my understanding that next year I won't have to work any of the holidays I worked this year, even if it contradicts my "set" schedule. I don't know if that ever happens though.

PRN and pool employees have to work all holidays one year, off all the next year.

That's the screwing I get where I work. It goes by your set schedule, just as you described. It is terrible for family life and for my morale.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

So far it's worked out for me- my family doesn't do a whole lot for Thanksgiving any more, now that all of us have moved so scattered over the country, but most of us do "congregate" at my parents' for Christmas. I only live a hundred miles from my parents, I work nights, so I like to work Christmas Eve night and then drive home Christmas morning to be with my family (and try to have the 26th off too.) Lots of parents with young kids want to be home on Christmas morning early, and their celebration is over by that night so they would rather work the 25th. I have alread had people asking to switch with me if they get scheduled for that night this year and I don't. Score!!

That was a long complicated explanation, to say how simple it is to make holiday schedules work for everyone if people are polite about it and you have reasonable schedulers (which we do...).

Of course, none of the other holidays besides Christmas are a big deal to me so, I guess if they are that does make it more complicated.

(Please forgive me if this does not make much sense... I have not slept in a while and get chatty when that happens, over random things...)

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Where I worked, holiday requests had to be in by Sept 15 for all three holidays and the final schedule posted by October 15. Holidays were rotated based on the previous year's schedule, the requests for the current years, the number of available staff, etc. Please don't call off on holidays....it is a nightmare.

Never have, never will, barring terrible emergency. Doesn't mean I don't think about it or yearn to do so. :o

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

hikernurse... that does sound like fun!!! :) (both the not cooking and the kids getting to have early Christmas...)

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New Year's Eve was never a big deal, except going into 2000. The city had a huge celebration planned (well, huge for us lol) and so I told my manager I did want it off. I was a new employee, still on orientation (just started there a month before) and was told I wouldn't be working that night because my preceptor had it off.

When the schedule came out, I was told by my manager that I could still have it off, but I'd "only" have to work for 4 hours on New Year's Eve--- 10 pm til 2 am.

:stone

The hospital was all paranoid and bent out of shape about the Y2K thing, and my job was to man The Box. A big plastic container that contained emergency equipment to be used in case the world blew up, I suppose. It had a little plastic lock on it, so I never really knew what it contained, but when the supervisor (whom I'd never met) rounded and saw me perched there guarding The Box, she asked what was inside. With a straight face and in a deadly serious tone of voice, I replied, "Flashlights and Spam." She just slowly backed away...

:devil::devil::devil::devil::idea::idea::idea:

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I'm on 3-11 Christmas Eve & Day. Off everything else.

Next year, I'll work Thanksgiving, NYE, NYD and have all of Christmas off.

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Specializes in critical care.

My first year on the unit and I got x-mas day and nyd. not bad......

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i think i got screwed this year.

i just started nocs.

i'm working Christmas Eve & Christmas Day 11-7;

New Year's Eve, New Year's Day 11-7.

have Thanksgiving off, which means on that wed noc, i get home Thanksgiving day at 8am, and have that noc off.

whoopie.

won't be able to sleep on Thanksgiving Day.

i'm very tired and cranky now.

couldn't sleep today.

bah humbug.

leslie

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Specializes in Peds M/S.

I don't have to work Thanksgiving, so more than likely I will have to work Christmas Day and not New Years Day. I'm not sure yet, though. I only have my schedule through the 22nd of December. We work every other of the 6 major holidays, and then switch the next year.

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