holidays... sick call...

Nurses General Nursing

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i have already went through the channels and my Christmas vacation request was rejected. oddly enough, i wanted to work Christmas last year, but they denied me.

the turnover rate is high i am #5 on the seniority list with only 1 year of experience. so you have an idea of the environment i am in. not sure why i was denied, either. i don't plan on working at this facility in the near future so it doesn't bother me if i am terminated.

anyway, anybody ever call in on a major holiday like thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc.. ? did they reprimand you? what happened?

i have already went through the channels and my Christmas vacation request was rejected. oddly enough, i wanted to work Christmas last year, but they denied me.

the turnover rate is high i am #5 on the seniority list with only 1 year of experience. so you have an idea of the environment i am in. not sure why i was denied, either. i don't plan on working at this facility in the near future so it doesn't bother me if i am terminated.

anyway, anybody ever call in on a major holiday like thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc.. ? did they reprimand you? what happened?

Expect to either get a first and final warning, or to be terminated. I would reconsider this very heavily if I were you. You are not an experienced nurse and cannot weather a bad reference as well as an experienced nurse can.

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Specializes in ED, psych.
ironically, i requested to work last year... but i was denied ANY holiday because certain people didn't have plans and wanted the additional holiday pay. i was bumped off thanksgiving, Christmas, and new years, because i was newer. i did not work ANY of those days. now those nurses have jumped ship. how fair is that?

i play secretary when we're short staffed, i answer OTHER nurses call lights, i am the only person who assists the CNA/MA because i do not believe i am beyond bed baths and toileting, i am the first nurse in a room when there is a code to offer assistance... let's leave the comments about my work ethics and character out of this. my director and coworkers love when i am on the floor because it lessens EVERYBODYS workload. there's a reason i scored 3/3 on my annual review. anything listed "willingness to assist others" , "teamwork" , etc... i was 100% on.

i was told we cannot request holidays off. but i still need to figure out what my punishment will be because i am still going to call off. i need these days. sorry.

Yeahhhhh, I think all that is a moot point when you call off on a majority holiday. Your bosses and coworkers won't remember that on Christmas Day.

OP -- I think deep down you know your answer.

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ironically, i requested to work last year... but i was denied ANY holiday because certain people didn't have plans and wanted the additional holiday pay. i was bumped off thanksgiving, Christmas, and new years, because i was newer. i did not work ANY of those days. now those nurses have jumped ship. how fair is that?

i play secretary when we're short staffed, i answer OTHER nurses call lights, i am the only person who assists the CNA/MA because i do not believe i am beyond bed baths and toileting, i am the first nurse in a room when there is a code to offer assistance... let's leave the comments about my work ethics and character out of this. my director and coworkers love when i am on the floor because it lessens EVERYBODYS workload. there's a reason i scored 3/3 on my annual review. anything listed "willingness to assist others" , "teamwork" , etc... i was 100% on.

i was told we cannot request holidays off. but i still need to figure out what my punishment will be because i am still going to call off. i need these days. sorry.

Everything in this post is irrelevant to the issue at hand.

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Specializes in LTC and Pediatrics.

You came in here to ask about this issue. You have received your answers from many nurses here. It seems to me that you came to allnurses with the hope that we would tell you to go ahead and do it and we haven't. You are not entitled to having whatever holiday off that you want. That is a fact of nursing. If you want to have said holidays off, you need to find a position where you can.

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Everything in this post is irrelevant to the issue at hand.

it is relevant when people with reading comprehension issues bash me about my work ethnics, morale, and all that other BS. it's not my fault if people are unhappy about their own life circumstances. like always, allnurses never fails to find an angle on somebody.

if you see my original post i had a simple question:

anyway, anybody ever call in on a major holiday like thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc.. ? did they reprimand you? what happened?

thanks to those who posted about rotating holidays, institution policies, etc... as i thought it was seniority based. i have questions to ask my HR department and union.

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I called in sick once on Christmas, because I had a temp of 103. It wouldn't even cross my mind to call in sick on a holiday just because I didn't want to work it. Your question honestly is disgraceful and embarrassing. You knew what you signed up for when you took the job. Did you somehow think you were so special the need to work holidays would not apply to you? You had Christmas off last year, suck it up and adjust your plans. Act like an adult.

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it is relevant when people with reading comprehension issues bash me about my work ethnics, morale, and all that other BS. it's not my fault if people are unhappy about their own life circumstances. like always, allnurses never fails to find an angle on somebody.

if you see my original post i had a simple question:

anyway, anybody ever call in on a major holiday like thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc.. ? did they reprimand you? what happened?

thanks to those who posted about rotating holidays, institution policies, etc... as i thought it was seniority based. i have questions to ask my HR department and union.

*sighs*

*starts marking bingo card*

Your performance on a normal day is irrelevant when you decided, against all logic, to plan a vacation during a high-demand time season, overlapping a holiday you knew you'd have to work a year in advance.

Asking questions in advance is only more certain to draw attention to yourself when you flip your coworkers the bird to run off on your trip.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
Many places WILL reprimand you for calling out on a holiday or weekend, especially after a request for that time off has been denied. I know where I work, this will happen. I am sorry this is happening to you.

This. Even if you were genuinely sick and presented them with a PCP's work excuse note, it's still going to be viewed with suspicion. Legally, they may not be able to do anything about it if you call d/t really being sick. But given the timing, all the P&P in the world can't force your coworkers and managers to think well of it...and of you.

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Specializes in ED, psych.
it is relevant when people with reading comprehension issues bash me about my work ethnics, morale, and all that other BS. it's not my fault if people are unhappy about their own life circumstances. like always, allnurses never fails to find an angle on somebody.

if you see my original post i had a simple question:

anyway, anybody ever call in on a major holiday like thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc.. ? did they reprimand you? what happened?

thanks to those who posted about rotating holidays, institution policies, etc... as i thought it was seniority based. i have questions to ask my HR department and union.

Now I see where the issue lies.

Maturity.

OP asks a question, hears responses she doesn't like, then blames the posters and their reading comprehension, being unhappy/miserable beings being mean to her, yadda yadda yadda.

OP -- it wouldn't matter if you were employee of the month, came in for oodles of OT, and were the bestest nurse ever. That means squat the second you call out from your assigned major holiday.

Like I said before, I think you know the answer to your question. So own up to it -- either call out and accept those negative consequences (the deserved frustration and/or anger from your colleagues, a poor reference later, termination) or be a professional and don't call out, planned vacation be damned. Both situations suck -- welcome to adulthood.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
anyway, anybody ever call in on a major holiday like thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc.. ? did they reprimand you? what happened?

Never have. One year, I did make a last-minute trade to get Christmas Day off, and someone was desperate for Boxing Day off, so we swapped even though it was going to be a staffing nightmare (my switchee was not one of the best nurses to send to my home unit, nor was I the best to be sent to hers).

However, you could say Karma got me, but not in the form of HR action. A blizzard struck the Southeast on Boxing Day, and it was much worse than originally predicted. Guess who spent as much time commuting to and from work as actually being at work? :)

My current facility has everyone rank the holidays, from first choice off to last choice off. They are upfront and say you may not get more than your first and (possibly) second choice. They also tell you that you may end up having to work a holiday falling on your regular day off. Seniority doesn't matter in this case. Most people got the day or two that they wanted, though a few did have the schedule switch.

I was already scheduled to work every holiday (I know, the odds...but that's just how my schedule fell this year). I did get my first choice off--the rest, I didn't care either way since I knew I'd have to be here anyway.

Seriously, many facilities can and will reprimand workers for calling off after they've been denied a holiday/weekend/other day off. And unions aren't always bulletproof protection against disciplinary action. I would talk to your HR and union about it. I would also consider finding someone willing to switch holidays with you, as opposed to just calling off.

If want to take a chance about calling off, that's your decision. Just accept there may be consequences that you may not like.

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Specializes in Emergency Medicine.

It says a lot about a persons character when you become defensive and hostile because you don't hear the answer you like. Nursing isn't about you, it's about safe and effective patient care. If you wish to have a career where you are the center of said career, you should get out of nursing. You are too early in your career to have this poor of an attitude- that's very telling.

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Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

anyway, anybody ever call in on a major holiday like thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc.. ? did they reprimand you? what happened?

You will need to ask your HR department, find your hospital's policy, or ask nurses within your own institution. This will vary from facility to facility, just like holiday schedules and rotations will vary. Some facilities do base the holiday schedule on seniority. Others rotate assignments regardless of seniority. The experiences of 100 strangers who called in sick after requesting time off will not give you any truthful information regarding the consequences that you might face. No more than the opinion of 100 nurse regarding the ethics of doing so will change your opinion of those ethics.

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