Is this a fair holiday schedule

Nurses General Nursing

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I work 3, 12 hour night shifts. We are required to work 2 out of 3 holidays. I got Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. 12 hour night shift. The new schedule came out and I'm scheduled Halloween, Thanksgiving day, 12 hour night shift, and Black Friday. I guess the 12 hour night shift on Thanksgiving day is not considered a holiday, the Wednesday night before is the holiday. No family time for holidays this year! What a sucky schedule!

Halloween and Black Friday aren't too bad to work and aren't considered holidays at any sort of job I've ever heard of. Enjoy your Christmas Day with your family or friends! My first holiday season as a nurse I worked Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day night shifts. My pain was quelled by my other friends who were working the same night shifts at other jobs. We had a mini potluck from 4-6pm on Christmas Day and sent photos to our moms so they wouldn't feel so sad about us missing Christmas!

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I used to work pretty much every single holiday so that I could have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. It worked for me. A couple of times I got sent home on Thanksgiving because our census was so low. That worked out really well, because I was able to go home and enjoy the meal without having had to cook any of it (thanks to MIL). :)

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Specializes in Cardiac Stepdown, PCU.

My unit has unofficial holidays that rotate with our holidays. Halloween being the only not actually included. Thanksgiving isn't an official holiday but we still rotate it.

When it cubes to Christmas Eve/Day and New Years Eve/ Day we rotate both as unofficial and official holiday. Maybe you can suggest such for your unit.

So basically, I'm working Christmas eve, i won't work Christmas day, and won't work new years eve, but will work new years day. But, if I were to work Christmas day I'd work new years eve and will have off Christmas eve and new years day. Being night shift, Christmas eve night counts as my holiday but new years day is not a holiday as night shift holidays are the "eve" of a holiday not the night of it. So while everyone on day shift will get holiday on new years day, night shift won't, only those who work new years eve night.

It can be confusing... But I how it makes sense.

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Specializes in Pedi.

When I worked in the hospital, everyone was required to work a minor and major holiday for the winter holidays. Minor holidays were Thanksgiving night, Christmas Eve day, Christmas day night, New Year's Eve day and New Year's day night (these were also the holidays you didn't get paid extra for). Major holidays were the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve night, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve night and New Year's Day. The holiday schedule was posted sometime in the fall and you ranked your choices. Usually the most senior staff all got to work New Year's Day and nothing else. In 5 years of working in the hospital, I never worked any part of New Year's. I always worked Thanksgiving day and some part of Christmas. A couple years I did 2 major holidays and worked Thanksgiving day and Christmas Eve night or Christmas Day. Usually it was Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve day, though.

As far as your schedule goes, OP, as others have said, Black Friday doesn't count. Black Friday night shift just fell to whoever's weekend it was when I worked in the hospital. Once I needed a trade for an earlier weekend in November so traded with one of my colleagues whose family was out of state because, though she wasn't scheduled to work Thanksgiving, it was her weekend and she was supposed to work Fri, Sat, Sun nights so couldn't travel. Black Friday day shift was always a difficult shift to cover and almost no one signed up for it. I'm pretty sure I worked it every year. I didn't care though, I don't shop on Black Friday. Halloween definitely doesn't count- it's just a regular Wednesday.

Since you don't have to work Thanksgiving until 7pm, I don't see why you can't do family stuff before you go to work though. Or celebrate it on Wednesday. We celebrate all the winter holidays with my in-laws on a random weekend in December because they live several states away. I don't get Black Friday off and Christmas is on a Tuesday this year so traveling to see them on an actual holiday is not feasible. (Not that I want to anyway, haha.)

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Hmm, I can see why you're frustrated, but it doesn't appear to be an unreasonable request for you to work those shifts, just perhaps inconvenient/unpleasant for you. Like others have said, Halloween and Black Friday aren't even considered "holidays" for most workplaces, so they likely did not even consider that when scheduling your other holidays. It's unfortunate that you are scheduled to work the night shift on Thanksgiving day, but you still have the day to celebrate for a few hours if you want. And, as nurses, at one point in time you will end up working Christmas and New Year's Eve...it just comes with the job. However, if they schedule you for Christmas EVERY YEAR then that may need to be brought up as that isn't fair. Most employers, though, are pretty good about rotating the years each nurse is responsible for working Christmas. At mine, we work Christmas every other year, and that seems pretty reasonable to me.

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I think we all know that going into nursing, there is a lot of sacrifice that comes with our schedules. In the beginning, seniority may seem unfair. At my hospital we sign up for holiday requests very year. We are required to sign up for a major and minor holiday every season. If you're scheduled for Christmas one year, the next year you're guaranteed to have Christmas off.

Before I had kids, I use to sign up to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day every year with the understanding that I would get a few days in a row off around New Years to spend with my family and friends. My scheduling manager was pretty happy with this arrangement. I found that giving myself my own holiday, it was easier to plan visits with my family and I it did not feel like I was missing out. Plus the moms with kids that I worked for were happy to be able to spend more time at home with their little ones.

Now after many years in the field, I'm per diem and pick which holidays I am available to work. If you're able to figure out something that will make you happy, you'll be better of in the long run.

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Specializes in Neuroscience.
Halloween and Black Friday are not considered holidays. Just another Wednesday and Friday that needs to be covered.

Working nights is tough, I get that. " I got Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve." You have Christmas day and New year's day off . No hospital schedule is going to allow both the eve and the day of the holiday off.

We do our holidays in blocks. So Thanksgiving is the day before, the day of, and the day after. All our nurses only work one holiday, some volunteer for two. I work Thanksgiving. I have Christmas and New Years off, but I will probably switch my normal schedule New Years week with one of the younger nurses who wants to go party (I'm old and like to stay home).

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I always worked Christmas and NY Eve (Noc). I was home to open presents w/ the kids. I was satisfied.

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I work 3, 12 hour night shifts. We are required to work 2 out of 3 holidays. I got Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. 12 hour night shift. The new schedule came out and I'm scheduled Halloween, Thanksgiving day, 12 hour night shift, and Black Friday. I guess the 12 hour night shift on Thanksgiving day is not considered a holiday, the Wednesday night before is the holiday. No family time for holidays this year! What a sucky schedule!

Dang! I need to advocate for better holidays! Halloween and Black Friday?!

Any facility I've ever worked in that required 24/7 coverage usually has split "pools" of staff to work holidays and it's out a year in advance--you wouldn't get NYE AND Xmas eve in the same year.

My DH is a police officer and I'm clearly a RN--you get creative with holiday celebrating, believe me!

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
I work 3, 12 hour night shifts. We are required to work 2 out of 3 holidays. I got Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. 12 hour night shift. The new schedule came out and I'm scheduled Halloween, Thanksgiving day, 12 hour night shift, and Black Friday. I guess the 12 hour night shift on Thanksgiving day is not considered a holiday, the Wednesday night before is the holiday. No family time for holidays this year! What a sucky schedule!

I don't know of any facility that considers Halloween a Holiday, Same with Black Friday. You need to look and your company policy of what days are considered Holiday. on the bright side this may mean you get the Summer Holidays. We have been celebrating Christmas on the day after for years. I love Thanksgiving and I adore Halloween but I work 8s so am usually home for evening holiday celebration.

Hppy

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I'm not saying Halloween and Black Friday are holidays. Just days that a lot of people request off especially Halloween if you have young children.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

To answer your question, yes, that's a fair holiday schedule. How would you prefer that it works to make it more fair in your view?

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