My Grown-Up (Nursing) Christmas List

[VivaLasViejas]

1. A heated shiatsu foot massager. I didn't even know they existed until yesterday when I was doing a little 'retail therapy' and saw the thing on display at Costco. I tried it out and promptly fell asleep in the chair...imagine how this little machine would feel on your feet after the ubiquitous shift-from-Hell and your significant other would rather eat a live chicken than rub them for you.
2. A year's supply of Depends for the middle-aged nurse on the 'go'. (Sorry, couldn't resist being punny.)
3. Gift card/certificate to a good shoe store...the more expensive, the better. As in Dansko, Z-Coil, Birkenstock et. al. Nothing is more precious---or harder to find---that the right pair of work shoes. Besides, if we had great footwear, we probably wouldn't need item #1.
4. An iPod Shuffle. It's so small that we can clip it inside a scrub pocket and listen to music virtually undetected. This is very useful in drowning out the cacophony that results when a patient, her physician, and eleven family members are screaming at us all at once...
5. Here's an idea for the cost-conscious: Bubble wrap! Especially the larger sizes that pop easily and make a satisfying sound when they do. There is absolutely nothing (short of getting completely trashed on Long Island Iced Teas, that is) that is more effective at relieving the stress associated with nursing. I'm only half-kidding...when I was the director of nursing in an assisted living facility, my staff always knew to step lightly whenever they heard what sounded like overamped popcorn coming from the general direction of my office.
6. A year's subscription to almost any periodical that doesn't have anything to do with our profession. The last thing we want to thumb through on that rare day off is a publication containing the words "health care".......which eliminates Time and Newsweek, as well as all women's' magazines and the local newspaper. (I'm thinking Playgirl here, but that's just me.)
7. A case of chemical de-icer for those frosty nights when we leave the workplace dead tired, only to be confronted with an inch-thick coating of ice on the windshield and the prospect of half an hour of chipping away at it with a credit card. I don't give a hang what the tree-hugger types have to say about it: if they don't want us to use the stuff, they can come and chip the ice off our cars while we wait inside a warm place with a cup of cocoa.
8. Oh, and "Santa", if there's any room left in your goodie bag, there isn't a nurse on the planet who couldn't use an all-expenses-paid vacation in a tropical paradise where there are no call lights, ringing phones, micromanaging managers, impatient patients, bullying doctors, nasty smells, or double shifts.
9. In fact, scratch the rest of the list...I'll take #8!!!!!

[noreenl]

OMG!!! I thought I was the one who found delight and relief at the satisfying sound of demolishing bubble wrap one POP at a time!!!!!

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

It really is a great stress-buster.........it's fun, noisy, and NON-FATTENING!!!

[klwtiger]

I work at a SNF. Every year around October we submit a list ordering christmas, christmas eve, thanksgiving and new years as a 1st 2nd 3rd 4th choice as to what we prefer. If you choose to work in the medical field outside of a doctors office you WILL work holidays it is a given! Get over it or go find a 9 to 5 desk job. I work evenings and we do most of our holidaying before 2 so Do not mind working Christmas day. It is more valuable to us for me to be home christmas eve to prepare and tuck my 4yr old daughter in at night after we have laid out the cookies and milk and dressed in our fresh new PJ's. This prioritizing makes it easier to schedule because different holidays are more valuable to different people for different reasons. We also value the friday after thanksgiving a little more because we are black friday shoppers!! Someone ends up a little unhappy usually but If U desire a certain holiday then its at least and every other year thing. Only way to be fair! We usually do not have nurses call in on holidays because they usually want to be nurses and have the understanding of that is the way medicine is though we are usually short NAC's as we have a lot of High school or fresh out of high school kids with poor work ethic and aparently no conscience. Personally I have never ever been able to call in sick unless I am highly contagious or physically unable to work and even then still feel bad because soemone had to cover my cart!

[country mom]

Just wanted to chime in on the remote car-starter. My husband surprised me a couple years ago with one and it's AWESOME. Great idea. Also I like the idea for really good shoes- work is a whole lot easier in the right shoes.

[sdwmb]

I will be a new grad next year, and just for the record, I would gladly work every New Year's (Eve and Day), Thanksgiving (the whole darned weekend), Mother's Day, Valentine's, Easter, Fourth of July, etc for the rest of my life! -as long as I have Christmas off. :)

ROFLOL! The problem is is that so would about at least half of the people you work with. No worries, though every where I have worked everyone had to work Thanksgiving or Christmas days and rotate yearly which one you work.

I do home health though and am off for all the holidays, may be on call but I am home

[junebug50]

As for me Santa, I would like a nice quiet day with call lights silenced, doctors who co-operate, and family members that act like human beings. I guess that is a lot to ask for so maybe a little time to sit down and eat and to pee without washing your hands on the run and pulling up your pants while trying to do the former. I don't think that is too much to ask for.

I usually sign up for New Years Eve and day, Easter, July 4th, and either Thanksgiving or the friday after and either Christmas or Christmas Eve. That way if everyone works there share then no one has to work them all

[FATKAT]

lol!

[Beijos]

I mind working holidays and I don't care if people think I'm being silly...or that I should have known this prior to getting into health care. Prior to healthcare, I worked 6 years at a movie theater prior to being a cna and then a nurse. I worked 10a-1a...yes that's 15hrs thanksgiving, xmas eve, xmas, new years eve and new years. I didn't mind working holidays then...but there is a distinct difference. My family was in pretty much one place. I wasn't 7 hours away from them and only see some of them once a year-the holidays. I get upset now when I can't see them because for some reason since I've only been a nurse for a year and a half, I have to work all the holidays while everyone else who's family is all in town, and get off at a decent hour, don't have to work a lick. So yeah...I guess I'm a fairly new grad that minds working holidays. I realise no one forced me to live far away from my family-but trust me it wasn't like I really had a choice. At the least I feel that I should get a few days off in a row prior to the holiday or after so I can see them...but no I guess that is too much to ask. If my bitterness seems strong...it's cuz I just got my holiday schedule today. I'm thinking my decision to switch jobs might happen sooner than I think...after all I just have to be there till Dec 24 to get my extra money!....What a gift to myself-to have my last day be xmas eve....sounds tempting.

[showmegirl]

My husband is a Truck Driver and my kids are grown but alas now I am raising Grandkids, being off on the holidays would be nice but as you can see from the post on here being a nurse does'nt allow this.

What we have found is that for Thanksgiving we have it anytime of the year who said you cant have turkey on a differnt day (haha) and I have explained to my kids that santa gets so busy that at times he has to take a few extra days to deliver all the gifts to everyone, he always starts with the children that may not live to see next christmas and the ones where mommy and daddy are not good for them. This may not seem fair to my kids but they have learned that were all differnet besides the fact that doing this has also helped them when there around kids in wheelchairs or sick and they go right to them without thinking that these kids are werid.

If you work in LTC ask your supervisor if maybe you can take your kids into work with you for a while to have holidays with your patients seeing the smiles on the faces can be the best reward that you will get. Get a group of workers together with their kids and go singing in the halls you may find the best holidays can be the ones you (have) to work

[RkfdNurse1]

All I want for Christmas is for all my fellow nurses to get along. Instead of sitting around complaining about the nurse on the previous shift and "what an idiot she is" I would really love it if everyone worked together for the good of the residents!! Really....how hard is it to try to help out to get things done instead of whining. I was soo glad to leave grade school, but at the age of 50 find myself right back there. Is this asking too much????

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i mind working holidays and i don't care if people think i'm being silly...or that i should have known this prior to getting into health care. prior to healthcare, i worked 6 years at a movie theater prior to being a cna and then a nurse. i worked 10a-1a...yes that's 15hrs thanksgiving, xmas eve, xmas, new years eve and new years. i didn't mind working holidays then...but there is a distinct difference. my family was in pretty much one place. i wasn't 7 hours away from them and only see some of them once a year-the holidays. i get upset now when i can't see them because for some reason since i've only been a nurse for a year and a half, i have to work all the holidays while everyone else who's family is all in town, and get off at a decent hour, don't have to work a lick. so yeah...i guess i'm a fairly new grad that minds working holidays. i realise no one forced me to live far away from my family-but trust me it wasn't like i really had a choice. at the least i feel that i should get a few days off in a row prior to the holiday or after so i can see them...but no i guess that is too much to ask. if my bitterness seems strong...it's cuz i just got my holiday schedule today. i'm thinking my decision to switch jobs might happen sooner than i think...after all i just have to be there till dec 24 to get my extra money!....what a gift to myself-to have my last day be xmas eve....sounds tempting.

obviously "xmas" and "xmas eve" aren't religious holidays for you, so please tell me what's so damned special about having off december 24 and 25 to see your family? yes, they live some distance away (mine lives 18 hours away) but do they not live there deember 17-23? december 26-31? november 15-25? why can't you take your holiday time and go see your family any time in the holiday season?

you chose to take a job in a hospital and you chose to live where you live. so why does someone who lives near his/her family owe you anything?

[Beijos]

obviously "xmas" and "xmas eve" aren't religious holidays for you, so please tell me what's so damned special about having off december 24 and 25 to see your family? yes, they live some distance away (mine lives 18 hours away) but do they not live there deember 17-23? december 26-31? november 15-25? why can't you take your holiday time and go see your family any time in the holiday season?

you chose to take a job in a hospital and you chose to live where you live. so why does someone who lives near his/her family owe you anything?

the problem i have is now my family is scattered all across the country, they only get together all at once for the holidays. yes they are there a few days before and after the holidays....but that is why i was teed off....i was strategically scheduled in a way that i worked the holidays, off the days before and after and then work again.....for you to understand...i willl tell you i work dec 21, 22, 24, 25, 27.....basically when my family is in town....it's similar for the other holdiays as well. so yeah, it's a big problem for me because i can't see all my immediate family members. sure i can see my parents anytime i want if i drive the 6 hours....but what about my brother and sister who i never get to see. it would be nice to have us together. also, i don't think anyone that lives near their family owes me anything other than working at least one of the holidays.....or perhaps the person scheduling me give me the 21 & 22 or the 27 off so i can go home for more than two hours before i have to drive back. so i guess in response....no they don't live there those other dates.