Nurses that don't work holidays?

nurse2be13 · Oct 28, 2013

Maybe try to get a job in a clinic ???

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Oct 28, 2013

Clinics, employee health (immunizations), urgent care centers and some research positions typically work Monday-Friday, day time hours. You may not be able to get something like that right off the bat, so you better be prepared to work holidays. It is part of the job after all.

nlynrob · Oct 28, 2013

Nights, weekends and holidays usually come with being a new grad. You could get a job in an out patient setting if you really want to avoid it all together (or most of the time at least). My friend that graduated in 2010 that has been working in an ICU since then recently got a job in Interventional Radiology: she went from evenings and nights, every other weekend and holiday to Monday through Friday days and she has to take call every tenth weekend (awesome). Most OR nurses at community hospitals at least have a similar schedule. There's so many options out there, but to get the good schedule many people say you aren't doing "real nursing" anymore.

Also if you have any desire to go for an NP or nursing education graduate degree you'd have better luck finding a Monday through Friday position. Well depending on what type of NP work you'd like to do.

That being said, if something as trivial as working weekends and holidays while paying your do's until you reach seniority status is making you rethink nursing all together maybe this isn't for you. Something to think about.

chrisrn24 · Oct 28, 2013

Most holidays rotate. So you may work Christmas but you have Thanksgiving off.

203bravo, MSN, APRN · Oct 28, 2013

consider school nursing and get holidays and summer off.

Caribbean Character · Oct 28, 2013

Take it from a 20 year over the road truck driving veteran, you are going to have to pay your dues before you get holidays off.

edimo · Oct 28, 2013

Most holidays rotate. So you may work Christmas but you have Thanksgiving off.

This is true. At my workplace, we are expected to work half of the scheduled statutory holidays though out the year. And when it comes to Christmas, there's usually a rotation between working Christmas one year, New Years another and then rotating to have both off. You find ways to make it work ie not necessarily celebrating on the actual holiday itself, but just finding a day with your family where you can be together

Dranger · Oct 28, 2013

Clinic and outpatient pay are going to be worse than acute by far and as a new grad a clinic isn't a good place to start.

You will work a holiday and if that is a game changer for your profession choice, life is going to slap you hard. Celebrate Thanksgiving a day before or Christmas a day after....it's not hard.

You have to start on the bottom....

Editorial Team / Admin · Oct 29, 2013

To me, the holidays are more about the family and religious portions and less about the actual date. Sometimes, it doesn't matter what day you celebrate. Even before I was a nurse, my family frequently celebrated Thanksgiving the weekend before or after and the same with Christmas so that everyone could be together and also spend time with their spouses' families.

However, if working holidays is an absolute no-go, you may have to give something to get something. Frequently, outpatient settings (often no holidays) pay less than acute care settings (never close on holidays). The specialty also can affect holidays. I work inpatient cardiothoracic surgery. I am never scheduled to work a weekend or holiday. However, I am responsible for covering call on one summer and one winter holiday plus 1 weekend per month. I spent my last Sunday on call actually working as we had a patient who needed urgent surgery. My last Christmas on call I spent doing a 16 hour case plus time to get set up and clean up making it really a 17.5 hour day. But unlike the general floors in my hospital, I don't have to work every other weekend and every other holiday. It's all about what you're willing to compromise with.

nlynrob · Oct 29, 2013

And by do's I mean dues

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2013

If you plan on interviewing for traditional nursing jobs (ice hospital setting), I would not say anything about your request during an interview. Nothing will make a new grad seem more entitled than already wanting to not work the holidays. No one really wants to work holidays, but we do it anyway, cause it is part of the job. A holiday is what you make it and doesn't have to happen on a specific day.