NurseRN83

Yes, I weighed the options heavily...but with the impending wedding, I chose against being benefitted so I had more of a bargaining chip in regard to taking 2.5 weeks off for my honeymoon and for asking for Sundays off...I felt that I would not have as much of a "right" for those things if I were a benefitted employee... noahsmama - I never saw it like that, but I'm happy for the perspective you provided - that I am "paying" for this privilege - your right! I'm turning down about $4200 in free money to have this privilege! Thanks!

Hi all! While I am new to this username I have been a member of this site since 2005 (just changed it since I realized my other name gives me away a bit...) I am a new grad (May 2011) who passed the boards in June. I was lucky enough to secure a job through networking and am one of only two people from my ASN program who are currently working. I secured a job in adult home health and work 40 hours a week. I am choosing to turn down the fantastic benefit program that my company offers in order to remain a "per diem" nurse, mainly because I am allowed to take off as much time as I want with a 30-day notice. If I were benefitted, I would be required to work every other holiday (I work every holiday with my current schedule anyways), and every other weekend (I work every Sunday with my current schedule), in addition, I would not begin to accumulate paid time off for six months after my "grace" period is over. I do not abuse the privilege of taking time off, and the only days scheduled off are the ones I informed my clinical director about upon hire (two total that I was unable to have another nurse on my case switch with). My concern comes down to this: both my best friend and I are getting married next summer. She is getting married in Florida which complicates things a bit. There will be two bridal showers, two bachelorette parties and two weddings for which I will need time off. While I have worked to try and schedule these events on my day off, it's not possible for everything. The only day this affects is my Sunday shift. I take my work responsibilities very seriously and do not have any days schedule off aside from an upcoming weekend that was planned before my employment. I don't want to leave anyone high-and-dry so I was planning on discussing this with my clinical director 6 months in advance of my wedding and asking if I could drop my Sunday shift, allowing enough time for another nurse to be trained to pick up the shift. Do you think the home health company would be amenable to this? I also want to allow enough time for them to figure out who will fill in on my honeymoon since I plan on taking about 2.5 weeks off. I know this may sound a bit extensive, but truthfully, a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event and I really do not want to compromise this with my work schedule if at all possible - you only live once, right? That being said, I'm not an irresponsible person who would just go off on a whim and negate my responsibilities. I'm trying to find a common ground. So, I guess I'm asking, am I being reasonable? I feel as if dropping my Sunday would be the best bet as it would prevent the individual I care for, and her family, from ever-changing scheduling, etc. over the summer, and would allow me to celebrate my wedding fully. Has anyone else encountered this situation in the past? I'm afraid they won't allow me to drop Sunday or that they will drag their feet trying to find a replacement to fill in... Let me know your thoughts, I want to make sure I'm dealing with this in the best way possible even though we are about a year out from the event...I'm also a new employee so I want to deal with this delicately as I really am grateful to be employed. Thanks