Hey all - I'm looking for input on the following situation:
a co-worker has been granted a religious accommodation to never work a Saturday (hospital ICU, where everyone is scheduled every other weekend). She does not have to work every Sunday, and they have not filled the hole her not working as created. As you can imagine, our Saturdays are horrible. I have gone to our union - NYSNA - but they are not willing to do anything.
She is also scheduled 8 hours less every two weeks than the rest of us, yet still maintains full-time benefits even though she is actually working what is considered part-time.
I'm becoming extremely resentful......am I valid feeling this way, or should I just mind my own business?
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I don't think anyone believes it's this *nurse's* job to find coverage for the floor. I do think (and have said such) that management and the union are falling down on the job. It IS management's job to ensure safe staffing 24/7. THEY made the decision to accommodate this nurse's religious exemption; they need to fix the mess it makes on Saturdays by leaving them short. The OP is upset and I don't blame her. But, No one here has even come close to suggesting harassment of the the nurse with the exemption.
The only thing I did say, is based on what I have read, the nurse *could* be a better team player, by offering to make up for all those Saturday exemptions, which would go a long way to fostering better feelings on the parts of the staff having to pick up the slack on those days. She DID take the position knowing it WAS a 24/7 deal and that weekends are part of it. She got an exemption, fine, but why not at least offer to pick up the slack some other way then?
I don't think my posts have been "asinine".
There have been multiple posts putting down the nurse and blaming the nurse. Those are obviously the asinine comments I was referring too.
Replace religion and have the same OP vent and say the ratios are unsafe and all that because a nurse went on maternity leave for 3 months. No one would be putting down the nurse that had the baby. I am pretty sure also the OP said the nurse did offer to work more Sundays and the management told her she didn't need to. (I could be mixing up threads on this one but I recall seeing that said somewhere and I think it was here)
But unless they were deleted their were numerous threads bashing the nurse and placing blame on the nurse and so on.
There have been multiple posts putting down the nurse and blaming the nurse. Those are obviously the asinine comments I was referring too.
Replace religion and have the same OP vent and say the ratios are unsafe and all that because a nurse went on maternity leave for 3 months. No one would be putting down the nurse that had the baby. I am pretty sure also the OP said the nurse did offer to work more Sundays and the management told her she didn't need to. (I could be mixing up threads on this one but I recall seeing that said somewhere and I think it was here)
But unless they were deleted their were numerous threads bashing the nurse and placing blame on the nurse and so on.
Maternity (FMLA) leave is a legitimate and legally protected time off, that's much different than taking advantage of the fact that administrators won't typically want to the hassle of denying a bogus religious exception claim.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Maternity (FMLA) leave is a legitimate and legally protected time off, that's much different than taking advantage of the fact that administrators won't typically want to the hassle of denying a bogus religious exception claim.
and in this case the employers decided to still hire the nurse with her stating she needed Sat. off. They could have told her they were unable to accommodate or they could have just picked another candidate and not stated why. Regardless, the point is whether the nurse who just had a baby was protected or not, had she left and management not adequately staffed the unit, the anger would be at management, not the nurse. People would see the responsibility fell on the administration to ensure adequate coverage and that it was not the nurses fault even though they chose to have a family knowing this is a 24/7 job.
If administration was unable to accommodate staffing by hiring this nurse, then they should have picked a different nurse. However anyone would be a fool to think the issues in this unit all boil down to one nurse.
Focus on the root cause of the issue and where blame truly lies.
I don't think anyone believes it's this *nurse's* job to find coverage for the floor. I do think (and have said such) that management and the union are falling down on the job. It IS management's job to ensure safe staffing 24/7. THEY made the decision to accommodate this nurse's religious exemption; they need to fix the mess it makes on Saturdays by leaving them short. The OP is upset and I don't blame her. But, No one here has even come close to suggesting harassment of the the nurse with the exemption.
The only thing I did say, is based on what I have read, the nurse *could* be a better team player, by offering to make up for all those Saturday exemptions, which would go a long way to fostering better feelings on the parts of the staff having to pick up the slack on those days. She DID take the position knowing it WAS a 24/7 deal and that weekends are part of it. She got an exemption, fine, but why not at least offer to pick up the slack some other way then?
I don't think my posts have been "asinine".
There has been absolutely no harassment, nor will there be. As I have stated previously, we all work very well together and this issue has in no way impacted our relationship or abilities to do our jobs. I stayed over an hour late the last shift I worked doing nothing but helping her get caught up. She couldn't have thanked me enough and I have no doubt she would do the same for me ( just not on a Saturday haha).
Nurses for now on just fight for what you want. Other people are doing it. Don't get mad, get everything (you can possibly get). Demand better pay, and more exceptions, than you won't be frustrated with situations like this.
Per the OP, it was their coworker that stated they had to have Saturdays off for religious reasons, this wasn't just assumed to be the reason.
Whether or not caring for patients is in keeping with the Sabbath is not dependent on whether you are getting paid in any religious doctrine. It's what you are doing, not whether or not you are getting paid.
Weekend staffing is done by weekday staffing sharing the weekend coverage responsibilities, when a particular weekday staff isn't sharing that load it gets put onto other staff, which certainly makes it their business.
1) But is could have been any reason. The OP threw her co-worker under the bus with this one. No excuse
2) You are wrong on this one, otherwise why so many people asking for Saturdays or Sundays off?
3) And good management will figure that out. Anyone having a problem with the staffing can fight for their own day off without injecting their co-worker's schedule into the mix.
There has been absolutely no harassment, nor will there be. As I have stated previously, we all work very well together and this issue has in no way impacted our relationship or abilities to do our jobs. I stayed over an hour late the last shift I worked doing nothing but helping her get caught up. She couldn't have thanked me enough and I have no doubt she would do the same for me ( just not on a Saturday haha).
You finally showed up again! So where do things stand, momto6msn?
You finally showed up again! So where do things stand, momto6msn?
They stand where they've been standing. Nothing at all has changed. It's a 15 bed ICU with 3 RNs scheduled. Throw in a few 1:1s and it's untenable. Of course I don't blame her (other than I don't think 24/7/365 facility is the best choice for someone that can't work certain days - ever. This is not a time-limited situation where we can suck it up for a few months and things will revert back to normal). She has better negotiating skills than I ever thought of having. Whether she stated she was unable to work before or after they hired her - I don't know. I wasn't there, nor was anyone else posting on this thread.
Of course it's managements job to fill the holes. They approved this - they need to fix it. I really don't even know what else to say to this....
And yes, it is a religious exemption, which makes it a legal issue which is further confounded with a CBA. And no, she did not offer to work any extra Sundays. She offered to work FT hours as she IS FT (another point I'm not going to argue). She was told she was needed in that regard.
I've tried going to the union and I've tried going to the manager - both with a plan to solve this, all to no avail. I guess it I need to accept it and move on at this point. Oh, and I hope I didn't offend anyone with my "asinine" comments.
1) But is could have been any reason. The OP threw her co-worker under the bus with this one. No excuse
The co-worker shared their reason with the OP, maybe you could clarify how the OP threw their co-worker under the bus. Usually that refers to when you do something for own benefit even though it's at the expense of others, which is a valid criticism of the coworker.
2) You are wrong on this one, otherwise why so many people asking for Saturdays or Sundays off?
The religious groups an sub groups that recognize a Sabbath are well defined, and under no commonly held doctrine is it forbidden to care for patients on the Sabbath. For a request to qualify as a religious exemption it mush follow a commonly held religious doctrine, this does not, which means it was a personal request, not a religious request.
Why do so many people ask for Saturdays or Sundays off? Because it's the weekend.
3) And good management will figure that out. Anyone having a problem with the staffing can fight for their own day off without injecting their co-worker's schedule into the mix.
Management will usually take the path of least resistance, which will typically include not fighting someone on this sort of thing, besides it's their coworkers who are mainly put in a bad spot, not management. In theory, anyone could falsely claim a religious exemption to get weekends off, although most won't lie in order to do this.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
1) But is could have been any reason. The OP threw her co-worker under the bus with this one. No excuse
2) You are wrong on this one, otherwise why so many people asking for Saturdays or Sundays off?
3) And good management will figure that out. Anyone having a problem with the staffing can fight for their own day off without injecting their co-worker's schedule into the mix.
1) The co-worker told the OP it was for religious reasons.
2) So many people are asking for Saturdays and Sundays off because they want to go out with their friends on Friday and Saturday nights and to the neighborhood barbecue on Sunday.
3) Good management is rare. If the job has a weekend requirement, EVERYONE should fulfill the weekend requirement, not just some of the nurses. If weekends are short because someone isn't working their required weekend, their colleagues have a right to be angry.
1) The co-worker told the OP it was for religious reasons.
2) So many people are asking for Saturdays and Sundays off because they want to go out with their friends on Friday and Saturday nights and to the neighborhood barbecue on Sunday.
3) Good management is rare. If the job has a weekend requirement, EVERYONE should fulfill the weekend requirement, not just some of the nurses. If weekends are short because someone isn't working their required weekend, their colleagues have a right to be angry.
The OP didn't throw anyone under the bus.
I didn't get the whole bus comment myself ????? How did I sacrifice her, and what did I gain ????
And people want the weekend off because ITS THE WEEKEND. It's when EVERYTHING FUN HAPPENS.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I'll work a Sat. over a Monday any day of the week!!!
Momto6- Trust me, none of the asinine comments offend me. I don't really get offended. But to clarify you have rarely even posted in this thread. If I am specifically replying to one of your comments, I will say so.
If it's a 15 bed ICU staffed with 3 nurses it would seem even with another nurse, it still would be pretty understaffed in regards to safety.
.thumb.jpg.5aa4d55557c0228e31b94de19666bbbb.jpg){kind=small}
~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN
5,259 Posts
There have been multiple posts putting down the nurse and blaming the nurse. Those are obviously the asinine comments I was referring too.
Replace religion and have the same OP vent and say the ratios are unsafe and all that because a nurse went on maternity leave for 3 months. No one would be putting down the nurse that had the baby. I am pretty sure also the OP said the nurse did offer to work more Sundays and the management told her she didn't need to. (I could be mixing up threads on this one but I recall seeing that said somewhere and I think it was here)
But unless they were deleted their were numerous threads bashing the nurse and placing blame on the nurse and so on.