Started new job - how do I bring up time off for vacation

[NewPaltzRN]

Hello,

I want to get your feedback:

I started a new full time position in Dec. 2010. I have a trip planned 8 days the end of Feb booked the tickets (4 of them) last Aug. I don't have any paid time off / vacation time. I am willing to take the time unpaid.

How do I approach my manager to see if he will give me the time off? OR do I not bring it up and change the vacation all together?

I am still on probation until March- I really like the unit and don't want to make waves or have my manager think I am high maintenance.

Any recommendations / suggestions?

[Kitty Hawk, ADN, RN]

OP I don't think there's any harm in asking either. It's clear you do have a decent work ethic or you wouldn't even be asking. I don't think it's a sense of entitlement to ask for time off either.

Not that every nurse is like this, but I'm fed up with the ones that throw in your face how they've worked x amount of years with little to no breaks and resent those with an actual life outside nursing.

Anyone who's had a job for a substantial amount of years have all put in their time. Nurses aren't the only ones that can use that battle cry. Though I agree, nursing sets some unrealistic expectations.

I'm a career changer not a newbie to the workforce so that may color my perspective, but some of us career changers do indeed see the lunacy that is expected of floor nursing. 5 days in a row with a day off before that and then 1 after before doing more in a row? And 1 aide for 30 pts? No wonder the burnout is so high. I'm a person not a machine.

Even if you're new, you gotta take time to recharge. So OP I guess it comes down to how important you view you family balance to work.

To those that sacrificed time with the family that was a CHOICE. Just like it's my choice to leave after my 1 year is up, sooner if I can get away with it.

[caliotter3]

You need the job, the vacation can wait. I would rebook for later when you can get the days. Or you can pose the question. Maybe they can accommodate you. If not, then reschedule.

[metricalpound]

In this economic climate, I would take my loss and cancel the vaction; I wouldn't even bring it up to him at this point if it wasn't bought up during the interview or when he hired you.

The way that I look at it is that he doesn't know you - for all you know, if you bring it up to him, he could think you could of just booked this vacation yesterday and trying to already scam out of work.

I would wait until I got a year on the job and then make plans to go on the same vacation.

[klone, MSN, RN]

OP, unfortunately, this should have been brought up during the interview/offer stage. Sometimes NMs will actually ask this question during the offer.

Yep, and that's the ONLY reason why I'm getting a week off this summer when there is a moratorium on anyone at our hospital taking vacation time. It's for a graduate school campus visit, and I mentioned that I would need that week off when I had my interview.

[d00d00butter]

OP I don't think there's any harm in asking either. It's clear you do have a decent work ethic or you wouldn't even be asking. I don't think it's a sense of entitlement to ask for time off either.

Even if you're new, you gotta take time to recharge. So OP I guess it comes down to how important you view you family balance to work.

it is considered bad work ethic to not let employer know before hiring of any time off planned and then asking for almost 2 weeks off only 2-3 months into the job. this just doesn't look good from management perspective .

[bhanson]

it is considered bad work ethic to not let employer know before hiring of any time off planned and then asking for almost 2 weeks off only 2-3 months into the job. this just doesn't look good from management perspective .

I think you mean bad etiquette.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

If the schedule is already made and I was on it, I would work the schedule and not rock the boat. If the schedule was not made yet, I might ask depending on my feel of the manager. But even then I'd still be likely to just eat the $$ and reschedule the trip. Unfortunately people get labeled easily, and I'd hate to get labeled negatively by my manager in order to save a few bucks.

[maxthecat]

If I were you, I'd ask a few nurses who have worked there a while how they think your request would be received. Hospital cultures vary. At some facilities this kind of request from newbies is common and will have no effect on how you are perceived as an employee. At other places this would be viewed negatively.

I'll admit that I'm always a little surprised when new nurses start a job with the expectation that requests for vacation after working a few weeks are perfectly acceptable. But I know that this comes from the time I grew up in. When I started my working life, people didn't dream of even mentioning vacation requests until after they had been there a year. They didn't specify that they would need every Tuesday off. They got a schedule and were expected to work it. They expected to spend that first year proving themselves, and yes, family did get put on the back burner. This wasn't just nursing, this was any job. They knew they were lucky to have been offered a job and did not want to chance anything messing it up. Today's climate is different, expectations are different, probably more humane. I only bring this up because the age of your manager MAY have an influence on how he or she perceives your request. But he or she may also have adapted to the new normal and not be concerned one way or other. I'd still ask a sample of your co-workers to get the lay of the land.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I think you mean bad etiquette.

No doubt the poster meant what he/she said: ''Bad work ethic. "

It's bad etiquette [sic] to put words into other posters' mouths.

[0402]

Where I work, you cannot get any PTO until you've worked there for 90 days, even though you are accruing it. They joke that if you are going to get sick, plan on doing it on day 91 or later.

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

I never worked anyplace that this would fly. Last place I worked, requests off had to be time stamped a minimum of 8 weeks in advance, preferably 12. If the date fell short, the request went into the trash. That always seemed a little anal to me, but they put out 12 week schedules 6 weeks in advance.

You could ask, but I would be too chagrined to do so. I'd just not go and chalk it up to lesson learned, but I have always guarded my reputation fiercely.

[mtngrl, ASN, RN]

I would not ask. Since you didn't mention it at the interview then it looks like you recently planned it. And I would request the days off you want to reschedule it to BEFORE you actually reschedule it!

I never book trips until my PTO is approved.