I am a new grad RN working in a hopsital and will be off my 90 day probationary period in a few days. I put my request in for vacation time (1 1/2 wks) and so far, my first wk I requested looks to be good because no one else requested it but my second week.. it overlaps into someone wanting to start their vacation time. But it looks as if anymore than 2 people requesting, then it comes to be an issue.. all depends on the schedule.
Anyways, I also wanted to book another 2 wk trip during the off season, maybe end of Sept-Oct or beginning of December. No one has requested time in that time frame so I am curious if that is kind of a guarantee that I would be able to get that vacation? And lastly, I know I need to ask management or HR but what is your policy about using vacation/PTO from one request to the next? Like since I am requesting August, can I request 2 wk at end of Sept as well or is that too close together and counts as me abusing the PTO? Curious how everyone else's system works and how mgmt handles vacation times during on and off seasons.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Another consideration you might have would be that even if you have never been so sick in the past that you had to call out from work, this is your first nursing job and it might be different. I see lots of people that never had to work night shift before finding out that they have a really hard time with the effect those weird hours have on their bodies and health. Also, if your unit has a call-off policy for low census you might find that most people use PTO to still get paid for shifts that they are called off from.
If you don't plan to keep a good stockpile of PTO for those times, you might find yourself having some problems.
Also, some institutions have rules about how much PTO you need to leave in your bank for potential illness.
Well I will get my 1st PTO in the next pay period since I will be off orientation. We get 8.9 something hours per pay period so it ends up being around 29 days a year. PTO includes vacation & sick time but I never was a person to call out to begin with, and I rarely get so sick that I cant work. So if I use 6 PTO in my 2 wk vacation in August and then another 6 PTO in end of Sept or December thats only 12 PTO that I would have used for the year.
It ends up being 29 8 hour days. If you work 12 hour shifts, you don't get 29 12 hr days off. You get roughly 6 weeks per year. Don't think in terms of days because "days" in that sense refers to 8 hour days, which is what most non-nursing employees work.
My advice. Use your PTO. Live your life. You work to live, not the other way around.
I blow all my PTO every year.
thank you! felt like it was a SIN to use alot (not ALL) of PTO based on majority of the responses I just got. I am young, single, 24, paid off my student loans and still have a life I want to live before I get tied down! :)
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
Also, some institutions have rules about how much PTO you need to leave in your bank for potential illness.