Nurses at my facility were just informed that starting on May 1st, we will no longer have the benefit of being off on opposite holidays. The DON has put into effect that nurses only (not the CNAS) will only have 2 holidays off a year............
I am pretty sure the mass exodus will be taking place shortly.......
Do not get me wrong, I am grateful to have a job in this economy, but this seems a little extreme. I plan on writing a nice little email, and explain if they expect the floor nurses to abide by this, then it is only fair that management should be expected to work every single holiday too. (When pigs fly!!)
you are talking about a mass exodus taking place, but let me tell u that in my years of experience, it doesn't matter where u go, there will be a new set of BS or issues, just different ppl. The grass isn't always greener, just a different shade of green.
but let me tell u that in my years of experience, it doesn't matter where u go, there will be a new set of BS or issues, just different ppl. The grass isn't always greener, just a different shade of green.
And the greener grass is often fertilized with manure. tee hee
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
Would have been a lot easier for the founding fathers of the USA to capitualte....but they chose to stand up for what they believed.
It was not easy.
Many died.
But the rest is history......
A pretty idea in theory and great for the founding fathers. Not so much when it comes to feeding kids and paying the mortgage. I don't think this is a realistic idea for the vast vast vast majority of everyday American nurses unless they were planning to switch careers anyways.
Regarding management deciding which holidays the nurses will work, that will come back to bite them in the behind. Sooner or later they will make someone work a religious holiday such as Easter or Christmas and someone will report them for violation of their civil rights.
I suggest that you and your co-workers brush up on the labor laws of your particular state as well as Federal labor laws. I know that where I live, if a person is not allowed to physically leave the building for their "meal" break, then the employer MUST pay them for the break (i.e 30 minute meal break, can't leave your floor because it is busy/ not enough staff etc. Your employer can not take that 30 minutes out of your pay nor can they write you up for not clocking out for the meal break)
It is amazing how quickly a company will change it's policies once it is investigated by the DOL. If the company has more than one location, they can end up being investigated by federal and state labor boards if a serious enough allegation is made.
I really don't mind working holidays, I am used to it. But, it was nice to know that if I had worked Christmas this past year, that next year I would have that holiday off. From what I understand, management will decree which 2 holidays the nurses only will have off. It is kinda comical in a way, because when I was working Christmas eve, we were not short on nurses, however we were critically short on CNAS. I was on the phone begging CNAS to come into work and bribing them with dinner paid for by the nurses! However, it is only nurses that will have to do this.
This sounds a little unethical to me that CNAs would not be bound by this rule. Or any other employee in the facility. I would investigate this further. Especially since you state that there was a problem with the CNAs and not the nurses.
If staffing is an issue on holidays- such as no CNA's, call your dept of health, they have a 24hr call person and a hotline for complaints. Make sure you document - unsafe staffing. The Dept of health is OBLIGATED by law to investigate every complaint they receive- no matter what the complaint is. That is why they have a 24hr call person. Look up the contact particulars on your state Dept of health web site. I may be under your licensing and inspection division. Make sure you document:
- the staff who was assigned to work
- numbers and licenses and names of the staff working
- the census of patients- any admissions, falls, blunders and bloopers. example: Mr. so and so- fell, factures his skull,......
-make sure you notify managment at the begininning of the shift that you believe the shift is short staffed and unsafe for the acuity level of patientcare needs- feeds, incontinents, one to ones, wanderers
-write down the name of the managment person you called and what their response - verbal and otherwise was to you
When the Dept of health investigates and if they find the facility to be in error. That facility will get dinged. In my state it is $60,000 for each occurance! These dept of health officials know what kind of staffing shinanagans is going on and why and nothing makes them happier that presenting these facilitites with a citation for $60,000--
Merry Christmas, Managment!! Ho, Ho Ho!! And a VERY Happy New Year- Mr/Ms CEO!!!
They are only holidays, or not, for nurses interesting. Everyone else will have the same holidays. I rarely/barely celebrate most or all holidays and it still annoys me sometimes. No, you can not just "pick another day" to celebrate 4th of july becuase that actual day is when most people have off, not the monday or wednesday that week when you are off. It is part of the job. It is a reality of nursing and working nights, especially, you will miss a lot of this stuff but I rather work every holiday night than deal with nursing on days. When it comes to this I am grateful that I do not care about holidays. Some nurses really do and will get some of the ones who do not celebrate to change with them. I can see mangment starting to rule against this since some other nurses , who are not favorites, complain because no one will switch with them lol.
These changes are puzzling. As one poster asked, what is the reason for this? The one that really doesn't make sense is the switching, unless recent switches have sent some nurses into overtime. In that case, parameters around switching could be instituted, rather than eliminating it all together. This is why nurses need a voice in policy changes. Instead of the dictates coming from on high-- and with it, the risk of employee dissatisfaction--nurses could come up with ideas that fulfill the objectives of the facility while preserving morale.
.thumb.gif.a0171653eaae518ecf728198d692fc48.gif){kind=avatar}
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
Maybe.....my experience has been you are jobless and black balled.