What kind of holiday bonus do you get?

Blackheartednurse · Nov 27, 2010

I got 50 bucks for thanksgiving,not bad considering I work for a home health agency.

DNS on the go · Nov 27, 2010

I have been in nursing for 17 years. All I ever got was time and a half if you worked on the holiday. If a nurse gets a bonus (i.e. cash or a gift card), consider yourself very lucky as this is not the norm. Even a free turkey dinner is a perk...who has time to leave the unit to get it. Too many nurses do not understand the reality of nursing. I have seen too many new nurses coming into the field with a distorted view of what it is like to work in a hospital or nursing home. You punch in, get report, work your shift, hope you are not mandated or your replacement shows up, give report, leave, repeat the next day. Nurses are not part of the organizations management or real decision makers. Please do not confuse nursing with white collar work, for you will be very sad and disappointed. With the economic problems, hospitals have even more excuses to give nurses less. This years nurses day celebration was almost non existent...2 hours to get a scope of ice cream and listen to our nurse leaders tell us how wonderful we are. Within an hour they ran out of ice cream and those who came could listen to a speaker and talk to the others in the room but no ice cream. Prior to nurses day, was physician day. There the doctors (who bring in money to the facilty) were treated to a lavish luncheon with a paid speaker to discuss how the doctors can maximize their investment money. The doctors were not regulated to a scope of ice cream but rather a full course meal and other take home goodies. I mention this for you to understand that even asking about getting a bonus is not fair question and only inflames the hurt that many of your colleagues suffer from on a day to day basis. Nursing is what it is. To talk about other realities does not change what nursing is. PS...now that the nursing "shortage" is over do not expect all the "peaks" we had to continue. Be glad for what we have and hope that we can hold on to this.

0402 · Nov 27, 2010

We get time and a half if you work the holiday, and if you don't work it, you still get paid for 8 hrs of work. Seems pretty good to me.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Nov 27, 2010

Time and a half for the holiday worked; the last few holidays I've worked have been crazy (including Thanksgiving 2010!) so I feel like I've earned every stinkin' penny of it.

We get profit sharing based on a) whether we actually made a profit that year; and b) patient satisfaction scores :rolleyes: . Some years we've gotten as high as 5% of our W-2 annual wages; most years it's more like 2-3%. Still comes in handy.

Fribblet · Nov 27, 2010

We at least get time and a half. But only on the actual holiday and my unit counts Xmas eve and NyEve as holidays too so some ppl get stuck working 24th and 25th.
Then hospital gives us NOTHING!

Unless you're night shift. Then you have to work both days to get a full 12 hours of holiday pay. :)

mazy · Nov 27, 2010

What is this "bonus" thing of which you speak? :rolleyes:

BonnieSc · Nov 27, 2010

Wow! I feel super-lucky now. At my hospital we got $300 bonus pre-tax this year; we get double-time if we work the holiday (night shift included); we get a free meal if we work Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Otessa, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2010

Gosh, all of you sound so bitter about your jobs. This site seriously makes me wonder wth I'm getting myself into. Honestly.

Reality is a......

savvy-nurse · Nov 28, 2010

Just curious what different hospitals, clinics, organizations etc are giving their staff over the holidays this year. As a nurse I've never gotten more than a couple hundred bucks as a Christmas bonus but it's always appreciated when employers give a little extra. What are you getting this year? Cash? Coffee mug? Please share!

Ha! That's a good question. Holiday Bonus? What's that? :).

I have worked at hospitals that offere the following:

1. $5 gift card to the hospital cafeteria

2. $20 gift card to Blockbuster, starbucks, etc

3. A fancy ball

4. Nothing

5. A lavish food spread for the different shifts

6. A not so lavish spread

7. $10 dollar gift card

Get the picture? To think that when I first started out, we received my hospital offered everyone a $200 cash bonus. So much has changed.

My favorite was a cost of living adjustment. That was a gift that kept on giving all year long. Kinda like a fun magzine subscription, or an education certificate. :

FamilyPracticeLPN · Nov 28, 2010

I Work in private family practice as an LPN, get December 24th and 31st off paid and $400 cash bonus. :)

evolvingrn, BSN, RN · Nov 28, 2010

I don't think we get a bonus..... just 1 1/2 if you work . I actually volunteered to work christmas eve and got it off. and got off new years day..............so im definately not complaining. We also have pto instead of sick time/vacation starting this year so i get equivlant of 5 weeks of vacation a year instead of building up sick time i won't ever get to use.. not really a bonus but that coupled with the coffee mug they gave me has left me feeling appreciated enough

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Nov 28, 2010

5 to 6 pts.
3 total care. 2 saline lock pullers. 1 new adm 30 min before the end of shift and a partridge in a pear tree.
Other than those small tokens , nada.

You forgot the fact that you get to do it all, with less supplies, no transport or secretary, and much less "ancillary" staff as they short staff for the holiday. The cafeteria is closed because "we want our employees to ENJOY the holidays". And the medical overflow admits will be barely ill depressed people with nowhere else to go, drunks and drug users that overindulged, Bipolars/borderlines that didn't take their meds cause they make them slow and they really don't "need" them, food poisoning from the family dinner and renal failure/congestive failure/diabetic pts in crisis from excess fluid, salt, potassium, sugar intake.