working on Christmas?

tlhubbard · Nov 21, 2005

I have not been a nurse near about as long as you have, but I can totally empathize with what you are saying. However, I feel that employers only care about one thing.......staffing there units. So I feel that I should also care about one thing.....my family first, job second. It is very important to me that my children experience the holidays the way I did growing up, and that is why I am going to seriously start looking for employment that does not require holidays. I feel that if I stay committed to hospital nursing too long, I will be bitter and resentful in the years to come due to the lack of respect that administration has for seasoned nurses. I love my career, but if I want to continue to love it I know I need to take more control over my own schedule.

Hey, I understand. For those nurses that are okay with switching up their celebration that is wonderful, and God bless them. However, I am in the same mind set as you. I want to make my family my priority. I took my job to support my family, not to run my life. There are so many options in nursing, and not all are 24/7. I know I would resent being at work on the holidays, that is why I have shyed away from jobs like that. I have found a wonderful job that allows me Mon-Fri 9-5 (no holidays, or weekends unless I want to take call--no obligation there either). I still have my bedside clinical time with my patients. I have the best of both worlds (no I am not in a doctor's office, clinic or school nursing)

So recognizing that you may resent your chosen career if you do not make some changes is admirable. At least you won't be one of those people that "let it show" that you hate being there on a holiday and make everyone around you miserable.

Good luck in your job search.

p.s. I have been asked ahead of time to help out by coming in at 7a, noon, 5p and 11p on Thanksgiving (I'm having dinner at my house) In an attempt to help I am volunteering for the 7a and 11p (it's just to hang a 30 min antibiotic) However, I am NOT required to do this. I am chosing to.

Bipley · Nov 21, 2005

Well then, Bipley, good for you. However, the underlying theme of this thread seems to be "your problems are none of my concern". That is what my "shame on you " was aimed at.

No, the underlying theme of this thread (to me) seems to be that your children are not my problem. It may sound cold but sadly, it's true. If I wanted the "problem side" that children bring, I would have had my own. I didn't have children for a reason. I'll be darned if I am going to work my life around the children of someone else.

Sean 91 · Nov 21, 2005

All the staff at my hospital have to work some part of Thanksgiving and Christmas unless the worker arranges a switch with another. (Even so, there seem to be enough shift bidders for those days because of the extra pay.) I am working overnight both Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Eve.

But why not just shift your celebration to another day or weekend. We're having Thanksgiving tonight, 11/21, and Christmas two weekends before. After all it is the family that is most important, not the holiday.

Agnus · Nov 21, 2005

Mom, Dad, Kids,

Imagine this. It is Christmas day and someone gets really sick or even gets hurt on the new sled or bike they got for Christmas. OR worse they get in a car crash on their way to Church or Grandmas house. Or maybe someone's Grandma slips and falls and breaks a hip. And no body is working at the hospital because it is Christmas. They might die.

We take turns at the hospital working these holidays because of this. Everyone wants Christamas and Christmas eve off. IT is the one holiday that everyone wants to spend with thier family.

Consider my working as your gift to those people who get sick or hurt this Christmas and Christmas eve. We give gifts to each other but there are people out there who really need me to work who's life might depend on it. That is a much more important gift than spending one or two specific days with you, when I will be with you all the rest of the time.

I have not worked the last 8 Christmases because someone else sacrificed to work in my place. Now it it my turn. I won't work every Christamas but there will be other Christmases that I will work.

We will have a beautiful celebration of Christmas and even though it will not be on Christmas day we will have a better Christmas celebration than most people in the world.

NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2005

OK my last post on this thread. i promise. Y'all keep quoting me and leaving out the important stuff. That is NOT fair. I said it does TOO matter if you have kids. I believe that it does. I do NOT believe that I should get every holiday off and those with kids shouldn't. I said I agreed to work CHRISTMAS, THANKSGIVING & NEWYEARS EVE!!! Just wanted Christmas eve off to be home in the morning. I had COMPROMISE all over my posts, and no one quoted that. I also said that before i had children, i volunteered to work Christmas and christmas eve for those that did have children, and will do that again in the future when my son is older, because I think Christmas with your children is important. I HAVE NEVER ASKED A CO-WORKER TO WORK MY SCHEDULED HOLIDAY--EVER in 20 years, but have instead as I said, volunteered to work theirs. My beef is that you can just walk into a job now days and get whatever you want despite those of us that have been plugging away for years putting in our time. In this day and age it seems people go from 1 job to another, collect their sign on bonus, state their demands( & get them) & then leave to the next job and sign on bonus. Most of you must be new to nursing to not have this be a sore point with you. Maybe that's why none of you have commented on my senioritiy point. I don't want you all to work every holiday because i have kids and have been a nurse for 20 years. I just want my 1st choice off only, which is Christmas Eve, because I have been loyal to the SAME PLACE for 7 years, and have done my share and am still doing my share. Holiday schedules suck in our profession. I think it is worse now, because people go into nursing for more material reasons than when i started, so there is a whole different kind of person in the field now. Consequently, i truly believe the profession, as a whole, lacks the compassion and caring that it use to have (for our peers, our patients & their families) Now that's a whole nother can of worms, and I know i pissed some of you off, so i'll excuse myself from this thread now

Sounds like you should "just walk into a job and get what you want." Obviously after seven years you're not appreciated. You can roll over your 403b or whatever other retirement you have to somewhere you can have all of your needs met. Just because things were done a certain way twenty years ago and weren't fair to you then, does not make it right to screw new nurses the way you were screwed. I'm tired of bitter old nurses begrudging us new nurses the flexibility that we have. I can't fix how things were done twenty years ago and I'm certainly not going to insist on working the holidays that I am scheduled off because nurses had it bad so long ago. Times have changed. Nurses aren't passive handmaidens that serve everyone else's best interests and put their own needs last anymore. I'm certainly not about to go retro in that respect. If you're not happy that your loyalty is not rewarded, go somewhere that appreciates it! (Good luck finding that place, by the way. Most places are about the bottom line dollar. The only one that's going to look out for you is you.)

tlhubbard · Nov 21, 2005

Sounds like you should "just walk into a job and get what you want." Obviously after seven years you're not appreciated. You can roll over your 403b or whatever other retirement you have to somewhere you can have all of your needs met. Just because things were done a certain way twenty years ago and weren't fair to you then, does not make it right to screw new nurses the way you were screwed. I'm tired of bitter old nurses begrudging us new nurses the flexibility that we have. I can't fix how things were done twenty years ago and I'm certainly not going to insist on working the holidays because nurses had it bad so long ago. Times have changed and nurses aren't passive handmaidens that serve everyone else's best interests and put their own needs last anymore. I'm certainly not about to go retro in that respect. If you're not happy that your loyalty is not rewarded, go somewhere that appreciates it! (Good luck finding that place, by the way. Most places are about the bottom line dollar. The only one that's going to look out for you is you.)

OUCH!! I can't say I disagree. I believe we are all bitter (some more than others) because not only do we ALL (childless or parents) feel put upon. We work short staffed, we rarely hear "thank you" from the people making money off of our dedication. And YES, this is a progressive career, so things have changed (Thank goodness). Some nurses posting that they work 6 hours on holidays instead of 8,10 or 12-- I think is a step in the right direction. (of course we still have those out of town family situations --doesn't help them out).

But it seems there is an attempt.

No one said life is fair, especially when you are a nurse. That's why I stepped back from hospital nursing and chose an area that better accommodates my priorities. I still love helping others, but it is reassuring that I know that my family isn't compromised either. And it is tough to say that you don't have the dedication to not mind working holidays, weekends, etc. You are looked at in a bad light. (been called a hour whore, carpet nurse, skirt nurse, etc.) This was by so called colleagues (in-hospital nurses). This was not directed at me, it was in reference to any nurse who did not spend their entire shift bedside (nursing office, hospital nurse supervisor, etc) So even the ones who realize their priorities shouldn't be a burden to others and move along to other areas of nursing are still slammed. Which is really sad.

If you don't want to work with them because their families come first, don't criticize for them moving on to more accommodating pastures.(ie: prn nursing)

NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2005

:yeahthat:

In rereading my previous post, I realize it came across a little more bluntly than I intended. What I was trying to say is that hospitals are making attempts to make holiday scheduling more fair to everyone, not just the staff that has been there longer. Two wrongs don't make a right. Just because things weren't fair to new nurses in the past does not make it right for new nurses today to be treated in the same shoddy manner.

Holiday scheduling should not be influenced by seniority. Other benefits of seniority include more vacation time and being further in line when it comes to promotions. Other than those two things, there is no real benefit to having seniority. The working world in general has changed. My dh and I have had similar conversations many times with his father. His father has worked for one company his whole working life. He was constantly criticizing my dh for changing jobs (Dh works in the IT field where the market is pitiful and layoffs are common.) and me for changing careers. FIL does not realize that his career is an anomaly now instead of the standard. Employees are much more assertive and realize that employers are not looking out for them. You're not repaid for time served and should be looking out for your own best interests. Unfortunately, it may mean changing jobs. Fortunately, in most areas of the country, it's a nurse's market. If you are satisfied with a job overall, then sometimes you have to take the bad with the good, including working sometimes on days that you don't want to.

nurse_clown · Nov 21, 2005

i have two young kids too. i'm working christmas eve, christmas night and new years eve. i can't really explain why so that we both understand but that's just the way it is!! understandably, you want to take the holiday off and be with your kids. but if the hospital gave the people with kids, time off for christmas, then there probably wont be enough people to cover the shifts that need to be covered. i don't understand why they have you scheduled christmas and christmas eve. you should talk to your union about that.

but just because you have kids it doesn't mean that you should get the time off. i have kids too and would love to spend all of the holidays with them. but someone needs to work at the hospital. usually the ones with the seniority get to choose. no big deal, they've been working there a long time and one day, it'll be my turn. but until then, i have to work holidays.

your mom probably wont understand. or maybe she will. maybe she reacted like that because she was disappointed herself that you can't be there on christmas. but what can you do? you have to work it.... unless you trade shifts with someone else.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 21, 2005

now i have children and all i ask is to be there when they wake up in the morning on christmas day( i work nights). for those of you that think it's not your problem .... shame on you.

the more i think about this statement, the angrier it makes me. shame on you, dorimar! and shame on all of the other parents who believe that having children makes them somehow more entitled than the rest of us! you were lucky enough to be able to have children when you wanted to have them -- something that i was never fortunate enough to achieve. and now you think that because you were so lucky as to have children, the rest of us somehow owe you more perqs?! shame on you!

we're all hired for the same job, the same hours and the same pay -- how dare you tell anyone that you are more entitled to any of the perqs of the job than the rest of us! whether or not i chose to (or was able to) reproduce, i am just as deserving of having the holiday off as anyone else on the schedule. and perhaps, since i celebrate christmas as a religious holiday, more entitled than someone who celebrates it merely as a tradition. but i'm not going there.

no one but you and your partner was involved in your decision to reproduce -- so no one owes you anything because you have done so. i don't owe you christmas or mother's day off . . . . i have a mother, after all. she's equally deserving of spending mother's day with her child as you are of spending it with yours. perhaps more so, as she doesn't have the same sense of entitlement that you seem to have.

ruby (rant off now)

nurse_clown · Nov 21, 2005

the more i think about this statement, the angrier it makes me. shame on you, dorimar! and shame on all of the other parents who believe that having children makes them somehow more entitled than the rest of us! you were lucky enough to be able to have children when you wanted to have them -- something that i was never fortunate enough to achieve. and now you think that because you were so lucky as to have children, the rest of us somehow owe you more perqs?! shame on you!
we're all hired for the same job, the same hours and the same pay -- how dare you tell anyone that you are more entitled to any of the perqs of the job than the rest of us! whether or not i chose to (or was able to) reproduce, i am just as deserving of having the holiday off as anyone else on the schedule. and perhaps, since i celebrate christmas as a religious holiday, more entitled than someone who celebrates it merely as a tradition. but i'm not going there.
no one but you and your partner was involved in your decision to reproduce -- so no one owes you anything because you have done so. i don't owe you christmas or mother's day off . . . . i have a mother, after all. she's equally deserving of spending mother's day with her child as you are of spending it with yours. perhaps more so, as she doesn't have the same sense of entitlement that you seem to have.
ruby (rant off now)

i find that a lot of the "childless" rn's are half expected to cover for holidays for the more senior nurses who have kids. i know i'm working on christmas eve, christmas night and new years eve. i work nights too. my son is two and my daughter is eight. i don't expect others to take my shifts because i have kids. i too want to see my kids christmas morning. i worked last year. christmas eve, christmas night and new years. but i also stayed up christmas morning. i was very tired during the holidays but it was worth it!!! i got in two family christmas parties and two turkey dinners!!! i recovered in january.

Bipley · Nov 22, 2005

Well then, Bipley, good for you. However, the underlying theme of this thread seems to be "your problems are none of my concern". That is what my "shame on you " was aimed at.

Okay, so your "problem" here is that you have to work Christmas morning and you won't be there when your kids wake up. Your kids might have to wait a couple of hours to open their gifts.

I'm not seeing the "problem" yet. Seems to me every other Christian has similar problems on that day. And even those who merely celebrate the holiday even if they are not Christian.

Please clarify your problem, I'm slow and I'm not getting it.

nurse_clown · Nov 22, 2005

i must be slow too. i have kids but i've never had a problem over christmas and new years. ideally, we all want to be with the family, but sometimes "duty calls".