As a Nurse our whole lives revolve round our schedule

I think seniority should play a part for other holidays, but Christmas, I think needs to be divided evenly. If you're off one year, then you'll be working next year, etc. Seniority should play a part in other holidays, like the most senior nurses can be off on t-giving, but there at least has to be someone there who has a clue on how to run the unit, too. I don't think the most senior nurses should have to work as many weekends as newer nurses, maybe every 3rd weekend or something like that. Now, if there are some that don't celebrate Christmas, then they can volunteer to give up that day in exchange for another holiday off.

I agree, it needs to be fair. If you work Christmas one year, you'll be off the next year; etc. The census is usually pretty low on the holidays so chances are you will be either on call or get called off. We also have coworkers who will offer to work the holidays for us. Getting time off where I work is actually easier than I thought it was. I put in my request off for the week of Thanksgiving a week before the schedule came out and I got my time off....I'm working Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. I was off for both last year so I figured I would pay my dues and work this year.

holidays should be rotated seniority or not imo. then there is night shift. i think i somehow work thanksgiving, christmas and new years eve. oh well . i am not a night shifter that likes to switcy my schedule or sleep 4 hrs only. so if i work the night before i will be sleeping all of next day christmas or not

you raised some really good points in this post. I see time and time again totallly unfair scheduling.Some people NEVER have to work a friday. I have to agree, people who DON'T have kids, are expected to pick up the slack. I guess the most fair way is to rotate holidays..no exceptions.but easier SAID than DONE !!!

Our blank holiday schedule is posted several months in advance. The DON divides the number of shift openings by the number of employees and tells everyone how many holiday shifts they need to sign up for. This year we all have to work 2 shifts between Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day. Everyone just signs up for what they want. We have never had a shift not covered and we never have (too much) griping over who is working what. Technically our policy states if you work a holiday one year, you have it off the next but as long as we are all willing to work together to cover the schedule, our DON lets us set our own days.The remaining holidays (Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day), we stick a little more to the "if you worked it last year, you have it off this year". That said, there are some people that don't mind working them and some that hate working them. It all seems to work out in the end. As a side note, we have NO holiday pay. Holidays are paid just like any other day.

Our nurses are on twelve hour shifts. They are required to work every other weekend, but it turns out to be three weekend days a month (we have some nurses for personal reasons prefer to work only weekends). Our holiday schedule goes like this: You must schedule yourself for an eve and day (Xmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day) and I'm happy to report it works about 99% of the time. If there is a scheduling conflict, we look back to the year before. Our assistant nurse managers are required to schedule themselves the same way. Ten year plus staff are given the option in January to pick three holidays they would like off, schedule permitting, and that also works. Some of the veterans use their requests for summer holidays, Halloween (which obviously is not a hospital holiday but to insure they are off they use it). The hospital needs to be staffed 24/7 holidays included and I include this during interview with an explanation of how we try to be fair. Many applicants are surprised stating they thought they'd be scheduled all the holidays the first few years. I explain that we need a mix of experience so that isn't the case.

Madwife.... I so can remember the shift book and the 4-8 weeks schedule going up so we could tell if we was working mornings, afternoons or nights weekends off was a bonus but one manager was good and we generally worked one weekend in three. Now where I work here in Canada I know my schedule for the year with only change is 2 weeks over the christmas and new year

Just a thought on those without kids not wanting to work holidays....I live 250 miles from my family. They do not travel (little kids/fire department shifts, older kids involved with Thanksgiving day sports (football)....so if I dont travel, I have the holiday alone...yes, there are many folks who would be more than glad to have me but it is not the same. So it is not just the person without kids being selfish....sometimes they are far lonlier than you know.

As a Jewish nurse, I volunteered for nearly every Christmas eve and Christmas Day for many, many years. While my family was off from school and work, I was at work, or on-call. But I had to beg for my own holidays off, using my paid time off to cover them when I could even get them off. I cannot recall one single time that anyone ever volunteered to work those days for me, even refusing to switch a weekday off, like a Wednesday for a Thursday.One year I was forced to work on Yom Kippur (our holiest day) because no one would switch.Unfortunately for all of us in 24/7 occupations, holidays are part and parcel of what is expected. I only ever wanted New Year's eve off when I was single!There are ways that seem more fair than others for scheduling, but those who are at work need to make the best of it, no matter what.

Quote from nhnursieJust a thought on those without kids not wanting to work holidays....I live 250 miles from my family. They do not travel (little kids/fire department shifts, older kids involved with Thanksgiving day sports (football)....so if I dont travel, I have the holiday alone...yes, there are many folks who would be more than glad to have me but it is not the same. So it is not just the person without kids being selfish....sometimes they are far lonlier than you know.

Quote from merleeAs a Jewish nurse, I volunteered for nearly every Christmas eve and Christmas Day for many, many years. While my family was off from school and work, I was at work, or on-call. But I had to beg for my own holidays off, using my paid time off to cover them when I could even get them off. I cannot recall one single time that anyone ever volunteered to work those days for me, even refusing to switch a weekday off, like a Wednesday for a Thursday.One year I was forced to work on Yom Kippur (our holiest day) because no one would switch.Unfortunately for all of us in 24/7 occupations, holidays are part and parcel of what is expected. I only ever wanted New Year's eve off when I was single!There are ways that seem more fair than others for scheduling, but those who are at work need to make the best of it, no matter what.

This is the way it went for us in the hospital where I will be an employee for just 20 more days!: If Thanksgiving, New Years, New Years Eve, Labor Day, and Easter fall on your normally scheduled pattern, you work it, unless you can find someone to swap. Kind of stinks to work Thanksgiving for 7 straight years, but then you have it off for 7 straight years! Everyone worked either Christmas or Christmas Eve, and it rotated year to year. I worked Christmas Day last year, so this year would have been my year for Christmas Eve. You work you normal shift (nights, days, evenings) and you only work 8 hours. No 12s on these two days. Names were drawn out of a hat to see if who got to be low censused if they needed to call someone off. If you got low census one year, your name was left out of the drawing the next year. I liked it. It was predictable and fair.