It's Canada Day here. Most of my family and friends will be out celebrating enjoying family bar-b-ques, watching fireworks and participating in Canada Day events.
I on the other hand am at home. I worked last evening and return again this evening. I thought I had this evening off and hence had made plans with my hubby to take our trailer to the coast to go camping and fishing. Nope not the case, he's gone with his father instead. Being a nurse scheduling your personal life can be challenging. I have been in this profession for over 20 years and being a shift worker I have had my share of missed events due to my work schedule.
My family has difficulties understanding why I'm not able to just "ask" for the time off. They think it's a simple as putting in a request and it gets granted. Well not so in nursing. Especially not so in times of nursing shortage and cutbacks. Friends and family also have a hard time wrapping their head around that fact that I have to plan my vacation a year in advance. Yes you heard that right. Where I work and in almost all facilities in the province nurses have to have their year vacation in by the end of November for the upcoming year. Vacation time is also granted based on seniority and criteria. It's not an easy task. We have to put in our request as 1st choice..then 2nd choice and so on until you have used up your entitled vacation. We also have to meet the criteria, that being we are only allowed so many staff members off on any particular shift. It's a nightmare to say the least. To top matters off, in the post anesthetic recovery room during certain times of the year we go down staff due to surgeons going on holidays and stat holidays. It's a bit of a juggling act.
It's a very complicated system we work with but it is the fairest system we have to date. Being low person on the totem pole my choices for summer vacation are very slim, and the chances of getting a statutory holidays off is slim to none especially if you are scheduled to work the early morning shifts or the afternoon shifts.
So here I am today spending yet another Canada day working. I would garner to guess that in the past 10 years I have worked almost every Canada day! Last summer I ended up working every statutory holiday during the summer. Some of you might think, well at least you are getting work and being paid a stat wage. That is true, but you know what, I would rather be home with my family spending time with them on the beach or at a campfire or watching the fireworks at night.
Don't get me wrong, I love my job, I am not complaining about that. It's just sometimes I wish I could spend more time doing what the average non shift worker gets to do and that is spend time with their loved ones on holidays. Rather than tending to someone in the recovery room who over indulged and jumped off of something they shouldn't have and required surgery to fix a broken bone or such.
Sometimes when I see the bright eyed nursing students come in all perky and eager I wonder if they really know how their lives will change when they get into this profession. Do they realize that it's not all Monday to Friday 9 to 5 kind of work. Do they recognize the personal sacrifices they will be making as a result of the profession they have chosen? Do they understand the thousands upon thousands of hours of sleep they will lose due to working night shifts and mandatory overtime? Do they realize the physical toll the profession takes on their body, and the mental anguish and pain that they will be exposed to? I hope they do.
Nursing is a wonderful profession if you are up for the challenge. It's certainly not a cake walk.
So here's to all my nursing colleagues who are working today and to those who have the opportunity spend this day with their families.
5 comments:
This year I've had much more contact with the health care system with my husband's eye surgeries and my mom's spinal cord injury. I had plenty of opportunity to see what a difficult task everyone has, and they (in the most part) do it with a smile and comforting hand. Thank you for all you do, on holidays and every day. - Margy
I have one sister who is a retired RN and she used to work the graveyard shift when her kids were small. So I know the sacrifices. Now please remember the teachers who have to go to school during the summers to updat their qualifications, prepare for their upcoming year after finishing up the current one. With luck, they'll get about 3 weeks vacation. Hope your day went well, even though you had to work...I know your patients will have really appreciated you. :D
One of my jobs where I work, until recently, was scheduling the nurses' shifts. It was a nightmare. All the variables ~~ seniority, casuals, etc., had to be factored in, and I felt so bad for the nurses who had to give up their lives to come to work. But what an amazing job you folks do...! You are indeed well and truly angels in disguise. :-)
Preaching to the choir sister!
Nice article, thanks for the information.
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