So You Have to Work A Holiday…
While it may be common knowledge that a career in healthcare = having to work holidays, as a student, it can feel like the actual physical working of those holidays is an abstract thought. My first level II fieldwork was home health, so I didn’t have to work on holidays. My second level II, I escaped working Easter and Memorial Day. And my third level II, my CI excused me from any and all weekends and holidays. So you can imagine my horror when my first hospital job handed me a Holiday Schedule, complete with my name next to Memorial Day and July 4th (I was also on for Christmas, but I didn’t last in that position long enough to work that day — but that’s a story for another time). Well. That was it. I was officially a working hospital employee.
Funny that I would even feel that way considering I had previously worked in television news, which also forced me to work assigned holidays. But I had three years in between careers, and as a student, you don’t have to work holidays, you’re encouraged to enjoy those breaks! Well, not in the world of acute care. Holidays are just another day, minus half of the staff, plus decorated nurses’ stations. Oh, and time-and-a-half pay (double time, if you’re lucky). Sure, you could look at the souvenir holiday cup as half empty… or you could look at it as half full, courtesy of these tips and advice from someone who’s been there many, many times.
Time and a half pay. I mean, come on. I had a fellow OT once tell me that she hated working overtime or holidays… but every year when New York Fashion Week came along, she scooped up as many shifts as possible. She wanted to be able to afford the newest It Bag, It Coat… you get the idea. When you work those extra shifts, you end up making so much money! So when you’re feeling down about having to work a holiday, remember how much bigger your paycheck will be!
Ice cream… Or pizza… Or popsicles… Or insert any random treat food. I have never worked a holiday where management didn’t provide some kind of edible incentive for being there. Yeah, I know food doesn’t make up for a lot of other things going on in the hospital setting, but if I have to work a holiday, being fed helps with my outlook.
Increased social time. Don’t repeat this! Management isn’t around on holidays, and typically the census is lower. Additionally, your caseload should only consist of people who are high-need, so you will have a smaller patient list. This allows you to engage — and commiserate — with other employees, including people who you might not otherwise have the chance to bond with.
Pity from patients. Does that sound terrible? It’s not. I’ve found that patients don’t actually want to work with therapy on holidays. Sometimes, when patients find out that I’m married and have a kid, they politely decline therapy, saying that young people with families shouldn’t be away at work on the holidays. Or they feel so badly that you have to work, they do whatever you ask of them. Either way, it works in our favor!
Ultimately, you can have a holiday whenever you make one. When I was growing up, my mom’s side of the family had our big holiday gathering closer to New Year’s than Christmas. When I was working in television, my parents either came out to me or waited to celebrate the holiday until I was able to take time off. While it is nice to have the actual holiday off, it’s ultimately just a day.