Question: Self-Scheduling Holiday Dilemma

You graduated last year from your nursing program and were excited to obtain the job that you wanted most. The unit where you work has a very progressive supervisor who believes in empowering the nursing staff. Approximately 6 months ago, after considerable instruction, the unit began self-scheduling. You have enjoyed the freedom and control that this has given you over your work hours. There have been some minor difficulties among staff, and occasionally the unit was slightly overstaffed or understaffed. However, overall, the self-scheduling has seemed to work well. Today (September 15), you come to work on the 3 PM to 11 PM shift after 2 days off and see that the schedule for the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday period has been posted, and many of the staff have already scheduled their days on and their days off. When you take a close look, it appears that no one has signed up to work Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day. You are very concerned, because self-scheduling includes responsibility for adequate coverage. There are still a few nurses, including yourself, who have not added their days to the schedule, but even if all of the remaining nurses work all three holidays, it will provide only scant coverage.

ASSIGNMENT: What leadership role (if any) should you take in solving this dilemma? Should you ignore the problem and schedule yourself for only one holiday and let your supervisor deal with the issue? Remember, you are a new nurse, both in experience and on this unit. List the options for decision making available to you and, using rationale to support your decision, plan a course of action.