PRN list is laughable

juliaann · May 13, 2011

I'm a PRN nurse aide, but I guess our system is different than yours. At my hosptial PRN doesn't equal "on call," it means I work as my schedule allows. I put in my availablilty two weeks in advance, and my manager schedules me according to the hospital's needs on my available days. If I want to pick up extra shifts, I can call staffing any day a few hours before shift change and ask if they're going to be short, and the staffing clerk will either tell me no, or she'll put me down to work.

I get the occasional call from staffing when they're really really desperate (staffing also calls all other qualified employees, whether they be full-time, part-time, or PRN)...but if I can't come in, I can't come in. And honestly, if I could have come in, I would have put that day on my schedule as available, or I would have called in early and asked to be put on the schedule for an extra shift.

Are your PRN staff supposed to be able to just come in at a moment's notice? Do they get on-call pay? If so, those people need to be fired. If not, sounds like your facility needs to hire more full-timers instead.

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · May 13, 2011

As a person who is PRN at a couple facilities, it's hard to just drop everything @ the drop of a hat for a job. I'm in school full-time, and TIME & TIME AGAIN I have let my PRN jobs that I am only available on certain days. Do they ever need me on those days? No. But when I'm in class or clinicals..then suddenly they need me!! Am I supposed to not attend class(which btw, in our nursing program, we can only miss ONE class..anything after that you fail the class) for a measly $11/hr? I don't think so!!

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · May 13, 2011

I agree with the others. PRN does not mean "on call, sitting by the phone 24-7."

parumph · May 13, 2011

And again, I'm not saying someone should bail out of anything they are doing to get called in. But you'd think out of 30+ people that someone would want to come in. I guess I have a bit more desire to help out coworkers in a jam than others. I know if i were called and they said "we only have two people on the floor, can you come in" i'd almost feel obligated. I've worked 20+ hours (previous non-HC related job) so the company could stay up and running before. Tho I do hear stories of people during other weekday shifts not helping their coworkers. Lost of "thats not my patient, so im not gonna do it". That just seems beyond stupid and petty to me. When I work, i get assigned a section, sure. But I also run every call light I can reguardless, as do the few coworkers I have. Guess my expectations are a bit high. Might be a sign that its not the job for me. Love the job, otherwise.

blackandyellow · May 13, 2011

I am PRN at a nursing home I use to work full time at. I remember how frustrating it is to go through the whole call list and not be able to find anyone to work. But on the other end of thing's PRN is not on call. I am a student and work full time at a hospital and most of the time when I get a phone call I am working that day at my other job.

yousoldtheworld · May 13, 2011

I agree, on one hand, that PRN doesn't mean "drop everything every time you're called". At the same time, there are 2 people on our PRN list for my shift (that only has 4 people on it, to begin with) that I have never seen in my year at my facility. What's even the point in staying PRN someplace if you haven't worked a day there in over a year?

Most places I've worked, PRN people don't work a set number of days, they just pick up when their schedule allows and they're needed. I'm not sure my current facility even knows what PRN means.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · May 13, 2011

I guess I have a bit more desire to help out coworkers in a jam than others. I know if i were called and they said "we only have two people on the floor, can you come in" i'd almost feel obligated.

I don't have that issue anymore. My time off is MY time off and I won't allow people to make me feel like a jerk just because I don't want to go in and be worked like a dog for an extra shift. The staffing is not YOUR responsibility, but they'll try to act like it is because they don't want to hire more people.

When I do come in (on my scheduled days to work), I give it my all. I don't spend half the shift lollygagging so that others will have to pick up my slack. To me, that's good enough.

...Our PRN people have to work at least once a month in order to stay on. I didn't even know there were places that kept people on the books for over a year.

yousoldtheworld · May 13, 2011

Yeah, I had never seen anything like it, either. We might as well not even have a PRN list.

Jen411 · May 13, 2011

I know the feeling at the ltc facility I worked the same would happen.. I wish they had an on call this, give them beepers if your beeped get your butt to work

jb2u, ASN, RN · May 16, 2011

I understand the OPs point. No the prn staff are not "on call," but you would think that out of so many prn's you would be able to get some people to come in!!!

yousoldtheworld · May 17, 2011

Exactly! It's not that they are required to come when called, but when it seems like NO ONE on the list EVER wants to come in, what's the point of having one?